At the heart of this book are the stories of those who inhabit the digital poorhouse in Indiana, Los Angeles, and Allegheny County. Many of the people who agreed to talk about their experiences did so at enormous risk. They faced losing life-saving medical services, food, housing, and custody of their children. Reliving their experience was often traumatic, as well. I am awed by the courage of all those who agreed to share their stories. I hope I have captured their truths with the respect and accuracy they deserve.
Though many people gave me feedback and encouragement, a few deserve special mention. Nick Matulis read every word of the manuscript, sometimes multiple times, and gave invaluable editorial feedback. Fearless snark detector, he pushed me to pull the threads together and not lose track of the story’s beating heart. Alethia Jones read on the subway, in stolen weekend minutes, and over late nights. Her fast, fierce readings held me to an ever-higher standard. Her integrity reminded me that a book can be an invitation to conversation and a call to action. Patricia Strach’s feedback was both generous and penetrating. Our conversations made the book stronger and her rock-steady support helped me overcome doubts along the way. My words never sound better than they do coming out of Nadya Lawson’s mouth. Thanks for being my Amen Corner.
Adrian Nicole LeBlanc stepped into the breach at a fraught moment, and has relentlessly championed the work.
My editor at St. Martin’s, Elisabeth Dyssegaard, took a huge gamble on this book and its writer. I am grateful for her faith when I was starting, her flexibility when I was struggling, and her firmness when I needed to push the manuscript over the finish line. The rest of the team at St. Martin’s—Laura Apperson, Alan Bradshaw, Laury Frieber, Sarah Becks and Danielle Prielipp—poked, prodded, and polished until the book was the best it could be.
My agent, Sam Stoloff, agreed to do everything backward with impeccably good humor. He is an advocate and staunch ally, an observant reader and trusted confidant.
My fact-checker, Stephanie McFeeters, is a hero with a fine-toothed comb who caught errors more often than I would like to admit.
Nina Baldwin, Carole Eubanks, Julie Novkov, Melissa Thorne, and the Diver Library Writers’ Group of Schaghticoke, New York, also filled the margins of the manuscript with insight and my heart with courage. Jesse Stiles, Olivia Robinson, Lauren Allen, and Rich Pell made a home for me in Pittsburgh.
Throughout the writing of the manuscript, I cherished ongoing conversations with the Our Data Bodies team: Seeta Peña Gangadharan, Tamika Lewis, Tawana Petty, and Mariella Saba. Their commitment, humor, and insight continually raise the bar on who I want to be and what I want to accomplish.
This book could not have been written without the support of a Ford Academic Fellowship from New America, which funded a substantial proportion of my reporting in Indiana, Los Angeles, and Allegheny County. Thanks especially to Andres Martinez and Peter Bergen. In addition, the 2015 class of fellows and the staff at New America were important mentors and allies, especially Monica Potts, Andrea Elliott, Fuzz Hogan, Becky Schafer, Kristen Berg, Rachel Black, Aleta Sprague, Becky Shafer, Elizabeth Weingarten, Andrew Bolden, Christopher Leonard, Greta Byrum, Andy Gunn, Ryan Gerety, and Josh Breitbart. The TDM team at New America, especially Lisa Watson and Fanny McKeithen, came to my family’s rescue in a very dark moment, and I’ll always be grateful.
Automating Inequality also benefitted from two writing residencies that arrived at crucial moments. My thanks to Harriet Barlow, Ben Strader, Zohar Gitlis, and all the other staff and supporters of the Blue Mountain Center. Thanks, too, to fellow campers, especially Andrea Quijada, Mónica Hernández, Kathleen Sutcliffe, and Marin Watts, for supporting me when Jason was attacked and I was stranded in the woods.
The Carey Institute for Global Good provided a Logan Nonfiction Fellowship that provide respite and focus at a crucial moment. Thanks to Tim Weiner for his advocacy and for very generous critical readings of work-in-progress. Thanks to Carol Ash, Gareth Crawford, and Josh Friedman for building support and structure for this incredible resource, and to Tammy Cook, John Murray, and the rest of the staff that keep things running.
I am grateful to my employer, the University at Albany, SUNY. My students and colleagues in the Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies provided me a vibrant, challenging home for 12 years. My colleagues in the Department of Political Science provided me with flexibility and support so I could develop this work.
And finally, my deepest debt of gratitude is to my partner, Jason Martin, who showed extraordinary grace, honesty, and courage over four years of risky change, catastrophe, and renewal. He somehow managed to help hold me up, even when he was falling down himself. Jason, there is no one I’d rather walk through Hell with.