Afterlives of Data: Life and Debt under Capitalist Surveillance

Our health data are used by American capitalism to determine our value and control our lives, as revealed by Mary F. E. Ebeling's ethnographic investigation. This data is collected by healthcare providers, insurers, commercial data brokers, credit reporting companies, and platforms, and is used to affect our bodies and life chances. There is little regulatory oversight for health data, and it is used in the service of marketing and capitalist surveillance.

Format: Hardback
Length: 218 pages
Publication date: 14 June 2022
Publisher: University of California Press

Afterlives of Data
The book "Afterlives of Data" explores the intriguing and diverse journeys that our data embark upon once they escape our control. Conducted by Mary F. E. Ebeling through ethnographic research, the book sheds light on how information related to our health and debt becomes valuable assets in the hands of healthcare providers, insurers, commercial data brokers, credit reporting companies, and platforms. By delving into the vast oceans of data generated from everyday medical and financial traumas, Ebeling unveils how these data profoundly impact our bodies, life chances, and ultimately shape our identities.

Concerns among many Americans have arisen due to secretive data collection and privacy breaches by entities such as Cambridge Analytica. This vast industry, which includes credit bureaus, consumer data brokers like Equifax and Experian, as well as the secretive military contractor Palantir, operates with minimal regulatory oversight for health data and actively strives to conceal how it profits from our data.

In this book, Ebeling traces the journey of health data, which are extracted from patients' bodies and digitized, leading to their transformation into new data commodities with afterlives in database lakes, algorithms, and statistical models used to assess patients' creditworthiness and riskiness. The book is critical and unsettling, as it examines how Americans' data regarding their health and debt are exploited for marketing purposes and capitalist surveillance.

The book highlights the power dynamics at play, where healthcare providers, insurers, and other stakeholders wield significant control over our data, often without our knowledge or consent. It raises important questions about the ethical implications of such practices and the need for greater transparency and regulation in the management of personal information.

Through its detailed analysis, "Afterlives of Data" provides a valuable insight into the complex relationship between technology, data, and our lives. It encourages readers to critically evaluate the information they share and the data they generate, and to advocate for policies that protect our privacy and promote the responsible use of data.

In conclusion, "Afterlives of Data" is a thought-provoking and important book that sheds light on the hidden consequences of our data in the modern world. It is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the power dynamics of data and the urgent need for data privacy and protection.

Weight: 408g
Dimension: 229 x 152 x 20 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780520307728