What are behavioral futures markets?

Shoshana Zuboff's The Age of Surveillance Capitalism is a 2018 book that examines the threat of surveillance capitalism and its impact on society, politics, and technology.

Behavioral futures markets are a new kind of marketplace for behavioral predictions. Behavioral surplus is raw data that is scraped or extracted from human experience and fed into various manufacturing processes.

Over the past two decades, an entirely new economic model has emerged, seemingly right under our noses. Whereas the internet and digital technology once promised to liberate humanity through determination and shared connections, they have now been turned into behavioral manipulation and exploitation tools. For instance, our small business Data—like client lists and sexual behavior—is now commodified. 

Using any digital platform without paying (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) is not free. Platforms monetize and sell your interests, opinions, cultural values, personal identity, and (even) feelings about sex work. In this case—whoever can afford to will control public opinion. Algorithms create models about your body, history, culture, and identity. In turn, people receive media tailored to them. There are even markers for “gullibility.”

Anybody with enough resources can run advocacy groups for their best interest. For example, right-wing media will claim racial segregation is a good thing. Or that workers should not own their labor. That women shouldn't want or deserve to decide what clients they should have. These agendas are put in front of people on all platforms without consent (or even awareness) from the individual. How much of what we believe is manufactured? Massachusetts residents should decide Massachusetts laws, not overseas billionaires, gangsters, or space aliens, but by the people of Massachusetts. Globalization plays a big role here. 

The Predatory capitalists and private monopolies are hidden in plain sight, taking over women's and families’ economic resources. When a company, person, or state has complete control over something, it becomes difficult or impossible for individuals to compete, like elephants under ants. Private monopolies can be created when a company tries to force out competitors or prevent new ones from entering the market to dominate it. A private monopoly aims to maximize profits by eliminating competition and lowering output. When a company has complete control over a product or service, it can charge any price it wants, and consumers who can't or won't pay that price cannot get the product—taking from Women, children, and families, poor and working-class people.