Book Review: Code Dependent
I consider the book Code Dependent: Living in the Shadow of AI by Madhumita Murgia to be essential reading for all students of technology and data. Murgia’s work allows us to view the rise of data and AI-enabled technologies from the perspective of those who have the most to lose, masterfully connecting the dots between historical patterns of exploitation and the current, often-invisible impact of digital colonialism.
We are all self-centered creatures, after all, and it’s only natural to interpret the rise of big data and AI from the lens of “how does this impact my life?” If you’re an average high school student, you’re probably spending a lot of time thinking about how you and your peers use social media (and how, in turn, those companies use your data), how to use or not use GenAI for your school work, and how all of this impacts what you’ll study in college and what kind of jobs you should go for.
All very important and substantial issues, for sure.
In the business world, it’s the same. My LinkedIn feed is flooded with “100 tips on prompt engineering” and “The future of the gig economy with the rise of GenAI” and think pieces from every industry imaginable. It’s all very noisy.
Yet, we tend to pay less attention to how this behemoth of a technological revolution has the most outsized and harmful effect on the most impoverished and abused populations. Just as the industrial revolution was built on the horrifying conditions of 18th century Victorian factories, and how the sweatshops of South Asia enabled our collective addiction to fast fashion, and how the American industrial revolution stood on the backs of enslaved labor, the rise of AI has been made possible by abusive practices of digital colonialism.
Murgia, an Indian-born, British-educated journalist who has covered the rise of big tech, data, and AI for the last decade plus for Wired and other leading tech publications, currently serves as the AI editor of the Financial Times. She published Code Dependent earlier this year, but I hadn’t really heard much about this in any of the many breathless LinkedIn posts and articles about the life-changing impact of AI. I learned of it, of all places, from a friend who works as an English Lit professor in a local university (Thank you, Laurel!).
Code Dependent is composed of 10 chapters exploring how AI has shaped the lives of the powerless across the dimensions of our livelihood, body, identity, health, freedom, safety net, boss, rights, future, and society. Here are some of the stories from the book I found most compelling:
Your Livelihood
Murgia shares the story of Ian Koli, a data worker in Nairobi whose days are spent tagging images for self-driving car companies. Despite doing work that is vital for training the data models of some of the most lucrative businesses of the world, the true benefits (and profits) of their work do not travel back to them. Worse, they are often expected to be grateful for the opportunity, not to ask questions or challenge current conditions, and those who do quickly learn how dispensable they are.
Your Health
The author travels to a remote region in India to profile Dr. Ashita, who leverages Qure.ai, a diagnostic tool powered by artificial intelligence, to screen and diagnose tuberculosis among a tribal community. This chapter spotlights both the promise and limitations of using AI to address urgent medical needs, while raising questions about data usage, accuracy, and control. Once again, we run into the problem of AI companies utilizing the data from marginalized populations to drive their profit centers without due permission or compensation.
Your Boss
Focusing on the gig economy, Murgia shines a light on Alexandru Iftimie, an UberEats courier in Pittsburgh abruptly “fired” by an impersonal algorithm, with no way to push back or contest the decision. The chapter investigates the human cost when opaque AI systems manage and judge workers, and highlights efforts at collective action to push for more transparency and rights when your boss is an impenetrable Wizard of Oz algorithm, making life changing decisions about your career and livelihood.
Your Rights
Murgia discusses the disturbing practice of predictive policing and automated decision-making used by governments worldwide. She describes how AI tools are deployed to mark children as potential future criminals and to deny social services. These decisions are often made without transparency or meaningful recourse, resulting in lasting harm to marginalized communities and individuals.
Why Code Dependent Matters, Especially for High School Students
AI is shaping the world in ways most young people experience every day, from the content they see online to how they’re evaluated in school and eventually selected for jobs. Yet, we are often blind to the hidden side of this transformation: the ways it reinforces structural inequities, strips away autonomy, and quietly reshapes society, often starting with its most vulnerable.
If you’re a high school student or a teacher of computer science; if you’re an avid user of AI-enabled technologies; or aspire to a career in tech and data (and I’m not sure if there will be many careers where tech and data are not a critical aspect of one), then consider this a must-read. With or without Code Dependent, we all have a responsibility to:
Understand how our data and behaviors feed larger, often invisible, AI systems.
Recognize the ethical and real-world consequences of the technology we use, learn, and may even help build.
Reflect on the responsibility we have, now and in the future, to advocate for systems that respect human rights and dignity, not only for the marginalized, but for our future selves.