The curent coronavirus pandemic is only speeding up the trends of surveillance society which were already in place.

We sat down with Nicolas Keyser-Bril, an investigator with the AlgorithmWatch NGO, which is focusing on researching the influence and impact of algorithmic computing in everyday life to talk about the surveillance solutionism, the problems with coronavirus crisis and the ways the discourse on the surveillance society needs to change.

Also mentioned is the AlgorithmWatch research on automated policing that is spreading like wildfire all across the globe. Does it really delivers on the promises of efficency and cost-benefits ratio or is it all just hot air?

Music provided by Cousin Silas

• Demand transparency on the algorithms that are entering the public sphere
• Demand proof on the efficency of algorithmic decision-making

• The paper on face recognition by AlgorithmWatch – article
• The paper on automated policing by AlgorithmWatch – article
• Nicolas’s essay on the collapse of academia – article
• Bruce Schneier on contact-tracing apps and why there is no health/privacy debate to be had – article

Podcast Citizen D gives you a reason for being a productive citizen. Citizen D features talks by experts in different fields focusing on the pressing topics in the field of information society and media. We can do it. Full steam ahead!