Learning About Data Infrastructure w/ Katya

Our data infrastructure is not as secure as we are led to believe. From corporations extracting data for profits, to governments extracting data for policing, Katya joins me to discuss how vulnerable these systems are and how we must reframe our thinking away from “consumer data” to community data. Katya is an abolitionist data activist working to help people in movement spaces and organizations protect communities' data rights. Their past research has focused on practices for government transparency, responsible public innovation, collective data governance, and civic participation. In 2021, they started a newsletter called Civic Source to explore how local governments make decisions about data that shape communities beneath the surface, and they've recently revived the letter to focus on issues of data rights and collective data governance. They are currently doing a short-term residency with the Houston Climate Justice Museum, as well as organizing with the Houston Abolitionist Collective.