BOOK REVIEW: Delusive Speech in the Sharing Economy
- 7 days ago
- 2 min read
By Glenda Daniels, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
Introduction
“This technology is evolving so rapidly that as quickly as we can find ways to counter it, its creators can adapt it to make it more convincing,” stated Rubina Madan Fillion, in 2019. Since then, we have witnessed the acceleration of evolving technology leading to more vexing problems, particularly with AI issues: our intellectual property rights have now been compromised to benefit Big Tech.
We have to use apps in the digitised world; how else can we complete a banking transaction without visiting the bank? And when you do visit the bank, they say, “Can you open your app, please?” This is why Julie Reid’s book, Delusive Speech in the Sharing Economy (Routledge 2025), is so timely. While it is an academic work, it is also accessible without being heavy on theory and jargon.
The author raises serious issues about criminality and the public’s vulnerabilities in the digital world, but some of the tantalising—if I may put it euphemistically—questions that remain include: What is to be done? How do we survive in this Fourth Industrial Revolution, the world of tech, without using apps? And even more alarming is the hint in Chapter 11, “Working to Make Things Right,” that AI will be used to solve problems. Is this a solution for being protected from scammers? Or will this just make the current problems worse? We do not know yet.
At her book launch on June 26, 2025, Reid said about being scammed: “Unless it’s happened to you, we all think this doesn’t apply to us, because I’m not stupid enough to fall for a scam.”
If you have ever gone on holiday, travelled for work, booked a hotel room or a self catering apartment online, browsed online for properties for sale, bought something online, such as on Amazon or Takealot, booked a ride on an app like Uber or Bolt, then you are extremely susceptible to falling victim to a scam, she elaborated. This sounds like all of us.
Citation:
Glenda Daniels (2025) Delusive Speech in the Sharing Economy, by Julie Reid, Communicatio, 51:1-2, 131-135, DOI: 10.1080/02500167.2025.2553452