Data is the vital raw material in our modern information economy. There is already an incredible amount of digital data in the world, and it’s doubling every two years. Business decisions used to be based on experience and intuition – now detailed data analysis is the name of the game. Those bits and bytes are transforming our world.

Steve Lohr, chief technology reporter at the New York Times, takes us to meet the people at the centre of this digital revolution and shows how we, both as individuals and institutions, will need to exploit, protect and manage our data in order to remain competitive. Beyond a vast array of illuminating insights and rich anecdotes, he asks provocative questions about the policies and practices surrounding digital data. The answers he finds will reach far and wide to affect every one of us.