Immerse issue #11: On watching the watchers
Pplkpr’s
emotion classification algorithm was trained on open data published by academic researchers.
By Jessica Clark
Quick! Look around. How many devices are within arm’s reach that might be watching, listening to, or scanning you? And how far would you need to go to be completely unmonitored?
Surveillance, privacy and anonymity are the topics of this issue of Immerse. How should producers of interactive media protect themselves, their subjects, and their audiences? Here are some useful resources:
- Dystopia alert: It’s not robots run amok we need to worry about, says Zeynep Tufekci. It’s being manipulated in hidden and subtle ways by online advertisers using opaque algorithms.
- Beware of bias: “Addressing implicit and explicit cultural biases in data is going to be a huge challenge for everyone who is trying to build a system dependent on data classified by or about humans,” observes danah boyd in this keynote at the Strata Data Conference.
- Get out of my face! What might Apple’s new face ID tech mean for augmented reality and privacy? Designer Mike Rundle speculates, and Joy Buolamwini offers first impressions.
- ICYMI, um, yikes! In our last issue, Ben Moskowitz explored how storytellers might tap into the trend of data-driven persuasion. “As the sophistication and seamlessness of personalized storytelling significantly improve in coming years, the ethics of personalization is something the field will need to seriously grapple with,” he writes.
- You, me…meh: pplkpr is an app that tracks, analyzes, and auto-manages your relationships. Another somewhat creepy but illuminating project from Lauren McCarthy and Kyle McDonald.
- CryptoParty Time! On November 10 in London, the Glass Room exhibition will host an event where attendees can learn how to protect their data while sipping crypto-themed cocktails. Haven’t seen the Glass Room? Read Baratunde Thurston’s excellent review.
- Some things about things: From Thingclash, a collection of critical takes on the Internet of Things
- A brief history of attention: A new series on Medium looks at attention metrics and how we got here.
- Exploring or exploiting? What are the ethical implications of allowing AI systems to conduct autonomous experiments on users?
Immerse is an initiative of Tribeca Film Institute, MIT Open DocLab and The Fledgling Fund. Learn more about the project here.