Surveillance capitalism is an economic system centred around the commodification of personal data with the core purpose of profit-making.
In her latest book ‘The Age of Surveillance Capitalism’ Shoshana Zuboff, Professor at Harvard, provides a detailed examination of the unprecedented power of surveillance capitalism and the quest by powerful corporations to predict and control our behaviour. In her view industrial capitalism exploited nature while surveillance capitalism now exploits human nature.
The stronger personal autonomy is, the more fulfilled and productive a human being may become in adapting to today’s socioeconomic demands. Hence, a mindset of personal autonomy is fundamental vis-à-vis the potential negative impacts of surveillance capitalism.