You've heard of investment capital, social capital but how about "surveillance capital?" This is a fascinating book, chock full of information, about how everyone's behavior on social media and online is a source of behavioral surplus that can be reaped by commercial, technological and governmental entities. Unprecedented amounts of data from billions of people all over the world are being collected, packaged, sold and shipped off in exchange for money without our knowledge. It is your behavior and not the content of your messages that counts. Traitor scores or "threat scores" are being calculated from tracking activists, union organizers, Greenpeace and protestors through surveillance services like Geofeedia. But unlike credit rating middleware which alerts you if you're spending too much on a credit card, there is no transparency. Nobody knows if they are doing well according to Geofeedia and you don't get a report. Law enforcement is the main client. It’s concerning because people can be wrongly profiled. In China, behavioral surplus is being used in a rewards and punishment system to punish people for the "wrong" behavior." I'm sure if we look hard enough, we can find equivalents in other countries (just not so extreme). By urging tech companies to train algorithms to do what they want, totalitarian governments can use power to make the lives of unwanted individuals miserable. This could be America or any country if we follow China's example. People who are addicted to electronic platforms are most susceptible. Manipulating popularity ratings is only one of the many ways which could shape behaviors. Discussed in depth are tools like the Watson Personality Service, SEWA and the Sesame Credit System. These are only some of the multiple ways your human experience is being liquified into assets--I haven't even talked about ISPs and sticky zombie cookies. So, what can we do? Be on the lookout for questionable apps. Be less inclined to download. Use your spatial ability instead of driving apps. Social engineering has never been so enticing yet scary. The takeaway message is--we are not powerless. We can do this by urging Congress to pass legislation that would protect our rights, such as saving net neutrality. Speak up and be proactive!

In my latest weekly culture column "Beware, The Walls Have Ears" I explored the perennial future 'promise' of the smart home and why it's failed so far, while touching on why it's finally and stealthily infiltrating the culture through digital assistants. And why we should be worried about that. Its history ranges from the intercommunicating prototype kitchens of the late 1950s and Jacques Tati's Villa Arpel in MON ONCLE. I included Zuboff's smart and chilling new study because it could not have come at a better time, and is exactly in step (in fact, prescient) about the privacy trade-offs and false sense of security from tech like digital assistants..