In Science v. Story: Narrative Strategies for Science Communicators, Emma Frances Bloomfield parses the complexities of conveying scientific knowledge amid rampant misinformation and eroding public trust. Acknowledging the dual power of narrative to inform and divide, Bloomfield’s engaging text shares tools for crafting effective stories and urges inclusive discourse in the face of polarisation, writes Chris Featherman. Science v. Story: Narrative Strategies for Science Communicators. Emma Frances Bloomfield. University of California Press. 2024.  As the cli ..read more

In Code Dependent, Madhumita Murgia considers the impact of AI, and technology more broadly, on marginalised groups. Though its case studies are compelling, Marie Oldfield finds the book lacking in rigorous analysis and a clear methodology, inhibiting its ability to grapple with the concerns around technology it raises. Madhumita Murgia spoke at an LSE event, What it means to be human in a world changed by AI, in March 2024 – watch it back on YouTube. Code Dependent: Living in the Shadow of AI. Madhumita Murgia. Picador. 2024. Code Dependent is a collection of case studies about peo ..read more

In this interview with Anna D’Alton (LSE Review of Books), Nick Couldry and Ulises A Mejias discuss their new book, Data Grab which explores how Big Tech ushered in an exploitative system of “data colonialism” and presents strategies on how we can resist it. Nick Couldry and Ulises A Mejias will speak at a public LSE event to launch the book on Tuesday 14 May at 6.30pm. Find out more and Register. Data Grab: The New Colonialism of Big Tech and How to Fight Back. Ulises A Mejias and Nick Couldry. WH Allen. 2024. Q: What is data colonialism and how does it relate to historic ..read more

In Being Human in Digital Cities, Myria Georgiou explores how technology reshapes urban life, transforming how we relate to ourselves, each other and the space around us. Examining the digital order’s influence, including datafication, surveillance and mapping, Georgiou’s essential book advocates for centring humans through the paradigm of the “right to the city” based on social justice, equity, democracy and sustainability, writes Samira Allioui. Being Human in Digital Cities. Myria Georgiou. Polity. 2023. Technology, embodied through so-called smart cities ..read more

In Tactical Publishing: Using Senses, Software, and Archives in the Twenty-First Century, Alessandro Ludovico assembles a vast repertoire of post-digital publications to make the case for their importance in shaping and proposing alternative directions for the current computational media landscape. Although tilting towards example over practical theory, Tactical Publishing is an inspiring resource for all scholars and practitioners interested in the critical potential of experimenting with the technologies, forms, practices and socio-material spaces that emerge around books, writes Rebekka Ki ..read more

In The Gilded Cage: Technology, Development, and State Capitalism in China, Ya-Wen Lei explores how China has reshaped its economy and society in recent decades, from the era of Chen Yun to the leadership of Xi Jinping. Lei’s meticulous analysis illuminates how China’s blend of marketisation and authoritarianism has engendered a unique techno-developmental capitalism, writes George Hong Jiang. The Gilded Cage: Technology, Development, and State Capitalism in China. Ya-Wen Lei. Princeton University Press. 2023. Twenty years ago, people inside and outside China were won ..read more

In Industrial Policy in Turkey: Rise, Retreat and Return, Mina Toksoz, Mustafa Kutlay and William Hale analyse Turkey’s industrial policy over the past century, highlighting the interplay of global paradigms, macroeconomic stability and domestic institutional contexts. The book offers a timely analyses of industrial policy’s past and possible future trajectories, though it stops short of interrogating exactly how cultural, social, political and economic factors shape state-business relations and bureaucracy, writes M Kerem Coban. Industrial Policy in Turkey: Rise, Retreat ..read more

Arshin Adib-Moghaddam‘s Is Artificial Intelligence Racist? The Ethics of AI and the Future of Humanity examines the roots of racism in AI algorithms, tracing them to Enlightenment ideologies. Marta Soprana finds the book a densely-packed and thought-provoking caution on the dystopian consequences of our current trajectory of techno-racism, which we may still have time to avert. Is Artificial Intelligence Racist? The Ethics of AI and the Future of Humanity. Arshin Adib-Moghaddam. Bloomsbury Academic. 2023. Since the launch of ChatGPT by Open AI in November 2022, the debate surro ..read more

In The Quickest Revolution, Jacopo Pantaleoni examines modern technological progress and the history of computing. Bringing to bear his background as a visualisation software designer and a philosophical lens, Pantaleoni illuminates the threats that technological advancements like AI, the Metaverse, and Deepfakes pose to society, writes Hermano Luz Rodrigues. The Quickest Revolution: An Insider’s Guide to Sweeping Technological Change, and Its Largest Threats. Jacopo Pantaleoni. Mimesis International. 2023. Find this book:  “This changes everything” is perhaps the mos ..read more

In Global Language Justice, Lydia H. Liu and Anupama Rao bring together contributions at the intersection of language, justice and technology, exploring topics including ecolinguistics, colonial legacies and the threat digitisation poses to marginalised languages. Featuring multilingual poetry and theoretically rich essays, the collection provides fresh humanities perspectives on the value of preserving linguistic diversity, writes Andrew Shorten. Global Language Justice. Lydia H. Liu and Anupama Rao (Eds.)with Charlotte A. Silverman. Columbia University Pre ..read more