{"product_id":"the-problem-with-personalization-joseph-turow-9780226837338","title":"The Problem with Personalization: How Advertisers Learned to Make and Break Us from Ancient Times to the AI Age","description":"\u003cb\u003eA respected voice on technology shows how seemingly simple ads help dismantle democracy and public discourse.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Whether you're intentionally shopping or casually browsing social media, something is following you: ads. Their creators seem to know your income bracket, your tastes in clothing, food, location, politics, age, medical conditions, and romantic partners. As predictive AI tells firms what your hot buttons are and generative AI produces messages tailored to those buttons, your online world becomes an increasingly comfortable--and isolated--place. The fervid competition around personalization in digital marketing, now ubiquitous, has given rise to an ecosystem of advertisers, media outlets, tech companies, and retailers who monetize your data, while threatening the health of our media, our discourse, and our sense of community. In this urgent book, award-winning author Joseph Turow shows how we got here, and how to change direction. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Problem with Personalization\u003c\/i\u003e shatters common beliefs about advertising history by showing that individualizing ads is not new. Today's high-velocity AI versions draw on past aspirations and assumptions about personalization while weaponizing it in unprecedented ways that drive social fragmentation and the disappearance of shared social reality. Informed by interviews with marketing insiders and covering the latest technology advances, Turow accessibly explains how artificial intelligence sifts our data to tag and target us wherever we go with personalized videos, pictorial billboards, audio messages, and more. A logical next step for advertiser support is tailored entertainment and news, a shift that further destroys the common ground necessary for a functioning democracy. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e A must-read for all who care about the future of public discourse, \u003ci\u003eThe Problem with Personalization\u003c\/i\u003e reveals how targeted advertising has altered how we're seen and what we see in return.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Joseph Turow\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0226837335\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780226837338\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Chicago Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 06\/11\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 288\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.00lbs","brand":"Joseph Turow","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":47965481599231,"sku":"9780226837338","price":27.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_1972eb7f-5fa8-4436-ab80-3d75a05fc456.jpg?v=1767280860","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-problem-with-personalization-joseph-turow-9780226837338","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}