Until now, the vast majority of information collected about us has remained untouched — there was just too much to make sense of it all.
What's happening: Artificial intelligence allows data that might once have gone unnoticed to now be detected, analyzed and logged in real time. It's already started supercharging surveillance at work, in schools and in cities.
Boosters of surveillance technology argue that it can make cities safer, improve traffic, speed up airport and stadium lines, make workers more productive and safeguard valuable company property.
The big picture: People are willing to be watched in certain cases. Most people trust the police to use facial recognition responsibly, according to a new Pew Research survey, but the majority don't trust tech companies or advertisers to do the same.
Advanced surveillance technology is being deployed despite flaws that risk perpetuating racial biases in the criminal justice system.
The big picture: Even with recent improvements in the tech, people of color are more likely to be misidentified by facial recognition software — an error that can have life-changing results. And predictive systems can reinforce biased over-policing of neighborhoods of color.
The point of surveillance is to track and influence people's behavior — in the political sphere, at school, in the subway or in the workplace. Just how new technologies affect someone's behavior and thinking at work depends on each individual, what they are doing and the goals of those who are surveilling.
Some designers, researchers and activists are trying to fool facial recognition technologies with fashion.
What’s happening: The protests in Hong Kong have drummed up new interest in anti-surveillance fashion, according to designers Adam Harvey and Scott Urban.
