In this 2nd session of more-than-a-book-club by Kritik Digital and Cursor, we will explore how surveillance capitalism influence our behavior, and challenge our understanding of privacy, autonomy, and democracy.

We live in the age of “surveillance capitalism” and there is no doubt that this has caused damage to the earth, more-than-humans and to humans alike. Denmark is a country marked by rapid and expansive digitalization, and it can be easy to forget the role of the “**surveillance state” ****in creating and contributing to the surveillance of the public. In 2023 the Danish Ministry of Finance announced the Digital Growth Strategy, with the intention of keeping Denmark as one of the most digitalized countries in the world.

Danes have a high usage of digital services (additionally Danes rank as the population with the highest share of social media users within the EU - link to our previous more-than-a-bookclub-session) and Danes exhibit high satisfaction with digital services, particularly in the public sector - surveillance is a key element of our welfare democracy!

Is this simply just a good thing? Or have we been creating conditions where we are becoming easier to manipulate?

For this 2nd session, we’ll tap into our inner “paranoia” and “conspiracy theories” as a way to critically explore how surveillance operates as a tool for gaining power and control.

“Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing.”

―George Orwell, 1984

“Cicadas are quiet when it rains. It got me thinking: What would a cicada do if it emerged from the earth and there was nothing but rain for days on end? Would it just die without ever making a sound?”

―Hiroko Oyamada, The Hole

Cover art depicts a mountain range with a UFO in the distance and is by Trevor Paglen, Near Windy Hill (undated), 2024. It is the cover art from the essay Society of the Psyop, part 1 of 3 in the Capitalism and Schizophrenia section of this iteration’s materials.

Practical

Place: Slagtehusgade 10a, 1715 København - Ungdommens Demokratihus

Time: From 17:00

Ring the bell, when you get here.

Program:

Materials

Main reading:

Definition of surveillance capitalism by Shoshana Zuboff

Definition of surveillance capitalism by Shoshana Zuboff

Supplementary (explore one or more topics):

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Questions for reflection

  1. How does potentially being watched change your behaviour online as well as IRL (in “real” life)? (for inspiration check out our previous session)
    1. Who do you think watches? The government/state actors? Private companies? And why?
    2. Does it change how you participate in digital life? What you post or comment? Have you wanted to post something political but refrained from doing so? Do you ever feel like the platform is manipulating your irl behaviour?
  2. How do we combat surveillance: resistance or escaping?
    1. Should we break up with big tech or should we resist through the platforms we already use?
    2. What role can offline communities of resistance/activism/feminism play?
  3. The ultimate private sphere: What is the alternative to surveillance capitalism?
    1. How do we imagine people behaving? Will chaos reign or will everyone behave? - See the reel about bathroom stall graffiti as example. Can we think of/imagine other completely 'free' ways of communicating?
  4. How do we see these questions through the lens of gender?
    1. Does surveillance also protect from harm, and provide freedom, as Nick Hækkerup says? Misogony is thriving even with severe surveillance - so what is the point of the surveillance?
    2. Who is benefitting? How does surveillance theories intertwine with 'cyber feminism'?
  5. How does all of this change now that the AI market is getting more hype?

Avenues for escape

What’s going on in town?

https://cphdox.dk/live-event/the-future-of-the-internet/

https://www.thoravej29.dk/en/event/sa-vaer-dog-tilstede-community-development-og-place-based-change

MUSEUM ENIGMA - Communication in Crisis

In our daily life online, we are constantly confronted with stories about things that threaten us as individuals and as a society – from the selling of our personal data by big tech companies to sophisticated cyberattacks organized by nation states. Has communications technologies always been used as a weapon?

THE STORY OF PUBLIC ART (link)

Music ♫: https://www.nts.live/shows/alexander-nut

Newsletter: https://escapethealgorithm.substack.com/p/etas-best-links-of-2024