Harvard historian and ‘New Yorker’ writer Jill Lepore tells the story of the Simulmatics Corporation. Founded in 1959, it used a so-called “people machine,” a computer program it claimed could predict the impact of political messages or advertising pitches. At the time, Simulmatics drew condemnation from scholars and political leaders who saw it as a threat to democracy. But now, 60 years later, the company’s data collection practices and predictive models have become commonplace among political campaigns. Her book is ‘If Then.’
Fresh Air, NPR