“I am not a number! I am a free man!” cried Patrick McGoohan in cult 1960s TV programme The Prisoner. The technocracy that rules so much of modern life would likely disagree. Whether we like it or not, our lives are defined by numbers. Everyone who uses digital technology leaves a trail of data from which analysts can build a frighteningly accurate portrayal of their behaviours, their personality and even their most sensitive secrets. The recent furore over Cambridge Analytica has highlighted …
