Marcus Fontoura, author of HUMAN AGENCY IN A DIGITAL WORLD
Schedule
Wed, 28 Jan, 2026 at 06:30 pm
UTC-08:00Location
Brick & Mortar Books | Redmond, WA
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Join us to welcome back author Marcus Fontoura and celebrate the release of his newest book HUMAN AGENCY IN A DIGITAL WORLD! ABOUT THE BOOK:
HUMAN AGENCY IN A DIGITAL WORLD is a book about reclaiming our role—not as passengers, but as pilots—in the fast-moving journey of technological change. Written by a computer scientist who is also a father, a teacher, and a lifelong student of how things work, this book is a deeply personal and accessible guide to the systems shaping our lives—and how we might shape them back.
We are surrounded by digital agents. They suggest the next song, answer our questions, sort our emails, recommend what to watch, and—often invisibly—shape what we think. But what do we know about them? And how much power do we really have to question, understand, or even redirect their impact?
In this book, Marcus Fontoura explores the hidden architectures of modern life—from social media and search engines to cloud computing, AI, and quantum technologies—uncovering both how they work and what they mean. Drawing from decades of experience building the backbone of the internet and cloud platforms, he demystifies the core concepts that govern today's systems and offers readers a way to develop digital fluency without needing a computer science degree.
But this is not just a book about machines. It's a book about people-about how we use efficiency not just to optimize for speed or cost, but to unlock creativity, opportunity, and well-being. With examples ranging from broken playlists to protein folding, and reflections that move fluidly between systems thinking and everyday life, Digital Agency asks us to consider a simple but profound question: what do we want technology to do for us, and what will we do with it in return?
ORDER LINK:
https://www.brickandmortarbooks.com/item/RRexI4dNPgoSWH7OYWfoPg
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Marcus Fontoura is a computer scientist serving as Chief Technology Officer at Microsoft’s Azure Core. He has also held posts at Stone.co, Google, Yahoo and IBM Research. Marcus was a post-doctoral researcher at Princeton University and holds a Computer Science Ph.D. from Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Marcus is author of HUMAN AGENCY IN A DIGITAL WORLD and A PLATFORM MINDSET.
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Where is it happening?
Brick & Mortar Books, 16400 NE 74th St, Redmond, WA 98052-7802, United StatesEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
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