Posts Tagged ‘surveillance’
What if Generative AI isn’t the ‘benefit’ or ‘existential risk’ to humanity that it’s being painted as? Meredith Whittaker & Camille Francois will make you think
This is a fascinating conversation about the roots, the dangers and hype around AI. Both of these thinkers are so insightful about the issues, and raise issues in context with such clarity.I appreciate them so much. Watch the video from Al Jazeerah English at YouTube or below, and I have linked to a transcript (cough, […]
Poor @ProtonMail – smeared by its dodgy users
A side issue raised by the Cambridge Analytica exposé is the revelation that the subterranean dirty political operators use a feature of end-to-end encrypted email service ProtonMail – expiring messages (sometimes called ‘self-destructing’ messages, no doubt in homage to TV show Mission: Impossible and its classic line, “This tape will self-destruct in 5 seconds.”) Cambridge […]
John Key’s flying pig falls to earth
David Fisher took literally years to shed even a little light on how Teflon John Key misled New Zealanders about a mass surveillance system on our internet his government was commissioning for the Americans. The whole very carefully, diplomatically written article is worth reading: John Key, mass surveillance and what really happened when Edward Snowden […]
The harms of government hacking, and some suggested controls (Access Now)
This is another very good, clear explanation of some of the issues around government-sanctioned, usually secret interference with the internet. Well worth watching. In justifications for these ‘interferences‘ (that’s the legal term) with our privacy and other human rights – like freedom of opinion and expression – much is made of the ‘threats’ that we […]
They laughed when I stuck tape over my web cam…
I’m not kidding. One of the first things I did at a new workplace was stick a small rectangle of Post-it note over the web cam. It provoked a few comments re “paranoia”, but did I care? Nope. Then, months later, I read that FBI director James Comey did the same thing, citing people who […]
What is Privacy?
Nice 3 minute overview from Privacy International … A chilling line: “…Even the fact that you’re watching this video right now. All of it.” Oh great! Then read this: Even basic phone logs can reveal deeply personal information, researchers find | The Guardian Here’s a link to Privacy International’s website. – P
A snippet of advice about using pass phrases – Edward Snowden
This is an un-broadcast clip from John Oliver’s hilarious but excellent interview with Edward Snowden about surveillance earlier this week. (Which you can see here at youtube – as I post this it’s had a remarkable 4.7 MILLION views!) This short discussion (below) about pass phrases (as opposed to passwords) is worth a watch too: […]
Sorry, but this man is treating us like children (or fools)
John Key's line: As I had reason to tell someone in a completely different context recently … No doubt Mr Key's line, “Look, members of the news media, despite what those NSA/GCSB documents say, you're completely wrong — but it's not my job to tell you how you are” approach will work for some […]
BBC Scotland on spying. Some of the same issues and questions as New Zealand
I heard part of this BBC Scotland report by Eamonn O’Neill as he “explores the world of contemporary espionage” this morning and recognised several of the same talking points about increased state security agency surveillance keeping us ‘safe’ as are deployed here in New Zealand — it’s right there in the title: ‘How safe are […]
Nicky Hager on protecting sources
Investigative journalist and author Nicky Hager was part of the Centre for Investigative Journalism’s recent Logan Symposium … Check out CIJournalism’s YouTube channel for more. Update: If you’re a journalist, don’t miss John Pilger’s blistering presentation on media vs propaganda & news ‘agenda’. An important message. Pilger’s speech notes War by media and the triumph […]
So why say it, Mr Cameron?
Very odd. See also Cory Doctorow’s article at Boingboing: ‘What David Cameron just proposed would endanger every Briton and destroy the IT industry‘
“We love surveillance”
On the day it’s announced that Ian Fletcher is to depart from the GCSB, a few thoughts about surveillance … British PM David Cameron is already making the appropriate noises … nicely framed by John Gruber at DaringFireball.net. And, for context, here’s Mr Fletcher’s rather soothing speech to the 2014 Privacy Forum …
