nplug the Google Assistant,” Mey said as she tucked her phone under her pillow and left the room to speak to me. Born and raised in China before immigrating to the United States, Mey knew not to test the Chinese surveillance machine with her family still in Beijing. Not certain about what might happen if caught speaking unfavorably, Mey always played it safe. “You never know,” she'd always say.
China is not the only nation surveilling its people, it’s just the one everyone points to. We live in a world where reading devices monitor not only what is read but how it’s read; cars record driver’s routes and schedules; the neighbor’s house is livestreaming to the local police department; and crime is being self-reported through an app, behind locked doors. Personal opinions aside, this is happening. Not only that, but it’s legal and incredibly lucrative.
AI’s value is arguably greater than the downside, but without a monitoring system in place, our economic calculus in this surveillance economy incubates a critical vulnerability widely overlooked.
For example, the DMV makes tens of millions of dollars each year selling personal information; Meta is offering Europeans a $12.99 monthly subscription for an ad-less platform—translating to the average European user being worth around $150 each year. Meanwhile, Walmart monitors shelves for efficiencies while Whole Foods does it to avoid the need for a physical card. There is a clear incentive to turn our world into data and productize every byte of information possible—the benefits of which are not exclusive to those profiting.
The Hawthorne Effect occurs when individuals modify an aspect of their behavior in response to their awareness of being observed—from dietary choices to work ethic. Most people are aware they’re being watched when they see a camera on the ceiling, but if people begin to fear clicking a link, reading the wrong blog post, or listening to their loved ones, the freedom to think will be lost. And with it, democracy.
As AI becomes continuously embedded into daily lives, the incentive to surveil cannot overcome the integrity of democracy. The way forward involves demanding transparency through annual reporting and audit mechanisms; requiring data rights as a basic necessity of any free society; and managing data as a financial asset.
Without these things, the only democracy the world will ever know is what’s allowed to be streamed.
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Unplugging Democracy With AI and the Threat of Surveillance
January 15, 2024
AI is becoming embedded in our daily lives, and its value is arguably greater than the downside. Yet the surveillance economy has critical vulnerabilities which must be combatted through transparency requirements and data rights, writes Joseph Toscano.
U
nplug the Google Assistant,” Mey said as she tucked her phone under her pillow and left the room to speak to me. Born and raised in China before immigrating to the United States, Mey knew not to test the Chinese surveillance machine with her family still in Beijing. Not certain about what might happen if caught speaking unfavorably, Mey always played it safe. “You never know,” she'd always say.
China is not the only nation surveilling its people, it’s just the one everyone points to. We live in a world where reading devices monitor not only what is read but how it’s read; cars record driver’s routes and schedules; the neighbor’s house is livestreaming to the local police department; and crime is being self-reported through an app, behind locked doors. Personal opinions aside, this is happening. Not only that, but it’s legal and incredibly lucrative.
AI’s value is arguably greater than the downside, but without a monitoring system in place, our economic calculus in this surveillance economy incubates a critical vulnerability widely overlooked.
For example, the DMV makes tens of millions of dollars each year selling personal information; Meta is offering Europeans a $12.99 monthly subscription for an ad-less platform—translating to the average European user being worth around $150 each year. Meanwhile, Walmart monitors shelves for efficiencies while Whole Foods does it to avoid the need for a physical card. There is a clear incentive to turn our world into data and productize every byte of information possible—the benefits of which are not exclusive to those profiting.
The Hawthorne Effect occurs when individuals modify an aspect of their behavior in response to their awareness of being observed—from dietary choices to work ethic. Most people are aware they’re being watched when they see a camera on the ceiling, but if people begin to fear clicking a link, reading the wrong blog post, or listening to their loved ones, the freedom to think will be lost. And with it, democracy.
As AI becomes continuously embedded into daily lives, the incentive to surveil cannot overcome the integrity of democracy. The way forward involves demanding transparency through annual reporting and audit mechanisms; requiring data rights as a basic necessity of any free society; and managing data as a financial asset.
Without these things, the only democracy the world will ever know is what’s allowed to be streamed.
