Think/Point/Shoot

Chapter 9Hidden Camera

A Conversation on Surveillance

Samir Chopra with Mobina Hashmi

Abstract

This chapter is an edited transcript of a conversation with philosopher and computer scientist Samir Chopra. In it, Chopra describes how the asymmetrical power relations between the observer and observed that define surveillance structure our experiences as citizens, consumers, and media practitioners and audiences or users. He identifies transparency, accountability, and consent as the core ethical concerns raised by pervasive media surveillance. Instead of the exclusive focus on privacy, he suggests that a more productive line of thinking centers on asking what kinds of lives are enabled or made impossible by surveillance?

The Asymmetry of Power ...