Our Work
Founded in 2014, the Center on Privacy & Technology is a leader at the intersection of privacy, surveillance, and civil rights.
Latest Work
No, We Don’t Live In A F#%*ing Simulation
Executive Director Emily Tucker and philosopher David McNeill co-taught a virtual mini-course entitled No, We Don’t Live In A F%#*ing Simulation to 34 students exploring the simulation hypothesis, long-termism, and the imminent threat of artificial general intelligence (AGI). The course received 86 applicants coming from academia, government (globally), NGOs and non-profits (globally), law, social work, computer sciene, and private sector. The 34 students represented more than 12 countries. The Center on Privacy & Technology hopes to offer the course again.
Executive Director Emily Tucker’s Article Translated and Republished
Executive Director Emily Tucker’s article "Our Future Inside The Fifth Column - Or, What Chatbots Are Really For” was translated into Italian and published in the AI Aware magazine. In it, Tucker analyzes how major tech companies use chatbots and artificial intelligence as tools for marketing monopoly consolidation and political influence rather than for the common good. It also points out the media's lack of critical attention towards this and the dangers of corporate power accumulation. AI Aware aims to provide in-depth and accessible analysis on the ethical, social, and technical issues related to AI. The original piece, in English, was published on Tech Policy Press in June 2023.
Op-Ed: Chatbots Are Creating Algorithmic Dependence
Executive Director Emily Tucker published an op-ed in Tech Policy Press entitled "Our Future Inside The Fifth Column- Or, What Chatbots Are Really For" about the corporate and capitalist goals of companies designing chatbots. Chatbots, Tucker warns, are part of a larger scheme to sow algorithmic dependence in the economic spaces most important to the public interest. “The goal is no longer to dominate crucial industries, but to convert crucial industries into owned intellectual property.”
“Sam’s Plan to Too-Late Regulate” blog
On May 16, 2023, Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, testified before Congress that the government should regulate technologies being marketed as "artificial intelligence." The Privacy Center posted a blog explaining why Altman's regulation is "too-late regulation": regulation that is both too late in the tech development process and too late in the industry adoption timeline to be meaningful. Read the whole blog here: https://medium.com/center-on-privacy-technology/sams-plan-to-too-late-regulate-2e91516369f9.
“Pulling Back the Curtain on the Technologies Automating Inequities in the Criminal Legal System” blog
In recent years there has been a major shift in the criminal legal system: law enforcement authorities have been increasingly using algorithmic technologies when making critical decisions about policing and punishment. Associate Jameson Spivack wrote a blog detailing how these algorithmic technologies are reinforcing and automating biases in the criminal legal system. Read the whole blog here: https://medium.com/center-on-privacy-technology/pulling-back-the-curtain-on-the-technologies-automating-inequities-in-the-criminal-legal-system-b059b8b02342.
“Resisting the Coercive Convenience of Apps for Everything” blog
Over the years, more and more services have been "app-ified." In reaction to Georgetown Law switching to mobile GOCards (Georgetown's official identification card), Justice Fellow Meg Foster wrote a blog about the increasing consolidation of daily life onto our phones, and the downsides to that consolidation. Read the whole blog here: https://medium.com/center-on-privacy-technology/resisting-the-coercive-convenience-of-apps-for-everything-1bebf8b2ecd7.
“frank Lessons in Communications” blog
In February 2023, Communications Associate Serena Zets attended the frank conference. She wrote on our blog about her experience at the conference and how communications can promote sustained and positive social change. Read the whole blog here: https://medium.com/center-on-privacy-technology/frank-lessons-in-communications-7c50148a9c23.
Privacy Center Hosts Launch Event for New Interactive Digital Narrative on Algorithms in the Criminal Legal System
On March 29, 2023, the Privacy Center hosted published a new interactive digital narrative titled "Cop Out: Automation in the Criminal Legal System," which explores the algorithmic technologies that are increasingly used to inform or make critical decisions about policing and punishment. This publication's release was accompanied by an in-person roundtable discussion focused on strategies of resistance. Read the full press advisory.
“David Vladeck on FTC Enforcement, Federal Privacy Legislation, and Lessons from the Titanic” blog
Senior Associate Cynthia Khoo interviewed Professor David Vladeck, former Director of the FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection and Faculty Director of the Privacy Center, for our blog. Read the whole blog here: https://medium.com/center-on-privacy-technology/david-vladeck-on-ftc-enforcement-federal-privacy-legislation-and-lessons-from-the-titanic-8ae1e9e70777
“Casting a light on “alternatives” to policing” blog
Associate Nina Wang wrote a blog on the NYPD's street lighting campaign and the problems it reveals about law enforcement surveillance technology. Read the whole blog here.