Surveillance, transparency, and trust

Abstract

The global pandemic that began in 2019 and spread in waves of contagion throughout the world was met with increased modes of surveillance that accentuated the vexing issues of data circulation. These were already the stuff of government commissions, academic research, company policy, and privacy and data protection regimes the world over. But now they present themselves as even more troubling conundrums. More data may be acquired through centralized systems, deemed useful for risk modeling and analysis. But without clear limits, once in government hands, those data could easily be used for other, potentially more negative surveillance purposes. Beyond privacy and security concerns are important ethical and justice issues such as vulnerability and civil liberties. Greater transparency, understood as accountability, could contribute to trust, as a vital dimension of ways in which technologies could be shaped to truly human ends. Thus, today, the development of surveillance systems, devices, and apps should be guided by criteria whose shorthand here is “human flourishing.”. © 2022 selection and editorial matter, Lora Anne Viola and Paweł Laidler;.