Title | : | The Hank Show: How a House-Painting, Drug-Running DEA Informant Built the Machine That Rules Our Lives |
Author | : | |
Rating | : | |
ISBN | : | 1250209277 |
ISBN-10 | : | 9781250209276 |
Language | : | English |
Format Type | : | Hardcover |
Number of Pages | : | 304 |
Publication | : | Published October 3, 2023 |
The world we live in today, where everything is tracked by corporations and governments, originates with one manic, elusive, utterly unique man―as prone to bullying as he was to fits of surpassing generosity and surprising genius. His name was Hank Asher, and his life was a strange and spectacular show that changed the course of the future.
In The Hank Show, critically acclaimed author and journalist McKenzie Funk relates Asher's stranger-than-fiction story―he careened from drug-running pilot to alleged CIA asset, only to be reborn as the pioneering computer programmer known as the father of data fusion. He was the multimillionaire whose creations now power a new reality where your every move is tracked by police departments, intelligence agencies, political parties, and financial firms alike. But his success was not without setbacks. He truly lived nine lives, on top of the world one minute, only to be forced out of the companies he founded and blamed for data breaches resulting in major lawsuits and market chaos.
In the vein of the blockbuster movie Catch Me if You Can, this spellbinding work of narrative nonfiction propels you forward on a forty year journey of intrigue and innovation, from Colombia to the White House and from Silicon Valley to the 2016 Trump campaign, focusing a lens on the dark side of American business and its impact on the everyday fabric of our modern lives.
The Hank Show: How a House-Painting, Drug-Running DEA Informant Built the Machine That Rules Our Lives Reviews
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While this book is in fact a work of nonfiction, it is terrifying enough to be considered a thriller. This is the little known story of Hank Asher, the pioneer of data fusion. His life was insane, but even more crazy are the ways in which his technology, originally utilized in part to help find missing children and wanted fugitives, has run completely amok within the past decade. If you are someone who cares about your digital privacy, this is a must read.
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Even though the title of this book highlights Hank Asher, this history is about much more than the brilliant, moody and passionate person who found success in tech. This book is about our privacy and all we have unknowingly given up in today's tech driven world. Absolutely fascinating! This will send you down the rabbit hole (but don't worry, someone out there will know where you are!) Thanks to Libro FM for the advanced listener copy of this book.
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Full review on my blog!
Thank you to the author McKenzie Funk, publishers St. Martins Press and SMPI, and as always NetGalley, for an advance digital copy of THE HANK SHOW.
I never thought I'd find myself saying this about a biography, but this story is gripping. Hank Asher is essentially the godfather of data consolidation and integration. His research and computer coding efforts are ultimately responsible for contemporary credit reporting, law enforcement databases, terrorism watch lists, marketing email and phone lists, and so much more. If you think this sounds a bit like a movie, well so did Asher; he named one of his most invasive projects "The Matrix."
...
It may be nonfiction, but it reads like a thriller, and it blew my mind!
Rating: 📈📈📈📈📈 / 5 growth trends
Recommend? Definitely!
Finished: July 7 2023
Format: Advance Digital Copy, NetGalley
Read this if you like:
💰 Stories about big money finance
🖱 Coding history
💸 Corruption
🗣 Scandal -
This is another book where nonfiction reads like fiction and is unputdownable. However in this case it is actually kind of terrifying. The Hank Show is about Hank Asher, his life, and how he had such a huge impact on data and how it is used by the government today. The audio for this is excellent and I recommend not only this book but listening to it via audio if you can.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the free copy to review. -
I wonder what impact my rating this book 5 🌟s has on my LexID...
McKenzie Funk brilliantly weaves a story linking a number of different aspects of our digital world and the connected history of the past half century in this book.
Funk shares the life of Hank Asher, a character whose life really seems vastly more interesting than fiction. Then, the author ties in corresponding current events. You'll easily recognize a number of incidents, but the details behind the headlines explained so much!
I thought I had a reasonable understanding of metadata and how digital information is collected, stored, and sold. This book opened my eyes to how much information has been collected and connected about each individual AND the degree to which this information is used. Data fusion holds great potential but is concerning, to say the least. Funk shares a number of nightmare stories of people negatively impacted by the shortcomings and misuse of data and computers. Funk makes this topic and the ethical questions surrounding it accessible for all readers.
This book is absolutely worth the read. -
There have been so many books published in recent years about how many countries have become surveillance states, from China's algorithm-based social credit scores that marginalize ethnic groups like the Uyghurs (
We Have Been Harmonized: Life in China's Surveillance State), to how police, marketers, and third party data companies contracted by political campaigns in the US and other Western countries use data/inferred data to marginalize/arrest/deport certain groups, improve their sales results, and skew elections (
The Big Nine: How the Tech Titans and Their Thinking Machines Could Warp Humanity,
Mindf*ck: Cambridge Analytica and the Plot to Break America,
An Ugly Truth: Inside Facebook's Battle for Domination).
This book is a fascinating prequel to the age of big data that started circa 2015, and posits that a man named Hank Asher (1951-2013), who most people have never heard of, put the current age into motion through his endeavors dating back to the early 1990s in Florida. Asher recognized that a goldmine of data could be mined from Florida Department of Motor Vehicle records, which could have lucrative utility in the insurance industry, law enforcement, and other industries. Over the next 20 years, Asher would start a number of companies based on his concept of data fusion, and rise to prominence by his databases' success in tracking down terrorists, criminals, and child predators. In his personal life, Asher experienced much volatility and upheaval, much of it self-induced, leading to a premature death at the age of 61 in 2013, at the dawn of the big data age he was instrumental in launching. -
A great piece of narrative non-fiction that reads like a thriller.
If you are interested in Big Tech and privacy issues, you are probably familiar with scandals such as Cambridge Analytica or Snowden's revelations about the NSA. But like me, you probably had no idea that it all started decades earlier, and that many of the most nefarious practices in the US today can be traced back to one man, a larger-than-life, deranged genius who "began to encode a certain paranoia - his own - into American life".
McKenzie Funk is a harsh critic of the abuses of data brokers and their (mostly governmental) clients, and he makes many convincing and powerful points. We already live in a dystopian, Orwellian future. It's time to understand it and do something about it.
Thanks to the publisher, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book. -
I have just finished reading a very interesting and detailed book about how a man made a fortune by selling a computer that could change people’s rights to privacy. He basically profited from the invention of this technology and was able to sell it to the top level agencies in government.
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I read the first few pages of this book and decided to not continue reading it. The plot doesn't fascinate me and I felt like it was unnecessary to have an author's interlude before going into the first chapter.
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Woo Hoo! I won a copy!
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read more like a textbook than a novel, interesting history though
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This wasn't quite as dry as I expected it would be - I even found myself listening to it at the gym! Definitely a relevant read in this day and age of big data.
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Hank Asher is the most important tech genius you’ve never heard of. That, at least, is what McKenzie Funk would have us believe as he starts his new book The Hank Show. And by the time you finish this captivating book you’ll understand why.
Funk’s nonfiction account reads like a novel. We follow Hank Asher from his early days as a drug runner who then reformed himself into the driven owner of the most successful condo painting company in Florida, only to top that by veering into a new career as a data broker.
Hank was in the right place at the right time. It was the late 80s, and personal computers were firmly established and growing more powerful with every passing year. Asher became a self-taught programmer, like so many others at that time. He became proficient in R:Base, one of the earliest relational databases for PCs.
He was in Florida, not Silicon Valley - where his unconventional ideas about computing would probably have seemed crazy and likely would have been discouraged. Out of the mainstream in Florida he was able to develop his genius for pushing both software and hardware forward unhindered. He pioneered some of the earliest and fastest parallel processing machines for databases.
Parallel processing is when you break computing tasks into multiple streams and feed those streams to multiple central processing units (in the case of Asher’s first attempt to multiple PCs networked together). If done right, this can enormously speed up the time it takes to go from question to result. Asher had the knack for doing it right.
When applied to large databases of information, parallel processing can lead to impressive results. So, in 1992 Asher and a partner founded Database Technologies in Pompano Beach, Florida. It was there that Asher first heard about the data broker business. Data brokers take public data and organize it on computers in a way that it can be easily searched. DBT focused early on Florida’s Department of Motor Vehicles records. The resulting product (the algorithms in the software, the data, and the parallel processing machine it ran on) was called AutoTrack and it was an instant hit with law enforcement.
By 1994 DBT had 2 TB of data, a huge amount for the time. They sourced data from multiple public and private entities, including lists of federal liens and bankruptcies, telephone directories, change of address info from the US Postal Service, corporate ownership records and more. In 1997 DBT struck “the motherlode” by obtaining name, address, previous addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, social security numbers and other “header” information from the big three credit reporting agencies - Equifax, Experian and Transunion.
AutoTrack now was one of the largest “people” databases in the US, indeed in the world. And every law enforcement agency, every lender, every insurer suddenly wanted access to their data. Not only their data but their computing power, which thanks to Asher’s genius in parallel processing and his creation of innovative algorithms, was far ahead of DBT’s rivals.
One of the key themes of the book is the paranoia that Asher brought to his work. The former drug runner turned informant was never looked at favorably by the money men who could help turn his ideas into solid businesses. He abused alcohol and drugs, likely self-medicating for his troubled mental state and mercurial personality. As a result, Asher was forced out of DBT after it went public “for the good of the company”.
Asher went on to found two more companies, continuing to perfect his ideas and his products in the people data space. In the time between Asher’s leaving DBT in 1999 and his death in 2012, his paranoia, and his tech products, made their way into the national data infrastructure. The stories that follow his time at DBT find him and his “machine” at the heart of the nation’s business - in the controversial Florida 2000 election results, in the hunt for the identities of the 9/11 terrorists and those who might come after them, and in the welfare reforms of the Clinton era. All of these would rely in one way or another on the products that Hank Asher built. And his legacy is still with us, still tracking us all today.
Even if you’ve never heard of him. -
Step into the twisted world of The Hank Show, where reality blurs with illusion and secrets lurk in the darkest corners. McKenzie Funk's tale of mystery and intrigue takes readers on a captivating journey into the enigmatic life of Hank, a man with a talent for illusion that borders on the supernatural. With every turn of the page, the boundaries between truth and deception become increasingly blurred, leaving readers spellbound and craving more.
Set in a mysterious, dimly lit cabaret that seems frozen in time, The Hank Show unveils a surreal universe where nothing is what it seems. From the moment the curtains rise, Funk's skillful prose engulfs readers in a whirlwind of wonder and suspense, weaving a web of secrets and surprises that keeps them guessing until the very end.
Hank is a true marvel—a magician extraordinaire whose performances defy logic and challenge reality. But as the show progresses, it becomes evident that there is more to Hank than meets the eye. With each act, the line between illusion and truth becomes increasingly tenuous, leaving readers to question the very nature of reality itself. Is Hank a mere performer, or does he possess a power that goes beyond the stage?
Funk's writing is chock full of suspense, enthralling readers with vivid descriptions of the haunting cabaret and its eccentric characters. Funk's ability to create an atmospheric setting that drips with intrigue is remarkable. The dimly lit stage, the hushed whispers of the audience, and the palpable tension in the air all contribute to the sense of impending revelation that permeates every page.
As the story unfolds, layers of mystery are peeled away, revealing a complex tapestry of deception, hidden motives, and buried secrets. The supporting cast of characters, from Hank's loyal assistant to the elusive patrons who frequent the show, each play their part in a carefully crafted dance of shadows. With every interaction and revelation, readers are drawn deeper into the intricate web spun by Funk, desperate to uncover the truth behind the enigma that is The Hank Show.
Funk has the ability to mesmerize and captivate readers. The Hank Show is a tale that transcends genres, blending elements of mystery, suspense, and the supernatural. With each passing chapter, the stakes grow higher, the twists more unexpected, and the allure of the unknown more irresistible.
Funk has crafted a mystery that will leave readers breathless, questioning their own perceptions, and yearning for the magic that lies just beyond the veil. The Hank Show is a dance with shadows—a literary tour de force that will haunt your thoughts long after you turn the final page. -
WOW! This is the story of the most influential Florida man you've never heard of. Hank Asher created both Autotrack and Accurint, which laid the foundation for alllllll the ways government and corporations track us via computers now.
Hank started off as a successful painter of condos, then learned to fly and became a cocaine smuggler. Then he flipped and became a DEA informant, with help from F. Lee Bailey. At some point he bought one of the earliest PCs and learned to code, and that's where he found his calling
He used Florida's Sunshine Law to obtain motor vehicle records and combine them with other records to produce the first database of personal IDs that could be sold -- first to insurance companies but then to cops. Over and over, the author, McKenzie Funk, shows how the database basically sold itself as reps for Asher's company went to cop trade shows and demostrated how they could look up the info on anyone. There are a couple of funny scenes where, for instance, a cop learns from an Asher demo that his wife had been married before.
But each time Asher reaches a pinnacle of business, his past as a smuggler pops up to ruin it all and he's pushed out. So he rebuilds his business empire in a new way and stages a comeback.
Along the way he befriends the powerful -- John Walsh, the America's Most Wanted host, for instance, and the commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which had once had him under surveillance. There's another funny scene where the FDLE commissioner has a retirement party and introduces Hank as his best friend, and a reporter (the only other civilian in the room) wonders who he is and starts to dig, ending up with a heck of a story. (I knew that reporter, Pulitzer-winner Lucy Morgan of the St. Pete Times, and this story is entirely in character for her.)
Funk does not shy away from showing Hank's dark side -- he's volatile and vitriolic, he's a drug abuser and a bad boss who tries to cover his temper tantrums with generous gifts etc. He also doesn't shy away from showing the bad things Hank's computer programs produced, including preventing black people from voting in the 2000 election in Florida, and condemning innocent people to extensive police harassment because they don't question sloppy computer results.
Once Hank dies, the spark goes out of the narrative, but Funk continues to pursue the ramifications of what Hank came up with. It's a book well worth reading, one that leaves you far better educated about the way the world works - and will scares you about how dysfunctitonal our society has become as a result. -
** Thanks to @stmartinspress for sending me this book to review **
In today's modern world, technology has had a huge positive impact on our lives. As technology evolves, privacy has become a growing concern for the average person. One man is largely responsible for changing how data is collected, stored, shared, and used. Hank Asher is the larger than life personality and genius responsible for how companies and organizations (such as the government, military, law enforcement, social media, insurance, and financial institutions) use your personal data. From his first job as a painter to his drug smuggling days to becoming an expert and innovator in data fusion, this book takes you on a wild journey of technological progress and the serious implications it has privacy and the functioning world.
This was a highly informative yet very technical discussion of data fusion and how evolving technology impacts our privacy. The third act of this book was the most "civilian" friendly, however, if you are into this subject matter this book will pique your interest. There were several topics addressed in this story that really surprised and shocked me including: data mining and voter fraud, predictive policing, social media and advertisements, COVID contact tracing, and the evolution of computer processing. At times it is hard to believe this book is nonfiction and is eerily reminiscent of Orwell's "big brother" - which is referenced quite often. Although there is a lot of very dense information and heavy on the jargon, this book is very insightful for the average person to understand how your personal information is used unknowingly in all aspects of your life; and most surprising of all is that these practices are legal.
The author included an extensive list of sources for the entire book if you want to do a deeper dive on certain topics discussed. -
This book is capital "S" Scary, and it's not of the horror genre.
Rather, "The Hank Show" is a biography of the guy, Hank Asher, who created Big Data in the early 90's, and whose consumer database eventually helped locate several of the terrorists who flew into the WTC towers.
Doesn't sound too bad, right?
Well, he was referred to as the Dark Lord of Data.
Asher (and others) added driver license photos, social security numbers, social media profile data, and criminal history to these databases. They called it "The matrix."
As we (dumbasses) opted into more internet apps, quizzes, games, and social media accounts, things got even more creepy. And our data profiles got even more sophisticated.
Politicians could target voters. Insurers could approve or deny insureds. ICE could deport illegal immigrants. The police could profile those who may have committed a crime, and arrest them (even though sometimes the data was incorrect). Healthcare workers could treat patients who were the least likely to die.
PLUS, way more creepy analytical tools.
During Covid, the reliance of a "social detrement" algorithm affected those who might get preferential treatment. Of course, it affected people of color. Ugh!!!
Talk about Big Brother...
I really learned a lot from this book written by journalist McKenzie Funk. It will make you both paranoid and smarter on what information you give away.
Lastly, the narration by Eric Jason Martin was superb. Interestingly, it had a computer "A.I.-generated" vibe to it.
Special thanks to Macmillan Audio for an advanced listener copy via the NetGalley app -
This book cannot decide whether it is a biography of Hank Asher or a history of the development of massive databases of personal information and their applications and misapplications. In the end it is only partially successful as both.
Asher was certainly an interesting guy - brilliant, iconoclastic, generous, focused, volatile and simultaneously cruel and kind. I have known and been in business with more than one person with this personality profile. I have found myself drawn to these people and have worked with them successfully, but more and more I have become convinced that the stress of dealing with people like this and their bullying behavior outweighs the fun of their interesting personalities and the financial rewards of their driving ambitions.
And then there is the history of the technology. The social and business history is interesting, as is the history of uses and abuses of the technology. The book does a good job of telling that part of the story. However, it's horribly weak in explaining how the technology works and how it has developed over time. That's really the point of greatest interest for me, and it's not to be found here. Of course, a lot of the secret sauce is confidential, but much information is available in public sources and in academic research. It may not so easy to understand this stuff, but popular writers on technical subject have to understand the science, not just the art, and they have to have an ability to simplify and explain difficult material for a general audience. I'll have to look for other books that cover this material with more technical detail. -
This is a nonfiction book about Hank Asher, who had no use for formal education. He taught himself how to code, and thus completely changed how our personal data was used by police, government, financial institutions, and political parties. Sometimes this technology helped police hunt down child pornographers or serial rapists, and sometimes it was used to kick black people without felony conviction off voter rolls, contributing to Bush 43 and Trump 45 narrowly winning thanks to our ridiculous electoral college system.
Before he became a multimillionaire father of data mining, Asher was a young condo-painting tycoon and then a drug runner. The drug runner aspect of his past kept coming up to bite him in the butt—he would create companies only to voluntarily-ish resign so government agencies could invest in these technologies without a felon running the helm.
He's compared to the person portrayed in the movie A Beautiful Mind. He could be incredibly violent or incredibly generous. He obviously had some kind of mental issues, but that seems to have contributed to the technology he created, which could be used for good things or sort of terrifying — more than target marketing.
While there is a ton of interesting information, the facts and statistics are just relentless, so I would describe this as an intriguing but not enjoyable read. If you care about how your information—not just social media, but merely having a driver’s license, address, and friends and family—can determine what kind of medical care (COVID—who would get a ventilator?) you get and if you can get a credit card or loan, I would recommend this dense read.
NetGalley provided an advance copy of this book, which RELEASES OCTOBER 3, 2023. -
The Erratic Genius Behind the Development of Dada Fusion
Hank Asher, a man you probably never heard of, was a pioneer in the development of data fusion technology. This technology is ever present in our lives from targeted marketing ads to data collected by our health care providers, the IRS, and law enforcement.
Asher’s career spanned a stint as a pilot running drugs in the Bahamas, founder of a house painting company, and finally a computer genius who developed data fusion technology. His story is fascinating. Funk’s presentation is like reading a thriller, but it’s a true story.
Data fusion relies on the ability to see patterns within and across data sets. Asher was a master of this and it was this ability that led him to develop the computer applications to use this technique on a commercial scale.
I was very impressed with Funks’ presentation. He’s able to give the general reader enough understanding of computer technology to make what Asher did understandable. He also presents the uses of this technology today and the privacy concerns it raises. Although Funk is a critic of the uses this technology has been put to, he acknowledges that it has helpful as as well as harmful applications. One of the helpful applications is finding groups exploiting children through child pornography.
I enjoyed the book. If you’re interested in privacy issues it’s a good source of information as well as being an entertaining read.
Thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for this review copy. -
The life of titular Hank Asher reads like a movie anti-hero with a story arc like a Shakespearean tragedy. Flashy drug runner turns successful data entrepreneur largely serving law enforcement agencies while setting up our effective surveillance state. Isn't that interesting that unlike the threat of Big Brother from
1984 etc., private enterprises like Asher's have used the data we have provided under basically our own laws and agreements to surveil ourselves? Adding to this tragic arc, the manic behavior borne of the same energy and drive is the basis for self-destructive behavior and unprofessional antics. For some of the time, Asher is on the sideline with non-compete restrictions, but the story continues as competitors like LexisNexis, TransUnion, etc. keep the trend going of uniquely identifying citizens in data bases with ways make connections between them and track them. Some concerning even unsettling cases of individuals having their lives upended by misidentification are explored. Usage of the same techniques during the COVID pandemic appears to have had a positive impact allow ventilator need to be predicted and also, sadly, giving proof to the systemic racism and classism in the US as the the most egregious outcomes are analyzed in the context of effective segregation. -
The Hank Show is a true tale of a manic genius. His escapades made for a very colorful life, and his understanding of the world of data and all that it could provide to the world we live in was broad. Unfortunately, as with any good vision, there is a flip side. From reading about Hank Asher, we know that he didn’t start as an upstanding citizen, but the way he is portrayed in this book, the impression is that he wanted to make a lot of money and that his ideas about data collection and use were well-meaning. The long-term outcomes of using data for nefarious purposes did not seem to concern him. His goal with data collection was to catch the ‘bad guy.’ He lived a colorful life and built and burned bridges throughout his life. At times brilliant, at times crazy.
The book is a fascinating overview of Hank’s life and the results of all the different hands his technology has passed through. I will say that it is very involved, and it was hard to follow the story at points, but the sense of Hank’s manic energy and the poor choices and inappropriate uses of data that resulted were covered thoroughly. Anyone concerned about the safety of their data will find this information concerning, to say the least.
I was provided a copy of The Hank Show, How a House-Painting, Drug-Running DEA Informant Built the Rules of our Lives, by McKenzie Funk, by NetGalley and St. Martins Press for an honest review. -
(3.5⭐️). Many thanks to my friends at @stmartinspress for the #gifted copy of this book.
Scary. Unnerving.
You know how you mention Ugg slippers, and then your social media feed is suddenly full of adds for them?
So annoying. Big Brother is always watching and listening.
You can thank Hank Asher, the Dark Lord of Data.
A self-taught mathematical genius, Asher pioneered data fusion technology with innocent notions- wanting to find missing children- only for it to morph into a powerful tool able to track each aspect of life.
In Funk’s extrapolation of this “madman” and the computers he empowered, we see the far-reaching, often nefarious modern implications.
Interesting, albeit dense, it’s apparent this non-fiction thriller is well researched. Even so, I found myself needing breaks from the immensity of information, particularly regarding the science around data collection and computer usage.
Oh, but those jaw dropping moments always pulled me back in. Here’s an example:
“In early 2019, Dr. Laura Gottlieb published a peer reviewed paper… that reminded readers how… life insurers had used social determinants data…. Ownership of an Oldsmobile Cutlass Cierra correlated with poor health… while Toyota Highlander owners topped out the other end of the spectrum.”
YIKES.
It’s a scary look into the synthesis of aggregated data. Asher’s legacy will be felt long into the future. -
[arc review]
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for providing both an arc and alc in exchange for an honest review.
The Hank Show releases October 3, 2023
“I set out to investigate not privacy, but power.”
The Hank Show is based on a true story of Hank Asher — a man who went from being a high school dropout, to painter, drug runner, and then a computer programmer that owned and created one of the largest private databases.
The content is a little too far outside of my wheelhouse to be able to provide a nuanced review, but it wholly fascinates me; all of the intricacies of surveillances, data storing and monitoring, and digital footprints.
Funk has provided an extremely factual account spanning many decades, going back as far as the 1950s, and it feels well researched.
I definitely recommend the audiobook format as it’s a much easier way to stay engaged with the large amount of information at hand.
“See yourself through Asher’s inventions, and you see that what may be scariest is not when the machines are wrong about you—but when they’re right.”
“As long as your exhaust is still out there in a database, your history still indexed and easily scored, you won’t be given every opportunity. You’ll be given every opportunity that’s deemed optimal for you.” -
Hank Asher might not be a household name, but 'The Hank Show' by McKenzie Funk will convince you he's a tech legend. The book tracks Asher's journey from a drug runner to a pioneer in the data industry. Asher, working outside Silicon Valley's conventional paths in Florida, became a self-taught programming whiz. He especially excelled at parallel processing, a technique that speeds up computing tasks, which he brilliantly applied in his company, Database Technologies, revolutionizing data accessibility, especially for law enforcement.
Asher's creation, AutoTrack, quickly became essential for its vast database and rapid processing capabilities. He compiled an enormous range of data, from DMV records to personal information from credit agencies. This data powerhouse made Asher's company indispensable to various sectors, including law enforcement and business intelligence.
The book also delves into Asher's personal struggles, including paranoia and substance abuse, which eventually led to his ouster from his company. Despite these challenges, Asher's innovations had a lasting impact, influencing key events like the 2000 Florida election and post-9/11 investigations. 'The Hank Show' presents a compelling portrait of a man whose work continues to shape our data-driven world, even if his name remains largely unrecognized.
Thank you St Martin's Press!! -
Didn’t really know what to expect with this one, but was actually quite eye-opening!
Hank Asher began as basically a drug addict…who then started a house painting business…and just kept jumping upwards in jobs from there! Those who knew him said he had a phenomenal mind…and after reading/listening to the book, they actually said that his mind did what computer algorithms do now! That’s pretty amazing in my book!
Sad to see how he built things up, and then they were ripped away from him in the blink of an eye…
Also very sad to read about how his life ended…
Also eye opening to see how the data that runs the world now is also responsible for many false arrests. Seems that we just might be relying a bit too much on computers…
Again, wasn’t really sure how this one would turn out, but the premise pulled me in, and I’m so happy I did read it!
4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for me!
Thanks to #NetGalley and #MacmillanAudio for the ARC of the audiobook which was released October 3, so you should be able to find it on shelves now!
#TheHankShow by #McKenzieFunk and narrated by #EricJasonMartin.
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