presentation-prompts.md

Final Presentation Prompts

Mesh-querading Surveillance in the Information Age

• The Red/Blue team you belong to will be responsible for creating the video demonstration as part of your presentation. Ensure that every team member participates in the production process.
• Everyone in a team can contribute in different ways to the research. Make sure you are dividing the roles appropriately and are collating the data you want to present.
• Draw upon and focus on the technical knowledge you are slowly going to gain over the duration of the workshop. Use these insights to add a layer to your understanding of the complex issues you are discussing.

Surveillance and Ethics

Discuss the ethical boundaries of surveillance in maintaining public safety. Reflect on the smart city surveillance scenario, considering the trade-offs between individual privacy and communal security. What guidelines would you propose to balance these interests?

Genetic Data and Society

Explore the implications of compulsory genetic testing on personal freedom and societal inequality. Based on the genetic testing thought experiment, propose how legislation could protect individuals from genetic discrimination while still benefiting public health.

Anonymity vs Accountability

Evaluate the dual nature of online anonymity using the Anonymity App scenario. Debate the protection it offers to vulnerable individuals versus the platform it provides for harmful behaviors. Suggest regulatory measures or technological solutions that could mitigate the risks without stifling free speech.

Predictive Policing and Social Justice

Analyze the impact of predictive policing on different social groups, drawing from the predictive policing worldwide scenario. Discuss potential biases in data-driven law enforcement and propose methods to ensure fairness and accuracy in predictive policing systems.

The Role of AI in Public Decision Making

Consider the role of AI in governance and public safety as suggested by various thought experiments. Discuss the potential benefits and dangers of relying on AI for critical decisions. What checks and balances would you recommend to ensure ethical AI usage in public spheres?

reading-list-mesh_querading-surveillance.md

Reading List: Mesh-querading Surveillance in the Information Age

Compiled by: Deepraj Pandey | 27 May, 10 June 2024

Over the next few days, we are going to engage in discussions about sociotechnical systems of varying scales. We had the opportunity to touch upon some of the concepts around surveillance, privacy, and security in the opening session. Pay attention to the aspects of the conversation this morning that struck a chord. This document is a curated list of readings and resources to aid your understanding of the concepts we will be discussing. Use these to help you get started with your research into the ideas you want to explore further for your final presentation.

Selected Articles

General Privacy and Surveillance

• Twelve Million Phones, One Dataset, Zero Privacy - Stuart Thompson & Charlie Warzel, The New York Times
• Machine Bias (Project) - ProPublica
• The Privacy Project - The New York Times
• The Great Hack by The Guardian

Theme Specific Articles

Surveillance and Ethics

• The Panopticon Is Already Here - Ross Andersen, The Atlantic
• The American Debate on Surveillance and Cryptography

Genetic Data and Society

• Your DNA Profile is Private? A Florida Judge Just Said Otherwise by Wired

Anonymity Versus Accountability

• Can Anonymity and Accountability Coexist? - Susie Choi, Open Source Org
• In Cyberspace, Anonymity and Privacy are Not the Same
• Paper: Beyond a Dichotomous Understanding of Online Anonymity: Bridging the Macro and Micro Level

Predictive Policing and Social Justice

• Machine Bias - ProPublica
• Can We Predict When and Where a Crime Will Take Place? - Mark Smith, BBC
• Dark Corners of the Web Offer a Glimpse at AI's Nefarious Future

The Role of AI in Public Decision-Making

• Working Paper on Accountability of AI Under the Law: The Role of Explanation
• An Overview of Artificial Intelligence Ethics
• Prospects and Recommendations for Public Policy - Stanford One Hundred Year Study on Artificial Intelligence

From Morning Session

• Revealed: The NSA's Secret Campaign to Crack, Undermine Internet Security
• N.S.A. Able to Foil Basic Safeguards of Privacy on Web
• Battle of the Clipper Chip - Steven Levy, The New York Times
• How UK Spies Hacked a European Ally and Got Away With It - Ryan Gallagher, The Intercept
• License Plate Readers Exposed! How Public Safety Agencies Responded to Major Vulnerabilities in Vehicle Surveillance Tech - Cooper Quintin & Dave Maass, Electronic Frontier Foundation
• Los Angeles Cops Argue All Cars in LA Are Under Investigation - Jennifer Lynch, Electronic Frontier Foundation
• Facebook apologises for psychological experiments on users - The Guardian
• Google failed to tell users about hidden microphone in its Nest security system

Additional Reports

• Interview with Shoshana Zuboff: ‘Surveillance capitalism is an assault on human autonomy’ - Joanna Kavenna, The Guardian
• Surveillance is a fact of life, so make privacy a human right - K.N.C, The Economist
• Reviewing the surveillance state - The Economist: on the Patriot Act - the legal framework that allowed the NSA to snoop on its own citizens
• China's enormous surveillance state is still growing - The Economist
• Data from wearable devices are changing disease surveillance and medical research
• The New Rules of Data Privacy - Hossein Rahnama, Harvard Business Review
• Surveillance and censorship: The impact of technologies on human rights - Directorate General for External Policies, European Parliament
• Protection vs Privacy: The Debate on Surveillance and Digital Rights in India - Economic and Political Weekly

Introductory Technical Resources

• Basics of Linux and Command Prompt - picoCTF
• Basics of Cryptography - picoCTF
• How Mesh Networks Work - The Berkman Klein Centre for Internet & Society

Further Exploration

The world of privacy and surveillance is vast and complex. Dive deeper into these topics with the resources listed and bring your thoughts and questions to our discussions.

Talks, Popular Media, Documentaries

• The Road to Subtle Tyranny - Jon Drori, TEDxHousesOfParliament
• Where People Go When They Want to Hack You - CyberNews: on the Zero-Day Market
• How we take back the internet | Edward Snowden - TED
• The era of blind faith in big data must end | Cathy O'Neil - TED
• The Surveillance Economy and Extreme Income Inequality: You Can't Have One Without the Other - CITRIS and the Banatao Institute
• Edward Snowden's Message to High School Debate Teams - The Intercept
• The Great Hack | Panel Discussion - Computer History Museum
• Documentary: The Great Hack - Netflix
• Movie: Snowden - Netflix
• Documentary: Citizenfour. follows Edward Snowden as he goes through the first few weeks after blowing the whistle on NSA. Apple TV | Amazon Prime | NYT Review | NPR Review | Laura Poitras on the Making Of
• TV Show: Black Mirror. Specifically episodes "Nose Dive" and "Shut Up and Dance"
• TV Show: Person of Interest - Amazon Prime. Emmy nominated show set in a world where a supercomputer that pre-emptively determine and warn involved parties before a crime is committed.

Core Books

If you want to explore further beyond the limited confines of this short workshop, here's a short book list to get you started. Feel free to reach out to anyone in the YSP team if you ever want to connect with us again.

1. The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power by Shoshana Zuboff
   • Explores the economic underpinnings of surveillance practices.
   • Goodreads
   • Loan Book Here | Archive.org
2. Permanent Record by Edward Snowden
   • Offers insights into government surveillance from a whistleblower's perspective.
   • Goodreads
   • Loan Book Here | Archive.org
3. Data and Goliath: The Hidden Battles to Collect Your Data and Control Your World by Bruce Schneier
   • Discusses the implications of data collection on privacy and security.
   • Goodreads
   • Loan Book Here | Archive.org
4. Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy by Cathy O'Neil
   • Analyzes how algorithms and big data can lead to societal inequities.
   • Goodreads
   • Loan Book Here | Archive.org
5. Privacy’s Blueprint: The Battle to Control the Design of New Technologies by Woodrow Hartzog
   • Examines the impact of technology design on privacy.
   • Goodreads

Happy reading and exploring!