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Automating Inequality

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

Background

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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

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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]

References

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  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.