Datafication is a process of converting various aspects of the physical world into digital data that can be collected, analyzed, and used to make decisions. This transformation involves turning information from sensors, social media posts, financial transactions, and other sources into data that can provide insights and drive predictions. The term gained prominence in 2013 when Kenneth Cukier and Viktor Mayer-Schönberger introduced it to describe the trend of turning life’s multifaceted dimensions into valuable data. Unlike mere digitization, which converts analog content (such as books or photographs) into binary code, datafication extends to all facets of existence. Once we datafy things, we can transform their purpose and extract new forms of value. Examples abound: Twitter datafies stray thoughts, LinkedIn and other platforms apply datafication to human resources, and smart cities leverage real-time data for transportation, waste management, logistics, and energy optimization. This shift toward dataism—the belief in data’s capacity to objectively represent social life—continues to shape our interconnected world