Introduction Lisa Parks, Julia Velkova, and Sander De Ridder Part I: Sensing, Automating, Mediating
1 Atmospheric Mediation: From Smart Dust to Customizable Governance Mark Andrejevic, and Zala Volcic
2 The Other Side of the Smart Phone: MEMS Sensors and the Tiny Matter of Mediation Lisa Parks
3 EugenicTech: Three Perspectives On the (B)anality of AI Jonathan Cohn
4 Coding and Encoding Streamed Media: The Cultural Infrastructure of the Netflix Recommender System Fatima Gaw
5 Engaging Opacity: Spotify and the Poesis of Algorithmic Backends Tim Markham
Part II: Datafying, Serving, Distributing
6 The Social Mapping of Hyperscale Data Center Regions: Placemaking, Infrastructuring, Curating Vicki Mayer and Julia Velkova
7 Cross-sectoral Relations in VoD Markets: Frontend, Backend, and Deepend in India Vibodh Parthasarathi, Philippe Bouquillion, and Christine Ithurbide
8 Serving Machines and Heterotopias: Data Entry Work in Prisons and Refugee Camps in the US and Uganda Anne Kaun, Alexis Logsdon, Philipp Seuferling and Fredrik Stiernstedt
9 Mythical Media Backends: Human-Machine Communication's Cruel Promises Sander De Ridder
10 The Black Living Data Booklet Faithe Day
Part III: Subjecting, Humanizing, Repairing
11 Sonorous Surfaces, Biased Backends: The Gendered Voices of AI Assistants as Existential Media Amanda Lagerkvist, Jacek Smolicki, and Matilda Tudor
12 On Meaning and Exploitation: Everyday AI and Productivity Tracking in Denmark Stine Lomborg
13 The Backend Work of Data Subjects: Ordinary Challenges of Living with Data in India and the US Ranjit Singh
14 Repairing Algorithms, Rebuilding Data Paths: Digital Infrastructures, Public Service Media, and Material Solidarity in Europe Kaarina Nikunen
Afterword Rahul Mukherjee
Contributor Bios
Index
