What Does Spotify Unwrapped Have to do With Surveillance?

It’s the end of the year, which means we’re all starting to wrap up our work years and turn our attention to other things… like Spotify Unwrapped! As fun as Spotify Unwrapped is (and it is—I share some of my own Spotify data in the episode), it speaks to the fact that we’re all slowly willing to accept more and more tech companies gathering huge amounts of data on all of us. In this case, that data seems harmless—and wrapped in a pretty bow!—but in a lot of cases, that isn’t true. My guests today help me unpack and explore what the world of excessive data collection has to do with the new age of surveillance, as well as how that data is used, and what businesses and tech leaders might be able to do to make products and services safer for customers, employees, and users. This week’s guests are Albert Fox Cahn and Kim Crayton. The Tech Humanist Show is a multi-media-format program exploring how data and technology shape the human experience. Hosted by Kate O’Neill. Produced and edited by Chloe Skye, with research by Ashley Robinson and Erin Daugherty at Interrobang. To watch full interviews with past and future guests, or for updates on what Kate O’Neill is doing next, subscribe to The Tech Humanist Show hosted by Kate O’Neill channel on YouTube, or head to KOinsights.com. Full Transcript to come.