"Automating Apartheid": Facial Recognition Tech in Palestine

A Conversation with Dr. Matt Mahmoudi

The Anti-Dystopians are back, bringing you a cluster of episodes to brighten up (or cool down) your summer holidays!

To kick off, we begin by talking to friend of the show Dr. Matt Mahmoudi, the lead researcher on the Amnesty International report "Automating Apartheid" which examines the deployment of facial recognition technology in Palestine. We discussed the report's findings, including how this facial recognition technology is being deployed against Palestinians in the Occupied Territories; why these systems have been 'gamified' and how they connect to other infrastructures; how this is affecting Palestinians’ lives; and whether existing CCTV systems in other settings — including London — could be repurposed for similar kinds of militarized policing. 

As always, you can listen to it here or subscribe here (Spotify) or here (Apple Podcasts). If you like us, please rate, review and share the Anti-Dystopians to help us get new listeners.

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Further reading from the episode:

Full Report

• Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territories: Automated Apartheid: How facial recognition fragments, segregates and controls Palestinians in the OPT

Coverage of the Report

• New York Times: Facial Recognition Powers ‘Automated Apartheid’ in Israel, Report Says

• Israel using previously-unreported facial recognition system to 'automate apartheid' against Palestinians - new report

• ‘Chilling effect’: Israel’s ongoing surveillance of Palestinians

Other Facial Recognition Tech News

• Live facial recognition labelled ‘Orwellian’ as Met police push ahead with use

• UK policing minister pushes for greater use of facial recognition

• When a pregnant Black woman was falsely arrested, she fought back: the problem with facial recognition in policing

• Clearview AI used nearly 1m times by US police, it tells the BBC

• The movement to limit face recognition tech might finally get a win

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Other Things I’m Reading

• You can say no to a TSA face scan. But even a senator had trouble.

• Sacramento Sheriff is sharing license plate reader data with anti-abortion states, records show

• Police Are Requesting Self-Driving Car Footage for Video Evidence

• Why I Quit Zoom: Zoom's Updated Terms of Service Permit Training AI on User Content Without Opt-Out

• The UK government has sparked an encryption row in the Online Safety Bill

• Nebraska Mom Pleads Guilty to Giving Abortion Pills to Her Teen Daughter

• Amia Srinivasan on Free Speech and Cancel Culture on Campus in the LRB

• Heartstopper season 2: Why queer teachers are the show’s most vital asset and the censorship of LGBTQ+ people under Margaret Thatcher’s grim Section 28.

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Tweet of the Week

https://twitter.com/FernRiddell/status/1676606984689254405?s=20