Video and data surveillance by public and private entities.
Civil Surveillance (39)
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- 7 min
- Wired
- 2020
After student members of the University of Miami Employee Student Alliance held a protest on campus, the University of Miami Police Department likely used facial recognition technology in conjunction with video surveillance cameras to track down nine students from the protest and summon them to a meeting with the dean. This incident provided a gateway into the discussion of fairness of facial recognition programs, and how students believe that they should not be deployed on college campuses.
- Wired
- 2020
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- 7 min
- Wired
- 2020
Facial Recognition Applications on College Campuses
After student members of the University of Miami Employee Student Alliance held a protest on campus, the University of Miami Police Department likely used facial recognition technology in conjunction with video surveillance cameras to track down nine students from the protest and summon them to a meeting with the dean. This incident provided a gateway into the discussion of fairness of facial recognition programs, and how students believe that they should not be deployed on college campuses.
Discussion Prompts:
How can facial recognition algorithms interfere with the right of people to protest? When it comes to facial recognition databases, are larger photo repositories better or worse? Does facial recognition and video surveillance have a place on college campuses? How does facial recognition and video surveillance embolden people in power in general?
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- 5 min
- Kinolab
- 2008
Memo lives in a small Mexican rural village with his father. This narrative reveals that access to water in the area surrounding their village is limited; one company oversees a watering hole where people pay to replenish their supply. This business, Del Rio Water Company, builds dams and other means of controlling the water supply, and uses drones to protect these against suspected aqua-terrorists who might seek to take back control of it.
- Kinolab
- 2008
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- 5 min
- Kinolab
- 2008
Drones and Gatekeeping Natural Resources
Memo lives in a small Mexican rural village with his father. This narrative reveals that access to water in the area surrounding their village is limited; one company oversees a watering hole where people pay to replenish their supply. This business, Del Rio Water Company, builds dams and other means of controlling the water supply, and uses drones to protect these against suspected aqua-terrorists who might seek to take back control of it.
Discussion Prompts:
How might the centralization of technological power and capital lead to gatekeeping of natural and vital resources like water? How might drones and other technologies de-sensitize profiteers to those whom they are hurting? What happens when technology is used and abused by those who don’t have the best interests of all people at heart? How does technology cause and reinforce changes to our environment? Could surveillance technology such as this potentially be used for positive conservation purposes?
Movie Title:
Sleep Dealer: Del Rio Water Company-
- 5 min
- CNN
- 2010
Algorithms and machines can struggle with facial recognition, and need ideal source images to perform it consistently. However, its potential use in monitoring and identifying citizens is concerning.
- CNN
- 2010
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- 5 min
- CNN
- 2010
Why face recognition isn’t scary — yet
Algorithms and machines can struggle with facial recognition, and need ideal source images to perform it consistently. However, its potential use in monitoring and identifying citizens is concerning.
Discussion Prompts:
How have the worries regarding facial recognition changed since 2010? Can we teach machines to identify human faces? How can facial recognition pose a danger/worry when use for governmental purposes?
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- 7 min
- The New York Times
- 2019
Biometric facial recognition software, specifically that used with arrest photos in the NYPD, makes extensive use of children’s arrest photos despite a far lower accuracy rate.
- The New York Times
- 2019
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- 7 min
- The New York Times
- 2019
She Was Arrested at 14. Then Her Photo Went to a Biometrics Database
Biometric facial recognition software, specifically that used with arrest photos in the NYPD, makes extensive use of children’s arrest photos despite a far lower accuracy rate.
Discussion Prompts:
How can machine learning algorithms cause inequality to compound? Would it be better practice to try to make facial recognition equitable across all populations, or to abandon its use in law enforcement altogether, as some cities like Oakland have done?
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- 7 min
- Slate
- 2019
Discussion of Facebook’s massive collection of human faces and their potential impact on society.
- Slate
- 2019
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- 7 min
- Slate
- 2019
Facebook’s Face-ID Database Could Be the Biggest in the World. Yes, It Should Worry Us.
Discussion of Facebook’s massive collection of human faces and their potential impact on society.
Discussion Prompts:
Is Facebook’s facial recognition database benign, or a slow-bubbling volcano?
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- 10 min
- Quartz
- 2019
A comparison of surveillance systems in China and the US which target, and aid in the persecution of, ethnic minorities. Data on targeted people is tracked extensively and compiled into intuitive databases which can be abused by government organizations.
- Quartz
- 2019
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- 10 min
- Quartz
- 2019
China embraces its surveillance state. The US pretends it doesn’t have one
A comparison of surveillance systems in China and the US which target, and aid in the persecution of, ethnic minorities. Data on targeted people is tracked extensively and compiled into intuitive databases which can be abused by government organizations.
Discussion Prompts:
In what ways are the surveillance systems of the US and China similar? Should big tech companies be allowed to contract with the government on the scale that a company like Palantir did?