How Data Happened: A History from the Age of Reason to the Age of Algorithms

How did numbers become the “obvious way to understand and exercise power”? ask Columbia math professor Wiggins (Data Science in Context) and Columbia history professor Jones (Reckoning with Matter) in this edifying chronicle. Tracing the rise of data and statistics, the authors begin at the end of the 18th century as European states gained strength and sought to understand their power through tabulating the physical resources at their disposal. Early statistical methods, Wiggins and Jones contend, were developed to justify eugenics, with Francis Galton and other scientists attempting to quantify supposed racial differences. Other milestones include the invention of digital computation to break German cyphers during WWII, mid-century concerns about the federal government’s collection of personal data, the commercialization of data by tech giants, and the proliferation of AI. The authors emphasize that mass data collection was not inevitable, and to ameliorate corporate and state abuses of privacy and power, Wiggins and Jones advocate for stronger regulation of the tech industry and collective action by its employees. Though some of the mathematical background may go over the heads of lay readers, the history is nonetheless trenchant and successfully illuminates the contingency of data’s privileged place in modern decision-making. Incisive and thoroughly researched, this one’s a winner. (Mar.)