Algorithms of Anxiety

Fear in the Digital Age

Anthony Elliott (Flinders University)

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Paperback

Forthcoming
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English

Polity Press
26 July 2024

Social theory; Impact of science & technology on society; Algorithms & data structures; Machine learning

Machine learning algorithms are widely presumed to herald a world in which the crippling burdens of anxiety can be left behind. The digital revolution promises a brave new world where individuals, communities and organizations can at last take control of the future – anticipating, designing and commanding the future, possibly even with mathematical exactitude. Yet, paradoxically, algorithms have unleashed widespread fears and forebodings about the impact of digital technologies. Whether it’s worries about unemployment, distress about social media’s harmful effects on teenagers, or the fear of intrusive digital surveillance, we live in an age of turbo-charged anxiety where the prophecies of algorithms are increasingly enmeshed with fundamental disruption and anxieties about the future.

In this book, Anthony Elliott examines how machine learning algorithms are not only transforming global institutions but also rewriting our personal lives. He tells this story through a wide-ranging analysis which takes in ChatGPT, Amazon, the Metaverse, Martin Ford, Netflix, Uber, Bernard Stiegler, Squid Game, Kate Crawford, LaMDA, Byung-Chul Han, autonomous drones, Jean Baudrillard and the automation of warfare.

Questioning why people often assume that they need to adopt new technologies in order to lead fulfilling lives, Elliott argues that people may be as much entranced as inspired by their outsourcing of personal decision-making to smart machines.

By: Anthony Elliott (Flinders University)
Imprint: Polity Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 215mm, Spine: 35mm
Weight: 312g
ISBN: 9781509555437
ISBN 10: 1509555439
Pages: 241
Publication Date: 26 July 2024
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Anthony Elliott is Bradley Distinguished Professor of Sociology at the University of South Australia.