Topic · updated daily · RSS feed for this topic
Privacy
Facial recognition, biometric ID, data protection and AI surveillance — tracked daily across news, courts and regulators.
Survey of Motion Tracking Methods Based on Inertial Sensors: A Focus on Upper Limb Human Motion
Motion tracking based on commercial inertial measurements units (IMUs) has been widely studied in the latter years as it is a cost-effective enabling technology for those applications in which motion tracking based on optical technologies is unsuitable. This measurement method has a high impact in human performance assessment and human-robot interaction. IMU motion tracking systems are indeed self-contained and wearable, allowing for long-lasting tracking of the user motion in situated environme
Obstacles to the Adoption of Secure Communication Tools
The computer security community has advocated widespread adoption of secure communication tools to counter mass surveillance. Several popular personal communication tools (e.g., WhatsApp, iMessage) have adopted end-to-end encryption, and many new tools (e.g., Signal, Telegram) have been launched with security as a key selling point. However it remains unclear if users understand what protection these tools offer, and if they value that protection. In this study, we interviewed 60 participants ab
Why a Right to Explanation of Automated Decision-Making Does Not Exist in the General Data Protection Regulation
In recent months, researchers,1 government bodies,2 and the media3 have claimed that a ‘right to explanation’ of decisions made by automated and artificially intelligent algorithmic systems is legally mandated by the forthcoming European Union General Data Protection Regulation4 2016/679 (GDPR). The right to explanation is viewed as a promising mechanism in the broader pursuit by government and industry for accountability and transparency in algorithms, artificial intelligence, robotics, and oth
Ethical perspectives on recommending digital technology for patients with mental illness
The digital revolution in medicine not only offers exciting new directions for the treatment of mental illness, but also presents challenges to patient privacy and security. Changes in medicine are part of the complex digital economy based on creating value from analysis of behavioral data acquired by the tracking of daily digital activities. Without an understanding of the digital economy, recommending the use of technology to patients with mental illness can inadvertently lead to harm. Behavio
Why Does China Allow Freer Social Media? Protests versus Surveillance and Propaganda
In this paper, we document basic facts regarding public debates about controversial political issues on Chinese social media. Our documentation is based on a dataset of 13.2 billion blog posts published on Sina Weibo—the most prominent Chinese microblogging platform—during the 2009–2013 period. Our primary finding is that a shockingly large number of posts on highly sensitive topics were published and circulated on social media. For instance, we find millions of posts discussing protests, and th
Ethical values and social care robots for older people: an international qualitative study
Values such as respect for autonomy, safety, enablement, independence, privacy and social connectedness should be reflected in the design of social robots. The same values should affect the process by which robots are introduced into the homes of older people to support independent living. These values may, however, be in tension. We explored what potential users thought about these values, and how the tensions between them could be resolved. With the help of partners in the ACCOMPANY project, 2
Beyond data as representation: The performativity of Big Data in surveillance
The article discusses problems of representative views of data and elaborates a concept of the performativity of data. It shows how data used for surveillance contributes in creating suspect subjectivities. In particular, the article focuses on the inductive or explorative processing of data and on the decoupling of data generation and analysis that characterize current use of data for surveillance. It lines out several challenges this poses to established accounts of surveillance: David Lyon’s
COINSTAC: A Privacy Enabled Model and Prototype for Leveraging and Processing Decentralized Brain Imaging Data
The field of neuroimaging has embraced the need for sharing and collaboration. Data sharing mandates from public funding agencies and major journal publishers have spurred the development of data repositories and neuroinformatics consortia. However, efficient and effective data sharing still faces several hurdles. For example, open data sharing is on the rise but is not suitable for sensitive data that are not easily shared, such as genetics. Current approaches can be cumbersome (such as negotia
Method for Improving EEG Based Emotion Recognition by Combining It with Synchronized Biometric and Eye Tracking Technologies in a Non-invasive and Low Cost Way
Technical advances, particularly the integration of wearable and embedded sensors, facilitate tracking of physiological responses in a less intrusive way. Currently, there are many devices that allow gathering biometric measurements from human beings, such as EEG Headsets or Health Bracelets. The massive data sets generated by tracking of EEG and physiology may be used, among other things, to infer knowledge about human moods and emotions. Apart from direct biometric signal measurement, eye trac
Improvement in risk prediction, early detection and prevention of breast cancer in the NHS Breast Screening Programme and family history clinics: a dual cohort study
Background In the UK, women are invited for 3-yearly mammography screening, through the NHS Breast Screening Programme (NHSBSP), from the ages of 47–50 years to the ages of 69–73 years. Women with family histories of breast cancer can, from the age of 40 years, obtain enhanced surveillance and, in exceptionally high-risk cases, magnetic resonance imaging. However, no NHSBSP risk assessment is undertaken. Risk prediction models are able to categorise women by risk using known risk factors, althou
Mobile health: the power of wearables, sensors, and apps to transform clinical trials
Mobile technology has become a ubiquitous part of everyday life, and the practical utility of mobile devices for improving human health is only now being realized. Wireless medical sensors, or mobile biosensors, are one such technology that is allowing the accumulation of real-time biometric data that may hold valuable clues for treating even some of the most devastating human diseases. From wearable gadgets to sophisticated implantable medical devices, the information retrieved from mobile tech
EEG and Eye Tracking Demonstrate Vigilance Enhancement with Challenge Integration
Maintaining vigilance is possibly the first requirement for surveillance tasks where personnel are faced with monotonous yet intensive monitoring tasks. Decrement in vigilance in such situations could result in dangerous consequences such as accidents, loss of life and system failure. In this paper, we investigate the possibility to enhance vigilance or sustained attention using "challenge integration," a strategy that integrates a primary task with challenging stimuli. A primary surveillance ta
De-identification for privacy protection in multimedia content: A survey
Privacy is one of the most important social and political issues in our information society, characterized by a growing range of enabling and supporting technologies and services. Amongst these are communications, multimedia, biometrics, big data, cloud computing, data mining, internet, social networks, and audio–video surveillance. Each of these can potentially provide the means for privacy intrusion. De-identification is one of the main approaches to privacy protection in multimedia contents (
Should we welcome robot teachers?
Current uses of robots in classrooms are reviewed and used to characterise four scenarios: (s1) Robot as Classroom Teacher; (s2) Robot as Companion and Peer; (s3) Robot as Care-eliciting Companion; and (s4) Telepresence Robot Teacher. The main ethical concerns associated with robot teachers are identified as: privacy; attachment, deception, and loss of human contact; and control and accountability. These are discussed in terms of the four identified scenarios. It is argued that classroom robots
Information Fiduciaries and the First Amendment
Collection, analysis, and use of personal data increasingly affect everything we do in the information age, from our personal privacy to our opportunities for jobs, housing, travel, and health care. As algorithms for making decisions based on this data become more powerful, so too will the people and organizations who collect and use the data. Reformers will press for government regulation in the name of protecting personal privacy and preventing abuse and discrimination. In response, businesses
Scorched Atmospheres: The Violent Geographies of the Vietnam War and the Rise of Drone Warfare
This article explores the violent geographies of the Vietnam War. It argues that the conflict is crucial for understanding the security logics and spatialities of U.S. state violence in the war on terror. An overarching theme is that U.S. national security has inherited and intensified the atmospheric forms of power deployed across Southeast Asia, including ecological violence, the electronic battlefield, counterinsurgency (the Phoenix Program), and drone surveillance. All of these attempted to
Autonomous Vehicle Technology: A Guide for Policymakers
Self-driving vehicles offer the promise of significant benefits to society, but raise several policy challenges, including the need to update insurance liability regulations and privacy concerns such as who will control the data generated by this technology.
Why a Right to Explanation of Automated Decision-Making Does Not Exist in the General Data Protection Regulation
<i>Go-with-the-Flow</i>: Tracking, Analysis and Sonification of Movement and Breathing to Build Confidence in Activity Despite Chronic Pain
Chronic (persistent) pain (CP) affects 1 in 10 adults; clinical resources are insufficient, and anxiety about activity restricts lives. Technological aids monitor activity but lack necessary psychological support. This article proposes a new sonification framework, Go-with-the-Flow, informed by physiotherapists and people with CP. The framework proposes articulation of user-defined sonified exercise spaces (SESs) tailored to psychological needs and physical capabilities that enhance body and mov
Surrendering Information through the Looking Glass: Transparency, Trust, and Protection
Trust and transparency influence consumer information exchanges, yet the understanding of how they shape marketing and public policy relating to privacy and security issues is not current with the digital and informational age. People face increasing complexity in online exchanges of information and lack the time, attention, and wherewithal to understand how to protect themselves. Society's reliance on technology results in individuals engaging in continuous partial attention and behaving as cog
Motion tracking and gait feature estimation for recognising Parkinson’s disease using MS Kinect
BACKGROUND: Analysis of gait features provides important information during the treatment of neurological disorders, including Parkinson's disease. It is also used to observe the effects of medication and rehabilitation. The methodology presented in this paper enables the detection of selected gait attributes by Microsoft (MS) Kinect image and depth sensors to track movements in three-dimensional space. METHODS: The experimental part of the paper is devoted to the study of three sets of individu
A Game Theoretic Framework for Analyzing Re-Identification Risk
Given the potential wealth of insights in personal data the big databases can provide, many organizations aim to share data while protecting privacy by sharing de-identified data, but are concerned because various demonstrations show such data can be re-identified. Yet these investigations focus on how attacks can be perpetrated, not the likelihood they will be realized. This paper introduces a game theoretic framework that enables a publisher to balance re-identification risk with the value of
EEG entropy measures in anesthesia
HIGHLIGHTS: ► Twelve entropy indices were systematically compared in monitoring depth of anesthesia and detecting burst suppression.► Renyi permutation entropy performed best in tracking EEG changes associated with different anesthesia states.► Approximate Entropy and Sample Entropy performed best in detecting burst suppression. OBJECTIVE: Entropy algorithms have been widely used in analyzing EEG signals during anesthesia. However, a systematic comparison of these entropy algorithms in assessing
Using social connection information to improve opinion mining: Identifying negative sentiment about HPV vaccines on Twitter
The manner in which people preferentially interact with others like themselves suggests that information about social connections may be useful in the surveillance of opinions for public health purposes. We examined if social connection information from tweets about human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines could be used to train classifiers that identify anti-vaccine opinions. From 42,533 tweets posted between October 2013 and March 2014, 2,098 were sampled at random and two investigators independent