E45: Deepfakes, cheap fakes, and the politics of data (w/ Dr. Britt Paris)

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On today’s show, we sit down with Dr. Britt Paris, an Assistant Professor in the School of Communication and Information at Rutgers University, and an affiliate with the nonprofit research institute Data & Society. Dr. Paris studies how groups build, use and understand information systems according to their values, and how these systems influence evidentiary standards and policy actions.

This conversation focuses on a wide range of topics covered by scholars in critical data studies, an approach that interrogates how powerful institutions influence the ways that data is collected, stored, and used for various purposes in society. We begin by discussing Dr. Paris’s recent co-authored report for Data & Society, Deepfakes and Cheap Fakes, which historicizes the use of manipulated visual and audio evidence and explores the current uses of technologies that allow for the use of these techniques by the broader population. We also discuss her scholarly and activist work with “counter-data actions,” which encompass data-collection and presentation strategies used to challenge powerful institutions such as law enforcement and governmental administrations. We conclude with a discussion of how we as internet users should think critically about how mass data-collection and surveillance practices are incentivized for online platforms, and what we can do in order to opt out, or even *log off.*

Works and Concepts Cited in this Episode:

Britt Paris’s Website: https://www.britt-paris.net/

Britt Paris on Twitter: @drbrittparis

Bowker, G.C. (2006). Memory Practices in the Sciences. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Dalton, C. & Thatcher, J. (2014) What does a critical data studies look like, and why do we care? Seven points for a critical approach to “big data.” Society & Space. Retrieved from: http://societyandspace.com/material/commentaries/craig-dalton-and-jim-thatcher-what-does-a-critical-data-studies-look-like-and-why-do-we-care-seven-points-for-a-critical-approach-to-big-data/ [includes initial reference to “counter-data actions”]

Kitchin, R. (2014). The Data Revolution: Big Data, Open Data, Data Infrastructures & Their Consequences. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Generative Adverserial Network (GAD) - Wikipedia

Suwajanakorn, S., Seitz, S.M., & Kemelmacher-Shlizerman, I [Supasorn Suwajanakorn]. (2017, Jul 11). Synthesizing Obama: Learning lip sync from audio [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved from: https://youtu.be/9Yq67CjDqvw

Youth Justice Coalition in Los Angeles

Stop LAPD Spying Coalition