Video and data surveillance by public and private entities.
Civil Surveillance (40)
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- 7 min
- Wired
- 2020
As different levels of the U.S government have introduced and passed bills regulating or banning the use of facial recognition technologies, tech monopolies such as Amazon and IBM have become important lobbying agents in these conversations. It seems that most larger groups are on different pages in terms of how exactly face recognition algorithms should be limited or used, especially given their negative impacts on privacy when used for surveillance.
- Wired
- 2020
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- 7 min
- Wired
- 2020
Congress Is Eyeing Face Recognition, and Companies Want a Say
As different levels of the U.S government have introduced and passed bills regulating or banning the use of facial recognition technologies, tech monopolies such as Amazon and IBM have become important lobbying agents in these conversations. It seems that most larger groups are on different pages in terms of how exactly face recognition algorithms should be limited or used, especially given their negative impacts on privacy when used for surveillance.
Discussion Prompts:
Can and should the private sector be regulated in its use of facial recognition technologies? How is it that tech monopolies might hold so much sway with government officials, and how can this be addressed? Do the benefits of facial recognition, such as convenience at the airport, listed at the end of the article make enough of a case against a complete ban of the technology, or do the bad applications ultimately outweigh the good ones? What would the ideal bill look like in terms of limiting or banning facial recognition?
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- 7 min
- Kinolab
- 2008
Under threat of eviction, Luz must find a quick way to make some money to pay rent. Thankfully, through the company TruNode, she can digitize her memories and sell them on the internet for anyone who may wish to access and stream them. While this seems convenient, the downsides are shown when the repository of her memories are used to help ruthless drone pilot Rudy Ramirez hunt down an innocent laborer who is a supposedly dangerous criminal. After Luz reveals this means of making money to Memo, the aforementioned innocent laborer, he is less than enthused with the system.
- Kinolab
- 2008
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- 7 min
- Kinolab
- 2008
Selling Digitized Memories
Under threat of eviction, Luz must find a quick way to make some money to pay rent. Thankfully, through the company TruNode, she can digitize her memories and sell them on the internet for anyone who may wish to access and stream them. While this seems convenient, the downsides are shown when the repository of her memories are used to help ruthless drone pilot Rudy Ramirez hunt down an innocent laborer who is a supposedly dangerous criminal. After Luz reveals this means of making money to Memo, the aforementioned innocent laborer, he is less than enthused with the system.
Discussion Prompts:
How can the high cost of very personal data and digital memories be both empowering in the right circumstances and disempowering in the wrong ones? What if people were able to sell all of their personal data, as is shown here? Is the complete digitization of memory a positive concept or a negative one? How can data or memory be purchased for nefarious purposes? How can people be unintentionally harmed by this system? Can the emotions of memories ever be paired well with a digital interface?
Sleep Dealer: Luz and TruNode-
- 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?