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.
K E Y W O R D Scomputers, financial regulation, interest rates, media, scandals 'Steampunk' is a retro-futuristic science fiction specialty that incorporates technology, politics, and aesthetics inspired by the nineteenth century. In The difference engine, a novel by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling that is credited with having popularized the genre, the authors imagine an alternative Victorian era sparked by successful implementation of Charles Babbage's computer, which would have left the drawing board where it remained in fact to be actually implemented, leading to the dawn of the information age, one century ahead of schedule. 1 In this article, we suggest that the nineteenth century did witness a numerical revolution and the birth of an early form of cybernetics, which have been thus far overlooked. Speaking of 'cybernetics' in the nineteenth century may seem strange to some and deserves an explanation. As we show, the digital 1 Gibson and Sterling, Difference engine.