William Gibson wrote that the future is here, just not evenly distributed. The phrase is usually used to point out how the rich have more access to technology, but what happens when the poor are disproportionately subject to it? In Automating Inequality, author Virginia Eubanks argues that the poor are the testing ground for new technology that increases inequality. The book, out this week, starts with a history of American poorhouses, which dotted the landscape starting in the 1660s and were around into the 20th century. From there, Eubanks catalogues how the poor have been treated over the last hundred years, before coming to today's system of social services that increasingly relies on algorithms.

William Gibson wrote that the future is here, just not evenly distributed. The phrase is usually used to point out how the rich have more access to technology, but what happens when the poor are disproportionately subject to it? In Automating Inequality, author Virginia Eubanks argues that the poor are the testing ground for new technology that increases inequality. The book, out this week, starts with a history of American poorhouses, which dotted the landscape starting in the 1660s and were around into the 20th century. From there, Eubanks catalogues how the poor have been treated over the last hundred years, before coming to today's system of social services that increasingly relies on algorithms.