Others: Positive Identification technologies - passports, ID cards, ancestry reports - put us in boxes, determine where we can go and where we can’t, and change how we relate to those around us. From nationally-run systems, to social media platforms, DNA testing and counter-terrorism registers, we are all part of databases that seek to identify us, and impose a framework upon us for assessing others. Machine Readable Me is a tour of the many ways in which identification technologies are impacting our lives in ways we see and ways we don’t.
Genres: nonfiction
Lists: …
Laura Bates
2025 · 320 pages · 7 reviews
Others: Overwhelmingly positiveGoodreads Choice Award Nominee for Readers' Favorite Nonfiction (2025) Misogyny is being hardwired into our future. Can we stop it? We like to believe we’re moving closer to equality, riding the wave of technological progress into a brighter, fairer future. But beneath the glossy surface of innovation lies a chilling truth: new technologies are not just failing to solve age-old inequalities—they’re deepening them. In The New Age of Sexism, acclaimed author and activist Laura Bates exposes how misogyny is being coded into the very fabric of our future. From the biases embedded in artificial intelligence to the alarming rise of sex robots and the toxic dynamics of the metaverse, Bates takes readers on a shocking journey into a world where technology is weaponized against women. This isn’t a dystopian warning about what might happen. It’s a harrowing account of what’s happening now and the dangers we face if we don’t act. With clarity and urgency, Bates reveals how these advancements are dragging society backward, reinforcing harmful stereotypes, and jeopardizing decades of progress in the fight for gender equality. Eye-opening and empowering, The New Age of Sexism is a rallying cry for awareness and action in a world where the battle for equality has entered a dangerous new frontier.
What made the match, strongest first
Owen Davies
2017 · 310 pages · 1 review
Others: PositiveThis richly illustrated history provides a readable and fresh approach to the extensive and complex story of witchcraft and magic. Telling the story from the dawn of writing in the ancient world to the globally successful Harry Potter films, the authors explore a wide range of magical beliefs and practices, the rise of the witch trials, and the depiction of the Devil-worshipping witch. The book also focuses on the more recent history of witchcraft and magic, from the Enlightenment to the present, exploring the rise of modern magic, the anthropology of magic around the globe, and finally the cinematic portrayal of witches and magicians, from The Wizard of Oz to Charmed and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
What made the match, strongest first
Blair, John
2000 · 97 pages · 1 review
Others: PositiveCovering the emergence of the earliest English settlements to the Norman victory at Hastings in 1066, this is a brief introduction to the political, social, religious and cultural history of Anglo-Saxon England.
What made the match, strongest first
Kate Lister
2020 · 384 pages · 3 reviews
Others: Leaning positiveAn eye-opening exploration of the weird and wonderful things human beings have done in pursuit (and denial) of the mighty orgasm, based on the hit Twitter account @WhoresofYore. This is not a comprehensive study of every sexual quirk, kink and ritual across all cultures throughout time, as that would entail writing an encyclopaedia. Rather, this is a drop in the ocean, a paddle in the shallow end of sex history, but I hope you will get pleasantly wet nonetheless. The act of sex has not changed since people first worked out what went where, but the ways in which society dictates how sex is culturally understood and performed have varied significantly through the ages. Humans are the only creatures that stigmatise particular sexual practices, and sex remains a deeply divisive issue around the world. Attitudes will change and grow - hopefully for the better - but sex will never be free of stigma or shame unless we acknowledge where it has come from. Drawing upon extensive research from Dr Kate Lister's Whores of Yore website and written with her distinctive humour and wit, A Curious History of Sex covers topics ranging from twentieth- century testicle thefts to Victorian doctors massaging the pelvises of their female patients, from smutty bread innuendos dating back to AD 79, to the new and controversial sex doll brothels. It is peppered with surprising and informative historical slang and illustrated by eye-opening, toe- curling and hilarious images. In this fascinating book, Lister deftly debunks myths and stereotypes and gives unusual sexual practices an historical framework, as she provides valuable context for issues facing people today, including gender, sexual shame, beauty and language.
What made the match, strongest first
Madhumita Murgia
2024 · 320 pages · 2 reviews
Others: PositiveShortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction Named one of the best books of the year by Publishers Weekly. A riveting story of what it means to be human in a world changed by artificial intelligence, revealing the perils and inequities of our growing reliance on automated decision-making On the surface, a British poet, an UberEats courier in Pittsburgh, an Indian doctor, and a Chinese activist in exile have nothing in common. But they are in fact linked by a profound common experience—unexpected encounters with artificial intelligence. In Code Dependent, Murgia shows how automated systems are reshaping our lives all over the world, from technology that marks children as future criminals, to an app that is helping to give diagnoses to a remote tribal community. AI has already infiltrated our day-to-day, through language-generating chatbots like ChatGPT and social media. But it’s also affecting us in more insidious ways. It touches everything from our interpersonal relationships, to our kids’ education, work, finances, public services, and even our human rights. By highlighting the voices of ordinary people in places far removed from the cozy enclave of Silicon Valley, Code Dependent explores the impact of a set of powerful, flawed, and often-exploitative technologies on individuals, communities, and our wider society. Murgia exposes how AI can strip away our collective and individual sense of agency, and shatter our illusion of free will. The ways in which algorithms and their effects are governed over the coming years will profoundly impact us all. Yet we can’t agree on a common path forward. We cannot decide what preferences and morals we want to encode in these entities—or what controls we may want to impose on them. And thus, we are collectively relinquishing our moral authority to machines. In Code Dependent, Murgia not only sheds light on this chilling phenomenon, but also charts a path of resistance. AI is already changing what it means to be human, in ways large and small, and Murgia reveals what could happen if we fail to reclaim our humanity.
What made the match, strongest first
Angela Y. Davis
2003 · 128 pages · 2 reviews
Others: PositiveAmid rising public concern about the proliferation and privatization of prisons, and their promise of enormous profits, world-renowned author and activist Angela Y. Davis argues for the abolition of the prison system as the dominant way of responding to America's social ills. publisher (allegedly)
What made the match, strongest first
Loved itIt was really interesting. I don't think I can summarize it here because there was a lot covered in it, but I think it was really interesting and pretty accessible for a topic that I'm not an expert in. So I would highly recommend checking it out.
