Shoshana Zuboff

Shoshana Zuboff is an American political philosopher, author, and professor emerita at the Harvard Business School. She is best known for her 2019 book, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power. Her books, articles, and essays explore the intersections of technology, business and society. In her writings, Zuboff examines the role of technology in influencing economic and political relationships, and the implications of technology and data-driven economic activities on individual autonomy.

Zuboff was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. She graduated from Radcliffe College in 1967 and earned a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in Social Relations in 1974. After receiving her doctorate, Zuboff held academic positions at the University of Chicago, SUNY Stony Brook, MIT and Harvard Business School, where she was appointed the Charles Edward Wilson Professor of Business Administration in 1996. Over the course of her career, Professor Zuboff has published nine books and written over 70 articles, book chapters, reviews and reports. Her research has received several honors, such as the Academy of Management Distinguished Career Award.

In 2019, Zuboff published her best-known work, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism. The book is a sweeping examination of the implications of Big Data, an analysis of how corporations are aggressively harvesting and exploiting data for commercial and other purposes, and a call for a global shift towards a more democratic and equitable future based on data rights and privacy protection for all. In Zuboff’s words, “Surveillance capitalism is an entirely new economic order that claims human experience as free raw material for hidden commercial practices of extraction, prediction and sales.”

In The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, Zuboff details how large data-driven corporations such as Google, Facebook and Amazon have gained economic, social, and political power in recent years. She discusses how data is increasingly being used to manipulate user behavior, shape opinions, and even to interfere in democratic processes. On a more personal level, Zuboff examines the ways in which individuals’ data is used to shape and control their own lives — from determining what they see and hear to influencing their decisions. Finally, the book’s core message is a call to arms: we must recognize the power of data and its attendant risks, and develop the infrastructure and legal protections necessary to ensure that the individual will remain at the center of our data-driven society.

In the decade to come, much of Zuboff’s work will likely be seen as prescient. Her insights into the implications of data exploitation and the need for regulation and oversight will continue to be hugely relevant. Her writing stands as a powerful reminder of how technology and data can be used to protect users’ rights and privacy, and how such technology can be mobilized to create a more equitable and just society.

Given the scope and ambition of her writing, it is no surprise that Shoshana Zuboff’s work has made a significant impact on the tech world and beyond. By offering a sharp critique of existing data practices, as well as an optimistic vision of a more equitable future, her books are essential reading for anyone interested in the implications of data, technology and economic power.