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Give Us Back Our Data

Technology researcher and thinker Evgeny Morozov believes the entire discussion around cool, new innovative technology is a giant distraction from the most important issues. In this film, Morozov unravels the digital landscape and shows us the real processes that are leading the huge transfer of power away from ordinary people. We meet him in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he is researching the digital history of the world. Morozov shows us how cutting-edge biometric and facial recognition technology leads to a world without privacy. He argues that instant identification leads to over-discrimination. Morozov views data as a "new powerful weapon". "It plays an important role in generating value for those companies and we have to understand where it comes from. And it comes from us - the users," he says. "One has to be very naive to believe that this data is not going to shape how we live the rest of our lives, especially when insurance companies and banks are so eager to incorporate it in their decision-making," says Morozov. "Unless we change the legal status of data, we're not going to get very far." We also look at the reality of the so-called "sharing economy", where people pool their assets, such as houses or, cars and their time and labour. Is this really as friendly as the word "sharing" might imply or just another business? We meet the lawyer representing Uber taxi drivers in a nationwide law suit against the company. The drivers have found the "flexible working" conditions are so detrimental to their business that they've now had to fight against the company for their basic employment rights. We also see how self-trackers who use health-focused technology like Fitbit end up handing over large amounts of their data. But what does it mean when people begin monitoring everything about themselves? We examine the broader consequences for everyone. With data-harvesting companies collecting our social and financial information and sel

English
  • Originally Aired November 12, 2015
  • Runtime 25 minutes
  • Content Rating United States of America TV-Y
  • Network Al Jazeera America
  • Created September 19, 2017 by
    Administrator admin
  • Modified September 19, 2017 by
    Administrator admin