Book SummaryThe Age of Surveillance Capitalism, by Shoshana Zuboff

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of The Age of Surveillance Capitalism

In The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, Shoshana Zuboff explores the concept and consequences of “surveillance capitalism”—a term she created to describe the invasive and controlling data collection practices that tech companies like Google, Microsoft, and Facebook have adopted to maximize their profits.

Zuboff uses scientific research and numerous real-life examples to support her insights into the development and advancement of surveillance capitalism. She also warns of the potentially disastrous outcomes for our society if we don’t advocate for change in this...

The Age of Surveillance Capitalism Summary What Is Surveillance Capitalism?

According to Zuboff, surveillance capitalism is an emerging form of capitalism in which companies harvest data about our behavior, make predictions about our future behavior using that data, and sell those predictions for profit.

(Shortform note: Zuboff first invented the term “surveillance capitalism” in 2014. She used it in a paper exploring the future of Big Data and how we have both the power and responsibility to shape it how we want to. The...

The Age of Surveillance Capitalism Summary How Surveillance Capitalism Operates

Zuboff tells us that surveillance capitalism consists of four main components: an underlying philosophy, products, a means of production, and a marketplace. Let’s discuss each component in more detail.

Component #1: An Underlying Philosophy

Zuboff explains that although people tend to see surveillance capitalism as a type of advanced technology that’s capable of learning uncomfortably specific details about us, it’s actually a philosophy that guides how companies use technology.

The idea underlying surveillance capitalism is that serving people’s needs is less profitable and therefore less desirable than selling predictions about their future behavior. Through this lens, technology isn’t a means to make our lives better, but rather a means through which companies can better collect and control our data to maximize profits. In other words, in surveillance capitalism, the purpose of technology is to help companies collect more data, make more accurate predictions, and sell those predictions for more money.

(Shortform note: Zuboff says that the philosophy of surveillance capitalism is that selling behavioral predictions is more profitable than serving people’s needs....

The Age of Surveillance Capitalism Summary The Conditions That Led to Surveillance Capitalism

Zuboff argues that surveillance capitalism was born out of a specific set of conditions—a perfect storm of factors that gave birth to a new technological philosophy. These conditions include the rise of neoliberal ideology and the intensification of surveillance following the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States. Let’s explore each condition separately:

Condition #1: The Rise of Neoliberal Ideology

Zuboff explains that the anti-regulation mindset of neoliberalism contributed significantly to the inception of surveillance capitalism. Following WWII and the height of the Cold War, the Western world—in particular the US and UK—was in the midst of an economic downturn. In addition, these countries were extremely wary of the governmental control underlying totalitarianism and communism in other parts of the world. As a result, the people of the US and UK began calling for more democratic participation and equal rights for marginalized groups.

As a solution to both the economic decline and the public’s demand for less governmental authority, neoliberal economists began to advocate for a radical free market based on Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman’s economic...

The Age of Surveillance Capitalism Summary Google’s Journey as the Pioneer of Surveillance Capitalism

According to Zuboff, Google was the pioneer of surveillance capitalism. It developed the foundations of surveillance capitalism in response to the threat of the dot-com bubble, which caused the stock prices of internet companies like Google to fall. This put these companies in a dire financial position.

(Shortform note: While Zuboff details the consequences of the dot-com bubble, she doesn’t explain what it was. In the 1990s, overly optimistic investments in technology companies led to a rapid rise in their stock equity valuations. These stock prices were far higher than the technology companies’ true value, creating a bubble that eventually burst in 2001.)

This bursting of the dot-com bubble prompted several phases in Google’s journey that ultimately led to the creation and expansion of surveillance capitalism. Let’s look at each phase in detail.

Phase #1: Google Starts Using Targeted Advertising

Zuboff explains that from its conception, Google’s founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin had intended for Google to be a free search engine. They refused to charge people for using their service and committed to...

The Age of Surveillance Capitalism Summary Why Surveillance Capitalism Has Managed to Thrive

How have Google (and, later, other companies) managed to keep mining user data despite showing such blatant disregard for privacy? Zuboff argues that there are a variety of factors that have contributed to surveillance capitalism’s ability to thrive. These factors fall into three categories: overcoming opposition, cornering the public, and mastering the art of disguise. Let’s discuss each of them further.

Surveillance Capitalism Has Overcome Opposition

Zuboff argues that Google and its competitors have learned to overcome any form of opposition, making it difficult for the public to demand—and lawmakers to enact—change.

Tech companies have refused to take accountability. These companies have never stopped to consider whether their actions are immoral or against public opinion and have proceeded unfazed by any and all attempts to raise concern.

(Shortform note: Do companies have moral responsibility, as Zuboff seems to suggest here? Some would argue that they don’t. According to the legal compliance view argued by Milton Friedman, [corporations have no moral obligations outside of their legal...

The Age of Surveillance Capitalism Summary The Ultimate Goal of Surveillance Capitalism

Zuboff argues that the ultimate goal of surveillance capitalism is to create a society in which our free will is replaced by behavioral conditioning that encourages predictable and machine-like patterns of behavior. This would eliminate human mistakes, accidents, and randomness. By guaranteeing specific human behavior, companies like Google can sell certainties instead of predictions and maximize their profits.

(Shortform note: Zuboff argues that the goal of surveillance capitalism is to replace human error with predictable, machine-like behavior. However, according to behavioral economics theory, humans are both irrational (and thus error-prone) and predictable. In his book Predictably Irrational, behavioral economist Dan Ariely argues that humans are systematically irrational, meaning that we tend to repeat the same mistakes in a predictable way without recognizing or correcting them. If this is true, then surveillance capitalism’s aim of behavioral conditioning may be misguided; to make behavior fully...

The Age of Surveillance Capitalism Summary Consequences of Surveillance Capitalism

Zuboff stresses that surveillance capitalism has already caused a number of grave consequences for our society, and particularly for our democracy. Let’s discuss each consequence in more detail.

Consequence #1: Surveillance Capitalism Threatens Our Right to Privacy

Zuboff explains that companies often collect information without the knowledge or meaningful consent of their consumers. Additionally, they invade personal spaces—both physical and psychological—to do so.

For example, she says that even when we’re inside our homes, devices like TVs, thermostats, and even mattresses are monitoring and delivering information about what we say and do to company computers. In addition, companies can analyze metadata—like how often you change your profile picture—to determine extremely specific information that you never intentionally disclosed, such as whether or not you have depression.

How Far Does Privacy Invasion Go?

Here, Zuboff warns that tech companies are violating our privacy by invading our personal spaces and analyzing our metadata for extremely specific personal information. Arguably an even more severe threat to privacy is that these companies share...

The Age of Surveillance Capitalism Summary How Society Has Tried to Fight Back

Zuboff argues that although Google and other companies have been overwhelmingly successful at avoiding and preventing any sort of regulations that would curb their surveillance capitalism practices, this hasn’t prevented people and governments from trying to fight back.

For example, in 2011, 90 Spanish citizens submitted claims demanding that Google give them the right to have their private information removed from its site. The claims included desires to stay hidden from abusive partners and forget old arrests. The “right to be forgotten” became a fundamental principle of EU law in 2014.

Then, in 2018, the EU adopted the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which forces companies to modify their data activities according to certain regulations. For example, companies are prohibited from making personal information public by default.

In addition, activists, artists, and inventors have created ways to avoid the prying practices of surveillance capitalism. This includes...

The Age of Surveillance Capitalism Summary What We Can Do to Stop Surveillance Capitalism

Despite these efforts, we haven’t been able to drive change fundamental enough to end surveillance capitalism. Zuboff insists that to defeat it, society must undergo a series of mindset shifts:

• First, we must slow down and become aware of what’s happening around us.
• Second, we have to recognize surveillance capitalism as inherently anti-democratic.
• Third, we need to reignite our anger and fight for our right to privacy and self-determination.
• Fourth, we must accept that, as individuals, we’re powerless. To stop the progression of surveillance capitalism, we need collective social action.

Ultimately, Zuboff argues that, regardless of others’ past decisions, it’s each new generation’s responsibility to make things right.

What Can We Do to Stop Surveillance Capitalism?

Although Zuboff doesn’t offer any specific action steps individuals can take to stop the advance of surveillance capitalism, other writers offer tips on how to achieve this kind of change. Since Zuboff...

Shortform Exercise: Audit Your Personal Data Privacy Practices

Reflect on your technology use and how you could improve your data privacy practices in a world dominated by surveillance capitalism.

Describe the ways you utilize technology in your day-to-day life and list at least five products or services that you regularly use. (For example, maybe you use Netflix, Microsoft’s Cortana, UberEats, Life360, and Whatsapp.)