Monitoring Laws: Profiling and Identity in the World State

Automated systems are increasingly interpreting and classifying our world and the people within it, influencing what happens in the physical world. Monitoring Laws explores the history of government profiling from photography to computer vision and asks what dimensions of profiling have provoked legal intervention and what is different about contemporary profiling that requires updating our legal tools.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 198 pages
Publication date: 17 March 2022
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

The interpretation and categorization of our world and its inhabitants are increasingly being shaped by automated systems, which in turn exert influence on the physical realm. These intricate connections redefine the dynamics of interaction with governance and alter the parameters of what constitutes a recognizable and meaningful aspect of our identity. In this cyber-physical landscape, known as the "world state," the role of law becomes particularly pertinent. Specifically, how should law address the assertion that computational systems possess a deeper understanding of us than we do ourselves?

Monitoring Laws delves into the historical trajectory of government profiling, spanning from the advent of photography to the emerging applications of computer vision for personality and behavioral analysis. It explores the dimensions of profiling that have historically triggered legal interventions and examines the unique characteristics of contemporary profiling that necessitate the refinement of our legal frameworks. This work is of utmost importance to anyone interested in comprehending the transformative impact of computation on society and governance, as well as the safeguarding of the essential aspects of human identity within a computational world.

Weight: 298g
Dimension: 151 x 227 x 15 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781108445337
Edition number: New ed