I& #39;ve been talking with @SethColaner at @VentureBeat a bit about COVID-19 and AI, but mainly I& #39;ve been quiet about things publicly. I have loved ones who are immunocompromised and we live in the love of my life, NYC, aka the epicenter of the outbreak. /1 https://venturebeat.com/2020/05/08/ai-weekly-cdpa-bill-shows-progress-on-coronavirus-tracking-data-privacy-but-theres-still-a-ways-to-go/">https://venturebeat.com/2020/05/0...

We must get the virus under control. It& #39;s important that, as surveillance activists and sometimes-AI skeptics, we understand that the top priority for folks (ourselves included) is worrying about survival in a non-abstract way. But we must also remember that huge changes are /2

forged in a crisis. And gathering power becomes that much easier when the public is behind the cry for safety and a return to "normal", whatever that actually means. There are so many snake oil rallying cries for inescapable, identifiable, biometric surveillance in the crisis. /3

But if we let it, these same cries for safety will result in a transformation of life as we know it. An end to anonymity. A further shift of power away from the vulnerable, and into the hands of firms like Palantir. And through them, all of that data will be available to ICE. /4

We need better laws. A guarantee that our location at any moment in time or in history won& #39;t end up in the hands of law enforcement. And that our behavior won& #39;t be offered up to election campaigns who seek to undermine democracy. And short of this bill, which is insufficient.. /5

I don& #39;t see much evidence of that happening at all. We need to work together to make sure that our government knows: COVID-19 is not an excuse to trade our civil liberties, and only good regulation can protect us from the abuses of power that lie ahead. /end-of-rant.