{"product_id":"the-problem-with-personalization-how-advertisers-learned-to-make-and-break-us-from-ancient-times-to-the-ai-age-9780226837338","title":"The Problem with Personalization: How Advertisers Learned to Make and Break Us from Ancient Times to the AI Age","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA respected voice on technology shows how seemingly simple ads help dismantle democracy and public discourse.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhether you're intentionally shopping or casually browsing social media, something is following you: ads. Their creators seem to know your income bracket, politics, age, location, medical conditions, and tastes in clothing, food, and romantic partners. As advertising firms use predictive AI to discover your hot buttons and generative AI to push them, your online world becomes an increasingly bespoke--and isolated--place. The fervid competition around personalization in digital marketing has given rise to an ecosystem of advertisers, media outlets, tech companies, and retailers who monetize your data while threatening the health of our media, discourse, and sense of community. In this urgent book, award-winning author Joseph Turow shows how we got here, and how to change direction. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Problem with Personalization\u003c\/i\u003e shatters common beliefs about advertising history by showing that individualized ads are not new. Today's AI-enabled advertisers draw on past aspirations and assumptions about personalization while weaponizing data in unprecedented ways that drive social fragmentation and the disappearance of shared social reality. Informed by interviews with marketing insiders and covering the latest technology advances, Turow accessibly explains how artificial intelligence sifts through our data to tag and target us wherever we go with personalized videos, pictorial billboards, audio messages, and more. A logical next step for advertiser support is tailored entertainment and news, a shift that further destroys the common ground necessary for a functioning democracy. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA must-read for all who care about the future of public discourse, \u003ci\u003eThe Problem with Personalization\u003c\/i\u003e reveals how targeted advertising has altered how we're seen and what we see in return.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Joseph Turow\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Chicago Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 06\/11\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 320\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.25lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.21h x 6.11w x 1.11d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780226837338\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eJoseph Turow \u003c\/b\u003eis the Robert Lewis Shayon Professor of Media Systems \u0026amp; Industries Emeritus in the Annenberg School of Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of thirteen books and the editor of five, including \u003ci\u003eThe Voice Catchers: How Marketers Listen In to Exploit Your Feelings, Your Privacy, and Your Wallet\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003eThe Aisles Have Eyes: How Retailers Track Your Shopping, Strip Your Privacy, and Define Your Power\u003c\/i\u003e; and \u003ci\u003eThe Daily You: How the New Advertising Industry Is Defining Your Identity and Your Worth\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"booksdeli.com","offers":[{"title":"Joseph Turow \/ Hardcover \/ English","offer_id":48449353679005,"sku":"9780226837338","price":33.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0619\/5648\/9373\/files\/img_93caea22-92ac-42c4-be31-4df2cad0bcbc.jpg?v=1781632889","url":"https:\/\/booksdeli.com\/products\/the-problem-with-personalization-how-advertisers-learned-to-make-and-break-us-from-ancient-times-to-the-ai-age-9780226837338","provider":"booksdeli.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}