The immaculate conception of data : agribusiness, activists, and their shared politics of the future

Author/Creator:

Bronson, Kelly, author

Publication/Creation:

Montreal [Quebec] ; Kingston [Ontario] ; London ; Chicago [Illinois] : McGill-Queen's University Press, [2022]

Format:

Book

More Details

Additional/Related Title Information

Full Title:

The immaculate conception of data : agribusiness, activists, and their shared politics of the future / Kelly Bronson

Subjects/Genre

Subjects:

Agriculture--Data processing
Big data
Artificial intelligence--Agricultural applications
Agriculture--Economic aspects
Food industry and trade

Description/Summary

Table of Contents:

Facebook, Google, and ... Monsanto? -- Revolutions, Disruptions, and the Future of Farming -- Appropriate, Open, and Alternative -- The Immaculate Conception of Data -- The Politics of Digital Farm Technologies.

Bibliography:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Summary:

"Every new tractor now contains built-in sensors that collect data and stream it to cloud-based infrastructure. Seed and chemical companies are using these data, and these agribusinesses are a form of big tech alongside firms like Google and Facebook. The Immaculate Conception of Data peeks behind the secretive legal agreements surrounding agricultural big data to trace how it is used and with what consequences. Agribusinesses are among the oldest oligopoly corporations in the world, and their concentration gives them an advantage over other food system actors. Kelly Bronson explores what happens when big data get caught up in pre-existing arrangements of power. Her richly ethnographic account details the work of corporate scientists, farmers using the data, and activist "hackers" building open-source data platforms. Actors working in private and public contexts have divergent views on who new technology is for, how it should be developed, and what kinds of agriculture it should support. Surprisingly, despite their differences, these groups share a way of speaking about data and its value for the future. Bronson calls this the immaculate conception of data, arguing that this phenomenon is a dangerous framework for imagining big data and what it might do for society. Drawing our attention to agriculture as an important new site for big tech criticism, The Immaculate Conception of Data uniquely bridges science and technology studies, critical data studies, and food studies, bringing to light salient issues related to data justice and a sustainable food system."--

Language:

English

Physical Type/Description:

xiv, 206 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Additional Physical Form:

Issued also in electronic format.

Additional Identifiers

Catalog ID (MMSID):

9937854354702486

ISBN:

9780228011217
0228011213
9780228011224
0228011221

OCLC Number:

1277278059

Barcode:

050000106256