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We, the Data: Human Rights in the Digital Age
A rallying call for extending human rights beyond our physical selves—and why we need to reboot rights in our data-intensive world.
Our data-intensive world is here to stay, but does that come at the cost of our humanity in terms of autonomy, community, dignity, and equality? In We, the Data , Wendy H. Wong argues that we cannot allow that to happen. Exploring the pervasiveness of data collection and tracking, Wong reminds us that we are all stakeholders in this digital world, who are currently being left out of the most pressing conversations around technology, ethics, and policy. This book clarifies the nature of datafication and calls for an extension of human rights to recognize how data complicate what it means to safeguard and encourage human potential.
As we go about our lives, we are co-creating data through what we do. We must embrace that these data are a part of who we are, Wong explains, even as current policies do not yet reflect the extent to which human experiences have changed. This means we are more than mere “subjects” or “sources” of data “by-products” that can be harvested and used by technology companies and governments. By exploring data rights, facial recognition technology, our posthumous rights, and our need for a right to data literacy, Wong has crafted a compelling case for engaging as stakeholders to hold data collectors accountable. Just as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights laid the global groundwork for human rights, We, the Data gives us a foundation upon which we claim human rights in the age of data.
Our data-intensive world is here to stay, but does that come at the cost of our humanity in terms of autonomy, community, dignity, and equality? In We, the Data , Wendy H. Wong argues that we cannot allow that to happen. Exploring the pervasiveness of data collection and tracking, Wong reminds us that we are all stakeholders in this digital world, who are currently being left out of the most pressing conversations around technology, ethics, and policy. This book clarifies the nature of datafication and calls for an extension of human rights to recognize how data complicate what it means to safeguard and encourage human potential.
As we go about our lives, we are co-creating data through what we do. We must embrace that these data are a part of who we are, Wong explains, even as current policies do not yet reflect the extent to which human experiences have changed. This means we are more than mere “subjects” or “sources” of data “by-products” that can be harvested and used by technology companies and governments. By exploring data rights, facial recognition technology, our posthumous rights, and our need for a right to data literacy, Wong has crafted a compelling case for engaging as stakeholders to hold data collectors accountable. Just as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights laid the global groundwork for human rights, We, the Data gives us a foundation upon which we claim human rights in the age of data.
280 pages, Paperback
First published October 10, 2023
20 people are currently reading
326 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 8, 2025
Great book! And a great opportunity to let my GoodReads family know that I’m moving platforms from here over to StoryGraph. You should too! You can export all of your GoodReads stuff right into StoryGraph and you don’t have to continue fueling the data machine that IS Amazon.
GoodReads was purchased from Amazon a bit back and uses the data it collects from you to guide your entire online experience. So, in an effort to provide as little support possible to the Big Brothers, I’m out.
Love, peace and I hope you’ll take your data rights seriously. 🤍
GoodReads was purchased from Amazon a bit back and uses the data it collects from you to guide your entire online experience. So, in an effort to provide as little support possible to the Big Brothers, I’m out.
Love, peace and I hope you’ll take your data rights seriously. 🤍
December 19, 2023
Traditionally, human rights are defined in terms of our physical selves, including our thoughts and actions. In this digital age, we are all creators of data through our interactions in cyberspace, thus facilitating surveillance. Recording, analyzing, and permanently storing data about us, what Wong, a political-science professor at UBC, calls "datafication" of the world, necessitates that our data be included in any consideration and definition of human rights.
We should speak out when we feel we're being left out of the most-important conversations about technology, ethics, and policy. Prevalence of data does change the game in the sense of complicating the safeguarding of our lives and developing the human potential. Our rights and values have changed over time through various social developments and associated adjustments. There is no reason why we cannot adapt once more to make sure that datafication, and the age of surveillance capitalism it engenders (as discussed in Shoshana Zuboff's wonderful book), does not harm our humanity, that is, compromise our autonomy, community, dignity, and equality.
The book's eight chapters, listed below, illustrate the transformation of the human experience in the era of pervasive data and emphasize where autonomy, community, dignity, and equality can shape discourses and policies on data governance. Important topics, such as the right to be forgotten, facial recognition technology, the growing power of Big Tech & its near-total lack of accountability, are all included.
- Data Are Everywhere
- Why Human Rights and Data Go Together
- Data Rights
- Is Your Face Yours?
- Do We Need Human Rights When We're Dead?
- Big Tech and Us
- Data Literacy, or Why We Need Libraries, Not Twitter
- We, the Data
The book ends with a call to action through the recognition of a human right to data literacy. By itself, data literacy isn't enough to safeguard human rights, but it is a necessary and useful prerequisite.
We should speak out when we feel we're being left out of the most-important conversations about technology, ethics, and policy. Prevalence of data does change the game in the sense of complicating the safeguarding of our lives and developing the human potential. Our rights and values have changed over time through various social developments and associated adjustments. There is no reason why we cannot adapt once more to make sure that datafication, and the age of surveillance capitalism it engenders (as discussed in Shoshana Zuboff's wonderful book), does not harm our humanity, that is, compromise our autonomy, community, dignity, and equality.
The book's eight chapters, listed below, illustrate the transformation of the human experience in the era of pervasive data and emphasize where autonomy, community, dignity, and equality can shape discourses and policies on data governance. Important topics, such as the right to be forgotten, facial recognition technology, the growing power of Big Tech & its near-total lack of accountability, are all included.
- Data Are Everywhere
- Why Human Rights and Data Go Together
- Data Rights
- Is Your Face Yours?
- Do We Need Human Rights When We're Dead?
- Big Tech and Us
- Data Literacy, or Why We Need Libraries, Not Twitter
- We, the Data
The book ends with a call to action through the recognition of a human right to data literacy. By itself, data literacy isn't enough to safeguard human rights, but it is a necessary and useful prerequisite.
December 24, 2025
Digital e dreptul tău citEști Business „We, The Data- Human Rights in the Digital Age”, Wendy H.Wong, The Mit Press, 2023
„Dimensiunea umană a datelor este subminată de interese când e vorba de înregistrarea și codificarea diferitelor aspecte legate de cine suntem”. p.25 Wendy H.Wong, „We, The Data- Human Rights in the Digital Age”, The Mit Press, 2023
Te-ai întrebat cum se schimbă drepturile tale atunci când e vorba despre datele personale odată cu dezvoltarea tehnologiilor? Și dacă îți sună deocamdată destul de abstract lucrul acesta, răspunsurile ți le schițează Wendy H Wong în volumul „We, The Data – Human Rights in the Digital Age”. Asta pentru că datele personale sunt chiar o extensie a identității tale și nu ai de ce să le tratezi altfel. De altfel, chiar datele pe care le generezi în mediul digital tind să devină inseparabile de cine ești și asta înseamnă că ar trebui să ai drepturi fundamentale legate de felul în care sunt colectate, utilizate și distribuite. Wong te încurajează să acorzi o atenție mai mare asupra impactului pe care datele îl au asupra vieții tale. Asta include susținerea politicilor care protejează drepturile digitale și promovarea unei culturi a confidențialității și securității datelor.
„Datele sunt persistente, dar sunt și umane” p.181 Wendy H.Wong, „We, The Data- Human Rights in the Digital Age”, The Mit Press, 2023
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hr5zn...
„Dimensiunea umană a datelor este subminată de interese când e vorba de înregistrarea și codificarea diferitelor aspecte legate de cine suntem”. p.25 Wendy H.Wong, „We, The Data- Human Rights in the Digital Age”, The Mit Press, 2023
Te-ai întrebat cum se schimbă drepturile tale atunci când e vorba despre datele personale odată cu dezvoltarea tehnologiilor? Și dacă îți sună deocamdată destul de abstract lucrul acesta, răspunsurile ți le schițează Wendy H Wong în volumul „We, The Data – Human Rights in the Digital Age”. Asta pentru că datele personale sunt chiar o extensie a identității tale și nu ai de ce să le tratezi altfel. De altfel, chiar datele pe care le generezi în mediul digital tind să devină inseparabile de cine ești și asta înseamnă că ar trebui să ai drepturi fundamentale legate de felul în care sunt colectate, utilizate și distribuite. Wong te încurajează să acorzi o atenție mai mare asupra impactului pe care datele îl au asupra vieții tale. Asta include susținerea politicilor care protejează drepturile digitale și promovarea unei culturi a confidențialității și securității datelor.
„Datele sunt persistente, dar sunt și umane” p.181 Wendy H.Wong, „We, The Data- Human Rights in the Digital Age”, The Mit Press, 2023
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hr5zn...
December 11, 2025
very good book for an introduction to the failures of modern organizations and infrastructures to properly account for the inundation of data we're experiencing! And what the heck is Neuraldata?
Very good arguments made by the author in reprimanding social media companies' "legislated" activities surrounding censorship, cancel culture and their over-zealous urges to police the internet.
By shedding light first with examples of ridiculous status quos in the new age of surveillance where opting out is easier said than done, the author does a good job at helping the reader see the problems being faced by municipalities, corporations and citizens alike.
drones on a bit in what could have been a more condensed version but a solid read overall so 4 stars out of 5. Thank you for creating these discussions for us.
Very good arguments made by the author in reprimanding social media companies' "legislated" activities surrounding censorship, cancel culture and their over-zealous urges to police the internet.
By shedding light first with examples of ridiculous status quos in the new age of surveillance where opting out is easier said than done, the author does a good job at helping the reader see the problems being faced by municipalities, corporations and citizens alike.
drones on a bit in what could have been a more condensed version but a solid read overall so 4 stars out of 5. Thank you for creating these discussions for us.
June 11, 2024
Read the first couple of chapters. Just couldn't appreciate the style
December 7, 2023
We need regulations to control the use of our private data and how AI will manipulate our world. This is a good start but much more work has to be done,a greed upon and implemented to protect us.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews