This inside story, told by the data consultant who leaked the cache of documents that led to the Cambridge Analytica scandal, unflinchingly describes the data mining for which Cambridge Analytica became notorious. Wylie’s account is peppered with involving details: “When I had my flat checked for security risks, the TV was deemed a risk as it could be used to watch or listen to me without my ever knowing. I smiled at the irony of a TV that watches you,” he writes.
He doesn’t shy away from using his expertise to advise policymakers. “If we are to prevent another Cambridge Analytica from attacking our civil institutions,” he writes, “we must seek to address the flawed environment in which it incubated.” Too right.
The Diary of a Data Miner
Mindfuck, by Christopher Wylie, reviewed by Adam Solomons
