The Ethics of Privacy and Surveillance

The Ethics of Privacy and Surveillance - Hardcover

$63.25
$63.25
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The Ethics of Privacy and Surveillance
  • The Ethics of Privacy and Surveillance
The Ethics of Privacy and Surveillance - Hardcover

The Ethics of Privacy and Surveillance - Hardcover

by Carissa Véliz
$63.25
$63.25

Book Overview

by Carissa Véliz (Author)

Privacy matters because it shields us from possible abuses of power. Human beings need privacy just as much as they need community. Our need for socialization brings with it risks and burdens which in turn give rise to the need for spaces and time away from others. To impose surveillance upon someone is an act of domination. The foundations of democracy quiver under surveillance.

Given how important privacy is for individual and collective wellbeing, it is striking that it has not enjoyed a more central place in philosophy. The philosophical literature on privacy and surveillance is still very limited compared to that on justice, autonomy, or equality-and yet the former plays a role in protecting all three values. Perhaps philosophers haven't attended much to privacy because for most of the past two centuries there have been strong enough privacy norms in place and not enough invasive technologies. Privacy worked for most people most of the time, which made thinking about it unnecessary. It's when things stop working that the philosopher's attention is most easily caught-the owl of Minerva spreading its wings only with impending dusk.

With the spread of machine learning, a kind of AI that often uses vast amounts of personal data, and a whole industry dedicated to the trade of personal data becoming one of the most popular business models of the 21st century, it's time for philosophy to look more closely at privacy.

This book is intended to contribute to a better understanding of privacy from a philosophical point of view-what it is, what is at stake in its loss, and how it relates to other rights and values. The five parts that compose this book respond to five basic questions about privacy: Where does privacy come from? What is privacy? Why does privacy matter? What should we do about privacy? Where are we now?

Author Biography

Carissa Véliz, Associate Professor, Institute for Ethics in AI, University of Oxford

Carissa Véliz is an Associate Professor in Philosophy at the Institute for Ethics in AI, and a Fellow at Hertford College at the University of Oxford. She is the recipient of the 2021 Herbert A. Simon Award for Outstanding Research in Computing and Philosophy. She is the author of the highly-acclaimed Privacy Is Power (an Economist book of the year, 2020) and the editor of the Oxford Handbook of Digital Ethics. She advises institutions and policymakers around the world on privacy and the ethics of AI.
Number of Pages: 250
Dimensions: 0.9 x 8.8 x 5.9 IN
Publication Date: April 18, 2024
ISBN9780198870173
Author Carissa Véliz
PublisherOxford University Press
GenreTechnology and Philosophy
FormatHardcover
PublishedApril 2024
LanguageENG- English
Pages250
Weight1.0 lb
Target AudienceAdults
Print SizeStandard Print

Related Subjects

Nonfiction Philosophy Technology & Engineering

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More by Carissa Véliz

Privacy is Power: Why and How You Should Take Back Control of Your Data

Privacy is Power: Why and How You Should Take Back Control of Your Data - Paperback

Privacy is Power: Why and How You Should Take Back Control of Your Data - Paperback

By Carissa Veliz

About Carissa Véliz

Carissa Véliz is an associate professor at the Institute for Ethics in AI at the University of Oxford. Her first book, Privacy Is Power (Melville House) was an Economist book of the year and has been published in seven languages. Her academic work has been published in The Harvard Business Review, Nature, AI & Society, and The American Journal of Bioethics, among others. She is the author of the forthcoming The Ethics of Privacy and Surveillance (Oxford University Press) and the editor of the forthcoming Oxford Handbook of Digital Ethics.

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