Privacy and Power

Privacy and Power

The proliferation of smart devices - not just phones but TVs, home security cameras, and more - has led to the collection of personal data on an unprecedented scale. This erosion of privacy has far-reaching implications for our society, political economy, and justice system, but there may be ways for individuals and communities to take control of their data and reclaim their privacy. Join us for a conversation with Carissa Véliz, Associate Professor in Philosophy at the Institute for Ethics in AI at the University of Oxford, and Albert Fox Cahn, Executive Director and founder of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, as we explore the current challenges and potential solutions around data collection and privacy.

Meet the Guest: Albert Fox Cahn

Presented by Elizabeth Renieris

Albert Fox Cahn

Founder and Executive Director, Surveillance Technology Oversight Project

Albert Fox Cahn is the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project’s ( S.T.O.P.’s) founder and executive director,Photograph of Albert Fox Cahn and he is also a fellow at Yale Law School’s Information Society Project, Ashoka, NYU Law School’s Engelberg Center on Innovation Law & Policy, and the Day One Project. As a lawyer, technologist, writer, and interfaith activist, Cahn began S.T.O.P. in the belief that emerging surveillance technologies pose an unprecedented threat to civil rights and the promise of a free society.

Cahn is a frequent commentator on civil rights, privacy, and technology matters. He is a contributor to the New York Times, Boston Globe, Guardian, WIRED, Slate, NBC Think, Newsweek, and dozens of other publications. He has lectured at Harvard Law School, New York University School of Law, Columbia University, and Dartmouth College. Cahn previously served as an associate at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, where he advised Fortune 50 companies on technology policy, antitrust law, and consumer privacy.

In addition to his work at S.T.O.P., Cahn serves on the New York Immigration Coalition’s Immigrant Leaders Council, the New York Immigrant Freedom Fund’s Advisory Council, and is an editorial board member for the Anthem Ethics of Personal Data Collection. Cahn received his J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School (where he was an editor of the Harvard Law & Policy Review), and his B.A. in politics and philosophy from Brandeis University.

Meet the Guest: Carissa Véliz

Presented by Elizabeth Renieris

Carissa Véliz

Associate Professor in Philosophy, Institute for Ethics in AI; Fellow, Hertford College, University of Oxford

Carissa Véliz is an associate professor in philosophy at the Institute for Ethics in AI, and aPhotograph of Carissa Veliz fellow at Hertford College at the University of Oxford. She works on privacy, AI ethics, moral and political philosophy, and public policy. She is the author of Privacy Is Power (an Economist Book of the Year, 2020) and the editor of the forthcoming Oxford Handbook of Digital Ethics.

Join the Event

Presented by Kirsten Martin and Elizabeth Renieris

Subscribe to the ThinkND podcast on Apple, Spotify, or Google.

Featured Speakers: 

  • Albert Fox Cahn, Founder and Executive Director, Surveillance Technology Oversight Project
  • Carissa Véliz, Associate Professor in Philosophy, Institute for Ethics in AI; Fellow, Hertford College, University of Oxford

View Event
back to top