Collect Data, Influence Votes: ‘If Then’ Traces The Genesis Of Data-Driven Politics

A collection of current and past presidential advertising materials hangs on a wall in the visitor center of the New Hampshire State House in Concord, N.H.

In If Then, historian Jill Lepore tells the story of Simulmatics. Founded in 1959, the company’s “people machine” used a computer program to predict the impact of various political messages.

(Image credit: Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images)

In If Then, historian Jill Lepore tells the story of Simulmatics. Founded in 1959, the company’s “people machine” used a computer program to predict the impact of various political messages.