We’re all too familiar with the feeling of being surveilled–a security camera peeping around a corner to record your every move or a smart device leaning in on our most intimate conversations in the comfort of our homes. Our behaviors are processed into data and analyzed through algorithms far removed from our lives. And yet they’re pervasive enough to actively disrupt our thoughts, suggest how we should behave, and monetize our attention.
The predictive analytics industry is worth $4.6 billion because surveillance technologies mine information from the public and prophesize how they assume we think, feel, and act. But what information is being harvested, and to what extent? How do these invasive technologies learn about us and change our lives without our consent?
The Dark Data Class of 2022 asks these thought-provoking questions as they explore the relationship between identity, mass surveillance, and advertising technologies on a global scale. We’re proud to present the work of 8 creatives who, through the process of thoughtful discussion, prototyping, and personal reflection, have synthesized just how quickly our privacy can be infringed upon if we don’t actively critique the systems and structures that shape our everyday experiences. Dark data is just that–dark and hidden from sight. We hope this publication sheds a little more light on a near-invisible but booming system that silently shapes the world around us.
