Cyberpunk Victoria: The credibility of computers and the first digital revolution, 1848–83

Marc Flandreau and Geoffroy Legentilhomme

Economic History Review, 2022, vol. 75, issue 4, 1083-1119

Abstract: British capitalism was a knowledge economy that lived on reliable numerical information. We argue that human computers and the algorithms they used played a vital intermediation role and supported the growth of the British capital market, because they resolved digital information asymmetries. Given the lack of an archive for ‘Cyberpunk Victoria’, we demonstrate the computers’ role as financial intermediaries by identifying their imprint on the production of data by a prominent numerical factory, the Investor's Monthly Manual, a companion publication of the Economist. Our study underscores the import of digital mechanization and the relevance of human cybernetics to the development of financial capitalism.

Date: 2022
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