This conversation explores the tensions between privacy and public health surveillance, following the contours of both contemporary and historical debates. As COVID-19 brings incredible weight to every public health decision, we must closely examine novel tracking technologies such as smartphone-based contact tracing, electronic vaccine credentials, and new vaccine passports for international travel. Frequently, the public is presented with the dichotomy of privacy vs. public health, but the reality of this schism in practice is unclear. New technologies raise pressing concerns not only around equity, but also efficacy, as public health officials, technologists, and advocates debate whether these systems actually work to limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Crucially, as both the public and private sectors race to respond to the emergency, they are building systems that may become part of our technological landscape in perpetuity.
Speakers to be announced.
“The Normalizing Gaze: Surveillance from Drones to Phones" is an online speaker series organized by High Line Art and the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project in conjunction with artist Sam Durant's High LIne Plinth commission "Untitled (drone)”.