#105: Your Smart Fridge Just Overturned Democracy

In Episode 105, Quinn & Brian ask: How safe is your data (and can your wine fridge take down democracy)?

Our guest is: Dr. Carissa Véliz, an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Philosophy and the Institute for Ethics in AI, and a Tutorial Fellow in Philosophy at Hertford College at Oxford University. 

If she sounds kind of awesome, that’s because she is.

So, what role does your phone, computer, wine fridge, smart toothbrush, and fun color-changing ceiling lights have to play in taking down — or saving — democracy, and maybe the planet too? Well, Dr. Véliz recently published “Privacy is Power,” in which she argues that the data economy is too dangerous to sustain. And although we may not be paying money for some of the incredible services that are built on top of our data, like Google Maps or Facebook, we are going to pay in the long run if we keep opting into the surveillance state.

Have feedback or questions? Tweet us, or send a message to questions@importantnotimportant.com

Important, Not Important Book Club:

• "Mindf*ck: Cambridge Analytica and the Plot to Break America" by Christopher Wylie
• “Permanent Record” by Edward Snowden

Links:

• Carissaveliz.com
• Twitter: @CarissaVeliz
• “Privacy is Power”
• “How Facebook got addicted to spreading misinformation”
• Duck Duck Go
• ProtonMail

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• Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com

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