The Future of Digital Surveillance: Why Digital Monitoring Will Never Lose its Appeal in a World of Algorithm-Driven AI

Humans are not hard-wired to make good decisions about managing their privacy in an increasingly public world. The Future of Digital Surveillance explores the chasm between the tyranny of surveillance and the ideal of privacy, arguing that digital technologies do not cause surveillance by nature, but are shaped by a complex set of individual psychology, institutional behaviors, and policy principles.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 192 pages
Publication date: 03 May 2021
Publisher: The University of Michigan Press

Are humans hard-wired to make good decisions about managing their privacy in an increasingly public world? Or are we helpless victims of surveillance through our use of invasive digital media?

Exploring the chasm between the tyranny of surveillance and the ideal of privacy, this book traces the origins of personal data collection in digital technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI) embedded in social network sites, search engines, mobile apps, the web, and email.

The Future of Digital Surveillance argues against a technologically deterministic view—digital technologies by nature do not cause surveillance. Instead, the shaping of surveillance technologies is embedded in a complex set of individual psychology, institutional behaviors, and policy principles.

The book explores the ways in which digital technologies have transformed the way we interact with each other, and the implications of this transformation for our privacy. It examines the ways in which personal data is collected, used, and shared, and the potential risks and benefits of this process.

The book also examines the role of governments and corporations in shaping the development of digital surveillance technologies, and the ways in which these technologies are being used to monitor and control individuals. It argues that the ideal of privacy is not necessarily at odds with the development of digital technologies, but that it requires a careful balance between the need for security and the right to privacy.

The book concludes by suggesting that the future of digital surveillance will be shaped by a combination of technological, institutional, and policy changes. It calls for a more nuanced and informed approach to the development and regulation of digital surveillance technologies, that takes into account the potential risks and benefits of these technologies for individuals and society as a whole.

Weight: 265g
Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780472054848