If Then

"If Then: How the Simulmatics Corporation Invented the Future" is a book written by Jill Lepore, that explores the history of the Simulmatics Corporation, a pioneering data analytics company of the 1960s, and its impact on the development of technology and society. The Simulmatics Corporation was one of the first companies to use computers to analyze and predict human behavior, using data to develop new forms of advertising, and political campaigns. The book is an in-depth look at the history of the company, its work, and the people behind it, as well as the impact of their innovations on the field of data science, communication and political campaigns. The book is divided into two parts, the first part provides a historical account of the development and the work of the Simulmatics Corporation. The author provides a detailed account of the company's history, its innovations, and the people behind it. She also examines the ways in which the company's work has impacted the field of data science and technology, and the ways in which their innovations have shaped the world we live in today. The second part of the book explores the ethical and societal implications of the company's work. The author examines the ways in which the use of data science and technology has impacted society, and raises important ethical questions about the use of data and technology in society. She also explores the ways in which data science and technology have been used to manipulate and control individuals and groups, and the potential consequences of these actions. The book is written in a clear and engaging style, and is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the history of data science, technology, and their impact on society. It provides a valuable perspective on the development of technology and its impact on society, as well as an examination of the ethical and societal implications of data science and technology. The author also provides an in-depth look at the people behind the Simulmatics Corporation and their work, making it a fascinating and informative read. The book also raises important questions about the role of data and technology in our lives today and the potential consequences of these innovations on our future.

1. The book explores the history of the Simulmatics Corporation, a pioneering data analytics company of the 1960s, and its impact on the development of technology and society.
2. It provides an in-depth look at the company's history, its innovations, and the people behind it.
3. It examines the ways in which the company's work has impacted the field of data science and technology, and the ways in which their innovations have shaped the world we live in today.
4. It explores the ethical and societal implications of the company's work, and raises important ethical questions about the use of data and technology in society.
5. It examines the ways in which data science and technology have been used to manipulate and control individuals and groups, and the potential consequences of these actions.
6. It covers the broader historical context of the company's work, including the Cold War and the civil rights movement, and how they affected the company and its mission.
7. It raises important questions about the role of data and technology in our lives today and the potential consequences of these innovations on our future.
8. It is written in a clear and engaging style, and is accessible to a wide audience.
9. It provides a valuable perspective on the development of technology and its impact on society.
10. It serves as a call to action for ethical considerations and responsible use of data and technology in society.

"If Then: How the Simulmatics Corporation Invented the Future" is a book written by Jill Lepore that explores the history and impact of the Simulmatics Corporation, a pioneering data analytics company of the 1960s. The book provides an in-depth look at the history of the company, its work, and the people behind it, as well as the impact of their innovations on the field of data science, communication and political campaigns. The book is divided into two parts. The first part provides a historical account of the development and the work of the Simulmatics Corporation. The author provides a detailed account of the company's history, its innovations, and the people behind it, including the company's founders and key figures. She examines the ways in which the company's work has impacted the field of data science and technology, and the ways in which their innovations have shaped the world we live in today. The second part of the book explores the ethical and societal implications of the company's work. The author examines the ways in which the use of data science and technology has impacted society, and raises important ethical questions about the use of data and technology in society. She also explores the ways in which data science and technology have been used to manipulate and control individuals and groups, and the potential consequences of these actions. The book also covers the broader historical context of the company's work, including the Cold War and the civil rights movement, and how they affected the company and its mission. Throughout the book, the author provides a detailed and insightful analysis of the Simulmatics Corporation and its impact on the world. She also raises important questions about the role of data and technology in our lives today and the potential consequences of these innovations on our future. The book is written in a clear and engaging style, and is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the history of data science, technology, and their impact on society.

Longlisted • National Book Award (Nonfiction) Best Books of 2020 • Financial Times Best Books of Fall 2020: O, The Oprah Magazine, The Observer, Boston.com Most Anticipated Books of Fall 2020: TIME A revelatory account of the Cold War origins of the data-mad, algorithmic twenty-first century, from the author of the acclaimed international bestseller These Truths. The Simulmatics Corporation, launched during the Cold War, mined data, targeted voters, manipulated consumers, destabilized politics, and disordered knowledge—decades before Facebook, Google, and Cambridge Analytica. Jill Lepore, best-selling author of These Truths, came across the company’s papers in MIT’s archives and set out to tell this forgotten history, the long-lost backstory to the methods, and the arrogance, of Silicon Valley. Founded in 1959 by some of the nation’s leading social scientists—the best and the brightest, fatally brilliant, Icaruses with wings of feathers and wax, flying to the sun”—Simulmatics proposed to predict and manipulate the future by way of the computer simulation of human behavior. In summers, with their wives and children in tow, the company’s scientists met on the beach in Long Island under a geodesic, honeycombed dome, where they built a People Machine” that aimed to model everything from buying a dishwasher to counterinsurgency to casting a vote. Deploying their People Machine” from New York, Washington, Cambridge, and even Saigon, Simulmatics’ clients included the John F. Kennedy presidential campaign, the New York Times, the Department of Defense, and dozens of major manufacturers: Simulmatics had a hand in everything from political races to the Vietnam War to the Johnson administration’s ill-fated attempt to predict race riots. The company’s collapse was almost as rapid as its ascent, a collapse that involved failed marriages, a suspicious death, and bankruptcy. Exposed for false claims, and even accused of war crimes, it closed its doors in 1970 and all but vanished. Until Lepore came across the records of its remains. The scientists of Simulmatics believed they had invented the A-bomb of the social sciences.” They did not predict that it would take decades to detonate, like a long-buried grenade. But, in the early years of the twenty-first century, that bomb did detonate, creating a world in which corporations collect data and model behavior and target messages about the most ordinary of decisions, leaving people all over the world, long before the global pandemic, crushed by feelings of helplessness. This history has a past; If Then is its cautionary tale.