Troubling Policy seminar series - Data as Labour: Rethinking the Collection and Ownership of Personal Information in the Era of Artificial Intelligence - 6 Aug 2018

Troubling Policy Seminar Series

Data as Labour: Rethinking the Collection and Ownership of Personal Information in the Era of Artificial Intelligence

Presented by Dr Tim Dunlop

Walter Boas Building, 1pm

About the Event

We collected more data on ourselves in 2016 than we had in the rest of human history. Within ten years, as sensors and processors are embedded in everyday objects and devices, including cars, fridges and even clothing—that is, as the “internet of things” connects our everyday activities to the internet—the amount of personal data collected is likely to double every twelve hours. So we generate this data in our everyday lives and then we give it away for free to a handful of companies who monetise it, generating potentially enormous profits. Increasingly, they use it to build artificial intelligence that is being used to, if not outright replace the work that humans do, then at least change the nature of work, putting downward pressure on wages and conditions. If we want to avoid the sort of concentration of wealth this implies, and maintain functioning democracies, we will need to treat data differently, as labour and not just as capital, and find ways we can all share in the wealth it helps generate.

Biography

Tim Dunlop is an author and academic. His book, The New Front Page: New Media and the Rise of the Audience is a seminal text on the digital media revolution and presaged changes still affecting the industry. He has been a columnist for the ABC, as well for News Ltd. He writes on the future of work for The Guardian and speaks regularly in public and professional forums on the same topic. His latest book is the acclaimed, Why The Future Is Workless, which discusses technology and the future of work. His new book, The Future of Everything, is released on September 1st.

The discussant will be Professor John Howe, Director of the University of Melbourne School of Government. John's research interests include labour market policy and regulation, regulatory theory, and corporate accountability.

About the Series

The ‘Troubling Policy’ seminar series asks difficult questions about controversial or intractable policy challenges, seeks to find new ways of looking at these, and embraces insights from across disciplines.  The series aims to explore the societal and political context in which policy is developed, including the knowledge/s and expertise used, the technologies deployed, how these combine to shape regulation, the relationship between controversy and the policy process, and the effectiveness (or otherwise) of policy implementation. The series is hosted by the Melbourne School of Government.