Join the Tech Impact and Policy Center on November 11th from 12PM–1PM Pacific for The Secret Life of Data: Navigating Hype and Uncertainty in the Age of Algorithmic Surveillance, a seminar with Aram Sinnreich.

Stanford affiliates are invited to join us at 11:40 AM for lunch, prior to the seminar.  The Fall Seminar Series continues through December; see our Fall Seminar Series page for speakers and topics. Sign up for our newsletter for announcements. 

About the Seminar:

In The Secret Life of Data, Aram Sinnreich and Jesse Gilbert explore the many unpredictable, and often surprising, ways in which data surveillance, AI, and the constant presence of algorithms impact our culture and society in the age of global networks. The authors build on this basic premise: no matter what form data takes, and what purpose we think it’s being used for, data will always have a secret life. How this data will be used, by other people in other times and places, has profound implications for every aspect of our lives — from our intimate relationships to our professional lives to our political systems.

Based on interviews with dozens of experts across a broad range of scenarios and contexts, from the playful to the profound to the problematic, The Secret Life of Data focuses primarily on the long-term consequences of humanity’s recent rush toward digitizing, storing, and analyzing every piece of data about ourselves and the world we live in. The book advocates for “slow fixes” regarding our relationship to data, such as creating new laws and regulations, new ethics and aesthetics, and new models of production for our datafied society.

Cutting through the hype and hopelessness that so often inform discussions of tech and society, The Secret Life of Data clearly and straightforwardly demonstrates how readers can play an active part in shaping how digital technology influences their lives and the world at large.
 

About the Speaker:

Dr. Aram Sinnreich is an author, musician, and Professor of Communication Studies at American University. His books include Mashed Up, The Piracy Crusade, The Essential Guide to Intellectual Property, The Secret Life of Data, and sci-fi novel A Second Chance for Yesterday (coauthored with Rachel Hope Cleves as R.A. Sinn). He has written articles about culture, law, and technology for outlets including The New York Times, Billboard, Wired, The Daily Beast, Time Magazine, and Rolling Stone, and has appeared as an expert commentator on CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, NPR, and elsewhere.