MIT Faculty Bedazzle Surveillance Cameras in Satirical Protest
How we learned to stop worrying and love campus surveillance
MIT installed hundreds of AI-capable surveillance cameras across campus, some pointing at faculty offices and bathrooms. In a satirical newsletter, faculty co-authors mock the administration's secrecy and ties to Ambient.ai by bedazzling the cameras with colorful gems, calling it the IBAISBIAOMITCORPICBBTC initiative. They highlight concerns about privacy, bias, and chilling effects while sarcastically praising the surveillance as a loving gift from Big Brother Tech.
Each gem that we place on an AI-capable surveillance camera is an indicator of our admiring appreciation for Big Brother technology.
- jcomp
There is an effectively unlimited supply of people willing to take sums of money to work on anti-human endeavors, so long as they and theirs are not the humans involved.
- fouc
If you fail to read the article you might not realize it's being sarcastic.
- rancar2
I respect that the bling protest. I’d respect the writing to another level if they touch on some of the very public incidents that have happened in/around and associated with MIT, where this level of cost/security was even considered in the first place. This would open more dialog around better approaches as well.
- skyberrys
They must really love their security cameras to have decided to start decorating them. The bedazzled cameras are lovely to see. My inner 90's child can't wait to apply sparkly plastic rhinestone to their naked exteriors. What's next? Some fake braids and perhaps a troll doll or two?
Also have to commend whoever is in charge of acronyms for this project. I thought I was the most excessive acronym user, but now having read this article, I'm not!
- readenough
Somehow this reminds me to think of Aaron Schwartz.