Tag Surveillance
Anthropic vs. the Pentagon: An Imperial Marketing Stunt
In the latest issue of Le Monde diplomatique, I revisit the conflict that pitted Anthropic against the Pentagon, in an attempt to analyze this episode and go beyond the dominant media narrative. The dispute has all the hallmarks of a hit series: a CEO – Dario Amodei – a freedom-loving idealist standing up to the tyrants of the Trump administration. Except that Anthropic’s “ethical” posture appears totally …
Odyssey 2.0: Undoing the Machine-World
Three years ago Odyssée 2.0 came out. This book (in French) was born from a photographic and literary project freely inspired by Homer’s myth. Together with photographer Alexa Brunet, we traced Ulysses’ wanderings through Technopolis, a fictional and dystopian “Smart City.” Below is the translation of the introduction I wrote for that occasion —it had never been published online. In it, I explore the didactic virtues …
The Practical Limits of Algorithmic Transparency: Lessons from France
This paper draws on a talk given a few months ago at the International Conference “Algorithmic transparency and the digital rule of law”, at the Sciences Po Paris Law School. Thanks to Lucas Anjos and Rebecca Mignot-Mahdavi for the invitation. Abstract In the face of concerns raised by AI systems in recent years, transparency has emerged as a central governance principle, enshrined in regulations from France’s Digital Republic …
Olympic Surveillance Between Paris and London
Thanks to Emma Mc Cluskey and Akos Kopper, a cross-interview with Myrtille Picaud and Pete Fussey has just been published in the journal PARISS (Political Anthropological Research on International Social Sciences). In it, we look back at surveillance during the Paris 2024 and London 2012 Olympic Games. Abstract Pete Fussey conducted extensive research on Olympic surveillance in London, and Myrtille Picaud, an urban policy sociologist, carried out …
Systemic Opacity and Black Holes in Surveillance Oversight
My contribution to the recent symposium of the Commission nationale de contrôle des techniques de renseignement took the form of an article (in both French and English) in the journal Études françaises de renseignement et de cyber (French Studies on Intelligence and Cyber). In it, I revisit the systemic opacity that characterizes the surveillance activities of French intelligence services and the “black holes” of oversight in this …
How State Surveillance Was Fought
In this month’s edition of Le Monde diplomatique, I have an article in French tracing the history of struggles against state surveillance in the United States in the sixties and seventies. Abstract Based on a longer study published earlier this month as a chapter, this article offers a historical perspective on resistance to state surveillance in the United States. It highlights strategies of resistance, but also transformations in the …
Promises & Pitfalls of Activist-Researcher Collaborations
In late January, I took a train up North to attend a conference on predictive policing organized at the IT University of Copenhagen. This international gathering brought together researchers working on the transformation of police surveillance in the digital age, with a particular focus on predictive policing. Predictive policing in France Together with Edlira Nano (who sadly could not make the trip), we presented an overview of predictive …
New Book: Intelligence Oversight in Times of Transnational Impunity
We are pleased to announce the publication of our collective volume Intelligence Oversight in Times of Transnational Impunity: Who Will Watch the Watchers?, co-edited with Didier Bigo and Emma Mc Cluskey, published by Routledge. Abstract This volume, derived from the GUARDINT project, examines contemporary challenges in intelligence oversight within a context of growing transnationalization of intelligence activities. Drawing on empirical case …
Timeline of Intelligence Surveillance Scandals
Together with my colleagues from the GUARDINT project, we are publishing a report on surveillance scandals involving the US, British, German, and French intelligence services. Summary This timeline lists and documents the main surveillance scandals that have come to light in recent decades, from the first revelations about the NSA in the 1960s to Edward Snowden’s disclosures and more recent scandals. It provides an empirical resource for …