Automating Inequality

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Automating Inequality: How High-Tech Tools Profile, Police, and Punish the Poor is a book by Virginia Eubanks.

Contents

Background

The book focuses on how automation negatively impacts the poor. [1] In the United States during the 19th century, poor people were often sent to poorhouses. [2] Eubanks draws a connection from the poorhouses of the 19th century to how we control and contain poor people using technology in the 21st century. [3] Eubanks is an associate professor of political science at State University of New York. [4]

The book discusses how housing in Los Angeles has been automated. [5] The book discusses Mitch Daniels's attempt to privatize and automate welfare in Indiana. [6] The attempt led to a 54% increase in the denial of benefits from the previous three years. [7] In Pittsburgh, there was an attempt to use predictive risk modeling to identify at-risk children. [8] Many automated processes are intended to maximize profit. [9] The last chapter goes over ways that these oppressive systems can be dismantled. [10]

Reception

LibraryJournal praised the book for covering academic material in a way that is easy to read. [11] The book was shortlisted for the Stephan Russo Book Prize. [12] The Financial Times compared and contasted the book with Algorithms of Oppression. [13]

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References

  1. ↑ Featherstone, Liza (May 4, 2018). "How Big Data Is 'Automating Inequality'". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on February 29, 2024. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  2. ↑ Nam, Michael (January 23, 2018). "'Automating Inequality' warns of a dystopian future punishing the poor — in the present: book review". New York Daily News . Archived from the original on February 29, 2024. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  3. ↑ Adler-Bell, Sam (January 29, 2018). "The High-Tech Poorhouse". Jacobin . Archived from the original on February 29, 2024. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  4. ↑ Lenhart, Amanda (March 29, 2018). "How Algorithms Can Punish the Poor". Slate . ISSN   1091-2339. Archived from the original on February 29, 2024. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  5. ↑ Fussell, Sidney (January 23, 2018). "How Algorithmic Experiments Harm People Living in Poverty". Gizmodo . Archived from the original on February 29, 2024. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  6. ↑ Weisberg, Jacob (June 7, 2018). "The Digital Poorhouse". The New York Review of Books . ISSN   0028-7504. Archived from the original on February 29, 2024. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  7. ↑ Edes, Alyssa; Bowman, Emma (February 19, 2018). "'Automating Inequality': Algorithms In Public Services Often Fail The Most Vulnerable". NPR . Archived from the original on February 29, 2024. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  8. ↑ Phillips, Stephen (February 16, 2018). "Books by Virginia Eubanks, Jeremy Bailenson, Niall Ferguson". SFGate . Archived from the original on February 29, 2024. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  9. ↑ "Equal parts advocacy and analysis—a welcome addition to the growing literature around the politics of welfare". Kirkus Reviews . October 16, 2017. Archived from the original on February 29, 2024. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  10. ↑ Dziuban, Emily (December 15, 2017). "Automating Inequality: How High-Tech Tools Profile, Police, and Punish the Poor". Booklist . Archived from the original on February 29, 2024. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  11. ↑ Bridgewater, Rachel (February 1, 2018). "Automating Inequality: How High-Tech Tools Profile, Police, and Punish the Poor". Library Journal . Archived from the original on February 29, 2024. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  12. ↑ "Stephan Russo Book Prize for Social Justice Shortlist". Publishers Weekly . Archived from the original on March 2, 2024. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
  13. ↑ Fine, Cordelia (March 7, 2018). "Coded prejudice: how algorithms fuel injustice". Financial Times . Archived from the original on March 7, 2018. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
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