Shaping the Future

Doctorow noted that EFF is most concerned with who is affected by a new technology, and how, instead of what it actually does. Ozer echoed this, noting that EFF wants to ensure that technology supports rights, justice, innovation, and freedom. She’s entering her new role as executive director in a consequential moment, she said, when decisions that are being made about how AI is developed and used will shape our future as well as the next generation’s future. She marveled at the rapid pace of AI development and how quickly it has begun to intersect with so much of our lives. The most important thing to remember is that the future of AI hasn’t been written yet—we have time to get it right, Ozer shared.

Doctorow spoke about how fights surrounding AI might stifle innovation and whether instituting restrictions around it may go too far. Ozer responded that EFF works across all issues, partnering with lawyers, activists, technologists, etc., to get it right because the stakes are so high. Doctorow also noted a pattern of public officials being taken in by bad tech that sounds promising on paper but is unhelpful or even harmful in practice. Ozer gave the example of government surveillance being done in an underhanded way and used against marginalized communities; she said we are seeing the same practice with AI. Companies are jumping into development without examining the risks. We need a real centering of the community in the use of AI, she believes.

Outdated Privacy Laws

Doctorow asserted that activists need to be vocal in their local governments. Ozer and Doctorow both discussed privacy laws, which haven’t been updated at a federal level since the 1980s. Change is happening locally and at the state level. They brought up the example of surveillance pricing, which AI can be used for. It can sort people into groups based on behavioral data to predict who will pay higher prices and when. Ozer said the rise in surveillance capitalism, which stems from both physical and electronic target advertising, is bolstered by AI, because AI can track what you do in the physical world (often via our smartphones) as well as in the digital world. We’ve known the threats that all of this data collection can pose, and now the threats are most realistic, Ozer noted. So now is the time to build coalitions that work to get privacy laws passed.

HRDAG (Human Rights Data Analysis Group) is an organization that is using data to promote justice, Doctorow noted. He said we need to move from The Empire Strikes Back into Return of the Jedi, when the community-minded Ewoks had the tools to defeat the Empire. Ozer agreed, cautioning that right now, with algorithms, it’s “bias in, bias out.” The resources are lopsided; we need to harness AI to protect people’s rights.

Joining the Fight

As for what people can do to help, Doctorow and Ozer again stressed the importance of getting involved in your community and local government. The federal government doesn’t protect people right now, Ozer said, but we can work to make sure that state and local governments do. She also stressed that this is a global issue. Doctorow predicted that the AI bubble will eventually burst—but will all of the data centers being built be operational before it does? That’s why people need to make their opinions heard. 

They closed the webinar with a Q&A, discussing the future of democracy and reiterating that they’re participating in EFF’s work because they want to fight for people’s rights.