Surveillance in the digital society

Surveillance in the digital society

The increased digitalization of society and recent developments in artificial intelligence (AI) is laying the ground for powerful surveillance capabilities of a magnitude we have not seen before. Wherever we move in urban spaces, airports, hospitals, schools, workplaces, stores, and residential areas we may be subject to surveillance by both state and private actors. Justified by the need to increase security in society, Swedish law enforcement authorities have gained an extended mandate to introduce powerful surveillance technologies to monitor and gather information about individuals. However, these technologies are also associated with concerns about far-reaching risks and threats to important democratic values as individuals’ privacy. Digital surveillance has already come to play a central role in law enforcement work and is expected to increase even further in the near future. This lecture will present ongoing research about the Swedish police authority’s use of surveillance technologies and accompanying tensions and dilemmas. At the heart here is the battle over privacy, what it means and how it can be protected.

Short Bio

Marie Eneman holds a PhD in Informatics from University of Gothenburg. She conducts critical research connected to the digitalization of society to understand the consequences of emerging technologies. Examples of her research areas are: surveillance and privacy in the digital society, ethical dilemmas in sensitive research, sexual exploitation of children in the digital society, technological regulation. Marie has been responsible for evaluation work within the Swedish Police Authority and has also participated in revision of legislations.