Lecture 10: Zuboff and Surveillance Capitalism

Posthumanism and Technology

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3 anni fa 31:15

This week we are going to explore Shoshana Zuboff’s major recent work Surveillance Capitalism. In SC Zuboff does something really interesting and innovative. Zuboff believes that we do not really have the right concept or ideas for the effects which have been wrought on us by the internet revolution. While we say and are aware of words like ‘big data,’ ‘e-commerce,’ ‘encryption’ and ‘authentication’ and ‘GDPR,’ but do we really know how they actually work, who works them and who monitors who works them? This lecture will explain precisely what is ‘behavioural surplus,’ how and when it appeared, and examines how tech corporations – e.g. Google, Facebook, Microsoft – have harnessed this new form of exchange to constitute predictable, consuming, and malleable humans through data extraction, as well as the invention of new coercive forms of power.

These lectures are brought to you by Staffordshire University's Philosophy team. Come study on our MA in Continental Philosophy via this link. Or, join our MA in Philosophy of Nature, Information and Technology via this link. Find out more about me here.

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#Society #Philosophy #Patrick

Posthumanism and Technology

Lecture 10: Zuboff and Surveillance Capitalism

Posthumanism and Technology

published 3 anni fa

MP3•Pagina principale dell'episodio

21 episodi

#Society #Philosophy #Patrick

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Posthumanism and Technology

1
The Novacene - James Lovelock and the Rise of the Intelligent Machines 26:41

30 weeks fa26:41

26:41

In this episode I have a think about maverick scientist James Lovelock and his ideas about Gaia, artificial intelligence and his predictions about the coming age of hyper-intelligent machine. f you would like to study with me you can find more information about our online education MAs in Philosophy here at Staffordshire University. You can find out more information on our MA in Continental Philosophy via this link . Or, join our MA in Philosophy of Nature, Information and Technology via this link . Find out more about me here . September intakes F/T or January intakes P/T. You can listen to more free back content from the Thales' Well podcast on TuneIn Radio , Player Fm , Stitcher and Pod Bean. You can also download their apps to your smart phone and listen via there. You can also subscribe for free on iTunes . Please leave a nice review.…

Posthumanism and Technology

1
The Novels of William Gibson 27:21

1 year fa27:21

27:21

The Novels of William Gibson William Gibson is a pioneering science fiction novelist. He is most renowned as one of the great cyberpunk novelists as well as for for coining the term "cyberspace" in his debut novel, Neuromancer (1984). His work explores the intersection of technology, society, and human identity, anticipating the rise of the internet and virtual reality. With a cyberpunk aesthetic. In this audio essay I talk about all, and I talk why Gibson is so interesting for understanding how the technological self would be an absurd admixture of certainty and uncertainty. Also, why we enjoy our own downfall. The article from the New Yorker I refer to can be found here . If you would like to study with me you can find more information about our online education MAs in Philosophy here at Staffordshire University. You can find out more information on our MA in Continental Philosophy via this link . Or, join our MA in Philosophy of Nature, Information and Technology via this link . Find out more about me here . September intakes F/T or January intakes P/T. You can listen to more free back content from the Thales' Well podcast on TuneIn Radio , Player Fm , Stitcher and Pod Bean. You can also download their apps to your smart phone and listen via there. You can also subscribe for free on iTunes . Please leave a nice review.…

Posthumanism and Technology

1
The Posthuman Pontiff 26:28

1 year fa26:28

26:28

In this audio essay I think about the ecological musings of Pope Francis from his encyclical letters Laudato Si : On Care for Our Common Home and Laudato Si: On theClimate Crisis. Generally, I try to figure out what the pope’s theory oftechnology is. Pope Francis is an advocate for environmental stewardship and he emphasizes the moral imperative of addressing climate change, environmental degradation and stressing the interconnectedness of all life. In the end I wonder if he is more of a transhumanist with his commitment to radical life extension.…

Posthumanism and Technology

1
Deep Tech - Ethics in the Anthropocene 39:04

1 year fa39:04

39:04

On this audio essay I have a good mull about the value of ethics for thinking about the environment. I discuss the limits and benefits of conventional forms of Practical Ethics and Environmental ethics, the limits of moral agency, how to connect ethics to technology. The following thinkers and writers come up –Donna Haraway, Arne Naess, Peter Singer, Aldo Leopold, David Wallace-Wells. Building on Haraway and Naess interdisciplinary approach I try to figure out what a “deep tech” might look like, that is to say, how can we think of science and technology as truly connected to concrete things we do in everyday life. In other words, how do we make the future real, again.…

Posthumanism and Technology

1
Haraway vs the Robots 25:27

2 years fa25:27

25:27

On this podcast I return to and have a mull about Donna Haraway's idea of the cyborg, how to differentiate it from the robot, how different models of biology inform our thought, our identity, and how she responds to accusations of post-truth. The interview with Haraway which I draw on is available here . These lectures are brought to you by Staffordshire University's Philosophy team. Come study on our MA in Continental Philosophy via this link . Or, join our MA in Philosophy of Nature, Information and Technology via this link . Find out more about me here . January and September intakes available either F/T or P/T.…

Posthumanism and Technology

1
An Inhuman Metaverse 25:48

2 years fa25:48

25:48

On this episode, I conclude my discussion about the metaverse with a reflection on Lyotard's philosophy. While Lyotard died in 1998 his prognostications about technology, capital, economics are searingly insightful and relevant. Lyotard suggests perhaps our best chance for emancipating ourselves from the dangerous dispositions of our tools is to embrace an aesthetic confrontation with the technosphere. This means we need to figure out how to embed contingency, creation, dialogue and humanity into our machines then we have some hope of saving ourselves, at least before our sun goes supernova! In this episode I also had a think about Matthew Bell's very thought-provoking essay "The Metaverse: What It Is, Where to Find it, and Who Will Build It" which is available via his website . Also, I referenced the art exhibition Les Immatériaux which was curated by Lyotard. These lectures are brought to you by Staffordshire University's Philosophy team. Come study on our MA in Continental Philosophy via this link . Or, join our MA in Philosophy of Nature, Information and Technology via this link . Find out more about me here . January and September intakes available either F/T or P/T.…

Posthumanism and Technology

1
The Metaverse and the Embodied Machine 25:14

2 years fa25:14

25:14

In this and the next episode I talk about how technological convergence drives the metaverse, the pursuit of virtual embodiment and how Lyotard might think of the metaverse. The texts this week are Lyotard's " Can Thoughts Go Without a Body ." Also, Mark Zuckerberg's interview with The Verge is worth a look. During the recording my mic quit, so the last 10m or so were automatically recorded by my laptop mic. The audio is still serviceable, and a salutary lesson to check your sound source when you go back recording after finishing lunch! These lectures are brought to you by Staffordshire University's Philosophy team. Come study on our MA in Continental Philosophy via this link . Or, join our MA in Philosophy of Nature, Information and Technology via this link . Find out more about me here . January and September intakes available either F/T or P/T.…

Posthumanism and Technology

1
Nick Bostrom, Artificial Intelligence and the Values of a Transhuman 45:24

2 years fa45:24

45:24

In this lecture I talk about Nick Bostrom's version of post-humanism. I explain his ideas, using his Bostrom's " Future of Humanity " essay as a jumping off point. I also explain Bostrom's distinct rationalist version of post-humanism, I talk about what he has to say about values, how he tackles common-sense objections to post-humanism, and I wonder towards the end about some of the implications of Bostrom's post-humanism. I also draw on Bostrom's essay " Dignity and Enhancement ." These lectures are brought to you by Staffordshire University's Philosophy team. Come study on our MA in Continental Philosophy via this link . Or, join our MA in Philosophy of Nature, Information and Technology via this link . Find out more about me here . January and September intakes available either F/T or P/T.…

Posthumanism and Technology

1
Lecture 13 - Byung-Chul Han, Technology and Psychopolitics 28:30

3 years fa28:30

28:30

This lecture, I look at Han’s notion of ‘psychopolitics.’ Psychopolitics is the affective moods which besiege human beings as a direct result of contemporary techno-politics. More specifically, I will look at how Han explains what he calls the transparent society which is the primary driver of affective psychopolitics. Secondly, I will explain how the psychopolitics generated by new technologies creates a dangerous form of emotional capitalism. In the last section, I will explain some alternative modes of life which Han suggests might provide us with a refuge from the tempest of technological determinism. These lectures are brought to you by Staffordshire University's Philosophy team. Come study on our MA in Continental Philosophy via this link . Or, join our MA in Philosophy of Nature, Information and Technology via this link . Find out more about me here . January and September intakes available either F/T or P/T.…

Posthumanism and Technology

1
Lecture 12 – Byung-Chul Han, Technology and The Burnout Society 31:44

3 years fa31:44

31:44

Byung-Chul Han's work attempts to make sense of a number of things, what life is like in the late capitalist societies of the 21st century, the affective consequence of technological acceleration, how mental health has deteriorated in Western democracies, and the deleterious consequences of freedom and positivity. In this lecture, I will begin by explaining how Han approaches the question of time. The dysfunctions of time and temporality is in my view the core idea in Han, the one which makes all his other ideas intelligible. Subsequently, I will turn to outlining some of the affective conditions which occur because of our dysfunctional relation to time. Finally, I will explain the forms of resistance which Han thinks are absolutely crucial to re-humanize ourselves. These lectures are brought to you by Staffordshire University's Philosophy team. Come study on our MA in Continental Philosophy via this link . Or, join our MA in Philosophy of Nature, Information and Technology via this link . Find out more about me here . January and September intakes available either F/T or P/T.…

Posthumanism and Technology

1
Lecture 11 - Zuboff, Surveillance Capitalism and Digital Freedom 29:46

3 years fa29:46

29:46

This week I want to primarily explain how Zuboff charts how the insights of behaviourist psychology were radicalised into surveillance capitalism. Specifically, I look at how Zuboff critiques B.F Skinner’s behaviourism, the psychological method through which leading technology companies have since extrapolated means of behaviour modification and a politics of absolute social control. Secondly, I look at the what Zuboff has to say about ‘digital nudging,’ or the means of exercising power by corporations, governments over their populations by technical suggestion, subliminal prodding, through ‘reading’ the inner moods and desires of citizens ,and bending them towards ‘optimum’ outcomes. Outcomes which preclude deviance, dissent and resistance. While this does sound akin to the paranoid ‘mind control’ of a bad sci-fi movie. Zuboff’s point is more subtle, as the mind does not really come into the equation at all. The nudging occurs before the mind even has a chance to assess the way it is being influenced and is thus inherently pre-conceptual. Finally, I will look at what Zuboff has to say about the nature of freedom, and the ways it can be reanimated and returned to public discourse to ‘disrupt’ the logic of surveillance capitalism. These lectures are brought to you by Staffordshire University's Philosophy team. Come study on our MA in Continental Philosophy via this link . Or, join our MA in Philosophy of Nature, Information and Technology via this link . Find out more about me here . [January and September intakes available - F/T and P/T]…

Posthumanism and Technology

1
Lecture 10: Zuboff and Surveillance Capitalism 31:15

3 years fa31:15

31:15

This week we are going to explore Shoshana Zuboff’s major recent work Surveillance Capitalism . In SC Zuboff does something really interesting and innovative. Zuboff believes that we do not really have the right concept or ideas for the effects which have been wrought on us by the internet revolution. While we say and are aware of words like ‘big data,’ ‘e-commerce,’ ‘encryption’ and ‘authentication’ and ‘GDPR,’ but do we really know how they actually work, who works them and who monitors who works them? This lecture will explain precisely what is ‘behavioural surplus,’ how and when it appeared, and examines how tech corporations – e.g. Google, Facebook, Microsoft – have harnessed this new form of exchange to constitute predictable, consuming, and malleable humans through data extraction, as well as the invention of new coercive forms of power. These lectures are brought to you by Staffordshire University's Philosophy team. Come study on our MA in Continental Philosophy via this link . Or, join our MA in Philosophy of Nature, Information and Technology via this link . Find out more about me here .…

Posthumanism and Technology

1
Lecture 9: N. Katherine Hayles, Cognitive Assemblages and Financial Posthumanism 35:17

3 years fa35:17

35:17

N. Katherine Hayles in her more recent work expands on the work initiated in How We Became Posthuman. Turning her attention to human consciousness she explains how consciousness itself is increasingly distributed across all the technical systems which modulate our behaviour. as Hayles sees it, we have to accept that cognition and human agency are distributed across quite obscure technical networks. The quicker we accept this fact, the quicker we accept that we are not the only cognizers in the world, the better it will be for us all. This is why her work Unthought continues, to undermine the idea of human exceptionality. Rather, we need to embrace the idea that the majority of cognition is in fact nonconscious. Once we do this, we will be able to attune ourselves more clearly to the technological world we inhabit. Here, I will explain how Hayles distinguishes between consciousness and nonconscious cognition. Subsequently, I will outline how Hayles theorises how nonconscious cognition intersects with technology. I will go on to show two of Hayles’ case studies that illustrate the dangers and possibilities inherent to what Hayles calls cognitive assemblages. These lectures are brought to you by Staffordshire University's Philosophy team. Come study on our MA in Continental Philosophy via this link . Or, join our MA in Philosophy of Nature, Information and Technology via this link . Find out more about me here .…

Posthumanism and Technology

1
Lecture 8 - N. Katherine Hayles and Artificial Life 32:26

3 years fa32:26

32:26

In the last lecture we explored how Hayles assessed the impact of the Macy Conferences on the developments of Artificial Intelligence. Here I will proceed to explain Hayles’ recounting of how cybernetics began to adopt more reflexive models of cognition. I will look at what she has to individually say about the second and thirds waves of cybernetics and conclude with a discussion on Hayles’ claim that a central tenet of the posthuman self-understanding is virtual embodiment. These lectures are brought to you by Staffordshire University's Philosophy team. Come study on our MA in Continental Philosophy via this link . Or, join our MA in Philosophy of Nature, Information and Technology via this link . Find out more about me here .…

Posthumanism and Technology

1
Lecture 7 - N. Katherine Hayles, Cybernetics and the Birth of Artificial Intelligence 30:39

3 years fa30:39