Data Empire

Beskrivelse

Data Empire explores how data has been a powerful force shaping human history, from ancient civilizations to today’s digital age. It reveals the crucial role information has played in establishing control and power across societies.

Tracing the influence of data as a tool of control throughout history.

We live in a time when exchanging our personal information for access seems normal, yet data influences everything from targeted ads to widespread surveillance. But where did this power come from? Long before writing, early rulers in Mesopotamia used marks on clay to track land, people, and resources-because to govern effectively, they had to keep records. Interestingly, the first recorded name in history wasn’t a king or deity, but an accountant.

As exploration and navigation expanded, European empires claimed vast territories, using censuses, maps, and ledgers to decide who belonged, who owed, and who could be sacrificed. Today, a few private companies increasingly control what we see and perceive as reality.

Roopika Risam takes readers on a journey from ancient cave markings and knotted strings to the modern algorithmic state, showing how data has always been a technology of power and control that shaped civilizations and upheld empires.

Provocative and wide-ranging, Data Empire challenges us to consider whether we will let new data empires embed inequality in the future or strive for systems that benefit everyone. This groundbreaking history spanning 11,000 years argues that empire was never just about weapons or ships-it was built on collecting information to rule.

This book is ideal for readers interested in works like Nexus and The Age of Surveillance Capitalism.

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