Age of Surveillance Capitalism: “We Thought We Were Searching Google, But Google Was Searching Us”

democracynow.org - Corporations have created a new kind of marketplace out of our private human experiences. That is the conclusion of an explosive new book that argues big tech platforms like Facebook and Google are elephant poachers, and our personal data is ivory tusks. Author Shoshana Zuboff writes in “The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power”: “At its core, surveillance capitalism is parasitic and self-referential. It revives Karl Marx’s old image of capitalism as a vampire that feeds on labor, but with an unexpected turn. Instead of labor, surveillance capitalism feeds on every aspect of every human’s experience.”
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[@martduenas]

So grateful she is using the term "lie" instead of "myth."

[@boeingdriver29]

Shoshana has nailed it, will buy her book and as a side note, love her hair.

[@boeingdriver29]

@Mr steal your wife is that what your crystal ball tells you. Jewish yes, Zionist ?

[@rudiesan_89]

The birth of an Orwellian nightmare

[@maxnullifidian]

It's been a while since I've read 1984, but I seem to recall that only the management class was watched by Big Brother, whereas the "proles" were ignored.

[@rudiesan_89]

@@maxnullifidian You're right.. the proles were indeed worthless. Zuboff here described surveillance capitalism so well. If applied to 1984... The proles are now worthy of Big Brother's surveillance. Capitalism always finds a way to comodyfy everything.

[@christopherspavins9250]

We were so terrified of 1984 we went and built it.

[@DonDeering]

@@christopherspavins9250 That's because there isn't a "we" with shared needs in class society. The people owning the productive "machinery" need to maximize profit by extracting value from the actions of the rest of us. It used to mean paying as little as possible for as much labor as they could squeeze out of us. Now they've found a way to commoditize our information. It used to be clear that the working class's interests were diametrically opposed to the owners' interests; it was in the workers' interest to get as much "pay" (cash and benefits) as possible for the minimum amount of time and energy. While this remains the main division, the capitalist class has found new ways to extract value from human activity. The shallow phonies behind this monetization of personal data think they're so clever, but if humanity should survive and personal prosperity is universalized, they'll be remembered as the small-thinking obstacles they are. Scum!

[@josyphus5835]

RasJam Kebraraw except it is so disingenuous. I hear Lenin talking

[@Achrononmaster]

"If you having nothing to hide then you are nothing." Beautifully put. Thank you for that Shoshana. We are not mere collections of cells, we all have a unique individual non-physical soul, this is how people remember some of the better among us after we are gone.

[@whatta1501]

Like when you have a phone conversation, or text a message. Next thing you know you get an advertisement, or link about what you said. It feels so creepy, don't you agree

[@johnbarnesNnaptown]

I get ads about things I've mentioned to friends face to face with Phone in pocket no searches.

[@jumpingeezus5080]

whatta 1 We should text things and have conversations about things we actually want then. Will they give it to us? Maybe we should talk about things that are really important to humanity. All I ever hear most people talk about are very frivilous, unimportant things like so and so scored blah blah points. So and so sang this or that. Who cares? These people talking about it, I guess care about that tripe. Why?

[@spacer4660]

I spoke truth on Facebook then creeps showed up harassing me, my family, and my friends . . . and that’s unlawful if the Constitution has any power? But i can’t lawyer-up on my income. United Slaves of America stock is sinking to a bottomless abyss.

[@loki7389]

@@spacer4660 rally round the family, pocket full of shells

[@marysouza1882]

@@johnbarnesNnaptown The other day I went to a gas station, only got gas, a few minutes later I got a text asking me about my experience about that gas station. It's insane. Everywhere we go, we're being tracked as long as we have a cell phone on us. I know it goes beyond a company being interested in our experience with them.

[@renatoalcides5104]

"They know everything about us, we know almost nothing about tem."

[@impalabeeper]

That's the intention.

[@mariagaganta4925]

You Think ? 😉

[@lil_weasel219]

huge hierarchies yes

[@noelmay9]

Sharing this on facebook, despite the irony.

[@Windband1]

LOL

[@JugglinJellyTake01]

Tesco the supermarket had no problem with selling the critical book 'Tescopoly' in it's stores so FB likely does not care. The information asymmetry is so vast that it is likely small potatoes to them.

[@MrChefjms]

ME TOO! LOL

[@RVGODZILLA]

*you gotta be in the matrix to pull ppl out of the matrix*

[@billytheweasel]

i have never done social media. I'm not usually THAT right about anything! LOL

[@nancymesek]

I searched for a product months ago and the same product shows up in ads every day.

[@makesmefeellikeatalltree8250]

within your browser prefs, you can specify not to track your visits

[@charlottaatlas9995]

Fire sale... since 1983

[@kofitafari7598]

Cornholio 🤔

[@froggleggers1805]

Its called tracking cookies. Disable them or delete them from time to time if it bothers you.

[@jazzypoo7960]

Right now, I run a HOSTS file that blocks Google AdSense and DoubleClick: winhelp2002.mvps.org/hosts.htm

[@cordellwynne]

shoshana zuboff is such a super-smart person! Her analysis is amazing and her articulation of it is mind-blowing. I think this is one of the best Democracy Now! stories Ive seen in a long time.

[@1silvervespa]

Got yer head in the Sand if that's how you think.

[@mbgarrett6349]

Dr. Vandana Shiva touched base on this last week on Democracy Now. It also has to do with patents on our personal information, plus more. In fact, 60 Minutes did a segment on this very same topic about 6 years ago. There was another brief snippet addressing this issue last month on CBS.

[@peterg3539]

Corporate Manifesto: Own this, Own that, Own you, Own hope, Own the future. BATTLE EVIL WITH EVERYTHING YOU HAVE, Take up a yellow vest May 1st!

[@spacer4660]

I quit Facebook and all social media years ago. Life for me has improved substantially after the corporate hitmen and mysterious creeps have mostly disengaged from harassing me, my family, and my friends. United Slaves of America stock is sinking into an epic abyss and E.Snowden is a hero of humanity!

[@user-wp8yx]

This woman is awesome! I'd love to see more of her.

[@nrgraff]

Amazing segment, thank you. She's a very compelling speaker, articulating very important theories

[@tylerdavidson9700]

It's not paranoia if they're actually watching everything we do, say and feel- and then trying to influence us for their own profit.

[@simplethings3730]

The bad news is that even though we know this we still have no defense against it. It is like being tied to a stake and finding out someone is coming to kill you.

[@meb2126]

Finally: an observer of the observers

[@emilys.7953]

As kramer said "I'm watching the watchers, jerry!"

[@johnkevill470]

This woman is brilliant. Thank you professor Zuboff for putting in the work to explain the change in the modern world with such detail and clarity.

[@kitkat7523]

The only way to relay private messages is in a letter by post.

[@tracyk3567]

Thank you for covering this, Ms. Zuboff. It seems like nobody cares enough in MSM to make an issue out of this. It needs to be a major crime.

[@Lindenlc10]

Since they are collecting all the data, I suggest we all search Google over and over for this episode AND post it on FB every day. Just a thought. ; )

[@GreenOrchid9]

New phrase "digital gangsters" = social outlaws = behavior modifications = the elephant in the room

[@PeacocknRose]

We need to make money off of them making money off of us. If they are being paid millions a year for my personal data, I deserve a piece of that cut

[@tyleranyways]

Two documentaries called The Social Dilemma (Shoshanna was in it from what I remember) and Zero Days are great, everyone should watch them.

[@Joseph1NJ]

The problem is user apathy. Most grasp the concept, albeit with not much more than a peripheral understanding, but they just don't care. This is scary stuff. AI / tech is not just responsive and predictive, but influential. The ability to sway the thoughts, emotions, and ultimately actions of billions virtually in real time concentrated into the hands of so few corporations is not just a threat to democracy and freedom, but a threat to humanity.

[@MrTwenty20video]

Excellent report. Thank you.

[@carlclark3114]

Why many of us never joined social media.Stunning so many continue supporting the likes of Facebook and google even after the revelations of abuse

[@En8el]

you can join Brax.me and be protected. Only asks for a user name and a password... Is protected from the rest of the Internet data gathering, and all chats, even groups chats are encrypted.

[@IamRanJos]

So beautifully conveyed ❤

[@MitzvosGolem1]

I agree with you on this subject.. Putin even warned America about smart phone spying.

[@cathjj840]

he was just jealous

[@MitzvosGolem1]

Cath' J J evil KGB had to forcibly spy on Russians ...Yet oddly Americans pay smart phone bill happily to have a" KGB "in their pocket willingly was Putin s point.

[@cathjj840]

of course - just bein' snarky. Saw this telling remark on YT somewhere: The USSR was infamous for its ubiquitous propaganda, but no one there bellieved it. The USA spews just as much propaganda, but most of its citizens take it for the gospel truth.

[@MitzvosGolem1]

Cath' J J except we don't have Gulag labor camps for people like us who disagrees or speak out.

[@juliaset751]

Just telling us that we have a problem doesn’t solve the problem, we already knew that. How do we fix the problem?

[@obsoleteoptics]

It's up to us to figure that out

[@paulpeartsmith]

Most people aren't at step one let alone two.

[@emilys.7953]

@@paulpeartsmith i believe we need to get the word out to everyone we can first. I read this book about 3 years ago. I will always remember that "the powers that be" consider us "automated carcasses."

[@TonyFoxTarot]

Information is power. However, I feel empowered after listening to this. We can all make choices that either slow or halt our personal data being tapped..

[@davidmatlock7346]

What the corporations have used to their advantage is the fact that people don’t read these extensive agreements when signing up for “Free” apps. Hence, there is no real crime 😖

[@justmeonthebeach]

Very informative... And very serious... Thank you 🙏..

[@shiracohenyoga3492]

Thank you Shoshona for your work, and words of encouragement!

[@thebishop1301]

Nice to hear that the UK gov has looked into this. But I haven't seen it mentioned on BBC TV News yet, and I suspect i never will.....

[@solstice2318]

Human optimization. At the bottom line there is only one issue. Fearing it isn't useful. George Carlin resumed it all many years ago.

[@GS-gq5is]

After listening to this presentation, the word that comes to mind is: sublime.

[@BorisAmar]

The same oppressive system has landed me in a shelter, with not even a cellphone to get a job and people abusing alcohol, smoking in the rooms with damaged fire alarms, rampant sleep deprivation (arguing that this a "shelter", therefore you should not complain) and instances of unreported violence going on all around.

[@stevenwilliambaylessparks3730]

Work, buy, work, buy, work, buy, work, buy, work, buy, work, buy.....

[@obsoleteoptics]

Work Buy Consume Die

[@aclark1197]

No one should have gone through what many families have gone through inclusive of deprivation, mental shock therapy, harrassment , gang stalking and addressing this seems to inspire some to continue this abuse and meanwhile our leaders some of them completely ignoring the most blatant egregious acts. My brother suffered in NJ and what has been done but to ignore this. We need viable strong leaders who will fight for the rights of those who have been disenfranchised ignored overlooked by this government. Governor Murphy Senator Booker Senator Menedez Former Governor Christie Former leaders all know about this . It's is injustice and a violation of Democratic principles.

[@Em-wb4kf]

Brilliant commentary!!

[@ethicalpatriot8661]

4G/Market Capitalism++5G/Surveillance Capitalism. New fronteirs need new understanding and safeguards for our freedoms. Great interview.

[@hlmuench4212]

Thank you for giving this concept an accurate name

[@JR-ly6bx]

Amazing topic and super smart author, great interview

[@km1dash6]

What's funny is I'm going to get my MA in Psychology and want to use some of this data. I think that the laws an policies around informed consent should be updated, and there should be stricter laws on anonymizing the data.

[@machatte3522]

Excellent presentation...wonderful shoshana zuboff. Mostly this civilazation is dormant...hope a lot of people could reach this video👍

[@dinnerwithfranklin2451]

Good show. Thanks

[@Will_Moffett]

She talks about how the network technology has been used to modify our behavior towards the commercial ends of corporations. But that's little more than advertising through a new, though more invasive, medium. The real danger is thought control in the political sphere, which the author seems to ignore. I'm just as skeptical about a Harvard academic's view on this subject as I was before seeing her speak.

[@juju2345]

B Mod in academia did not disappear in 1980. They just changed the name.

[@FAKos-np7rh]

Great interview.

[@emotionalinvalid]

And many of you thought totalitarianism could only exist in communist countries .

[@kevinhornbuckle]

We are "free"!

[@dsimpson7862]

It is not even as technical as that, in uk there is is at least one camera for ten people and before you go to bed at night look out of your window you will see if you look hard enough a drone that is monitoring your phone calls and possibly more.

[@BloomGlare]

Shoshana's intellect is like a lighthouse in a storm.

[@CC-rv3ro]

Thank you!

[@lisahyyppa3360]

Essential & disturbing discussion of the realities we face

[@mitchellkrouth5083]

Thank you for all the great work You are the best

[@ceciliasperry663]

God in Heaven, help us all.

[@johnbarnesNnaptown]

I composed a phrase in my head to search in google. I typed the first letter and the whole phrase appeared.

[@electroncommerce]

All that data sounds mighty helpful for use in machine learning projects for DARPA, NSA, FBI, ICE, HUD, IRS, and almost any other government agency. Technocratic Utopia!

[@1delta_10tangos]

I was first introduced to this concept watching Alex Jones' show INFOWARS back in 2012.

[@maxnullifidian]

I never have been and never will be on Facebook or Twitter.

[@mokopenipatene4564]

I'm the 1% at the bottom. The cure to capitalism is to have none

[@foodparadise5792]

Another great book to read. Juses, I got a long list.

[@edgar4256]

How does this only have less than 40k views?????

[@babycakes2077]

They frack our shit!

[@doraincoimbra8583]

This is also happening in schools, mining personal information of students.

[@stenstenbk7287]

What a sane voice!

[@Bob-fj7lr]

15:00 holy hell

[@xerxes575]

great message... also great hair!

[@benparkinson8314]

Respect!!

[@supermodelatlanta1354]

makes me want to use a payphone for .35 open the phonebook and call some one

[@BudandBloomWithBlossom]

Exactly. Leave cell phones at home. Speak to people face-to-face, by letter.

[@spencerjames9417]

This is even more relevant now

[@TheSeekersofTruth]

The head of these corporation, Facebook and Google below in prison at the very least or the people should rise up and seek justice on their terms.

[@njosborne6152]

Interestingly enough, the Congress just gave the prez His 💲25 Billion in border security! Much of the 💲24 Billion goes for surveillance. This includes monies for Surveillance Drones Working 100 miles in from our contiguous border, All of Hawaii and Puerto Rico‼️ Better wake up y’all‼️ We can only blame the Republicans Liars, thugs and mobsters are running Our country‼️ Monocultures are impossible to maintain over time They simply burn themselves and their environments out. Drink no poisoned water Eat no poisoned food And breath no poisoned air. It’s not good for you, Your family or animals. The doc pretty much hit it on the head‼️

[@aclark1197]

I'm a sacrifice for speaking my truth about the conduct of leaders here in NJ. This government knew about COVID 19 long before People suffering because of their lack of knowledge about their government. It's utterly disgraceful.

[@crouchingwombathiddenquoll5641]

Loaded a weather app....it wanted access to my emails, the right to monitor and make phone calls.....WTF !

[@lillieholmes4521]

I believe everything this lady says, every time I type, seems like I can see hands on my keyboard, so I know it’s surveillance, but WHY?

[@judymeyer4315]

So should we trust Windows "Edge" or any other platform?

[@papalaz]

Not really they are all the same, unless someone from another country can make a platform like FB but also a different search engine, the other alternative is to vote them out change the way we been governed.

[@En8el]

Yes, FIGHT for your privacy! (BTW, I got this tip from Rob Braxman Tech here on KZbin. He's a trustworthy & experienced programmer, his solutions are factual. GET EDUCATED FROM ROB!!) Isolate your activities to separate browsers: chrome for google products, Firefox for Amazon & everything else, and Brave (or other minor browser like Edge) ONLY for Facebook. Don't click on stuff from FB; copy and paste, eliminating FB's extra referring characters if you want to check out a link you see on FB. That way, google & FB can't track what you buy, at least from your browsing actions. Rob recommends you use Windows Defender for anti-virus, and nothing else.

[@mcmahonp1]

The BBC ran a story on Friday to say that Facebook is trying to get around EU tough regulations on sharing data by suggesting that most users don't publicize their information and thereby keeping their information private, suggesting Facebook is just a conduit and nothing more.

[@katehillier1027]

Hard to watch but absolutely essential frightening scary goodness.❤️❤️❤️🥩🥩❤️❤️❤️💐💐💐💐🥦🥦

[@mutroom9914]

The Society of the Spectacle

[@themorales3052]

Can someone explain in simple terms what Shoshana meant by "Private surveillance capital has institutionalized asymmetrics of knowledge unlike ever seen in human history"(time 16:00)

[@UTubeISphere]

Private surveillance capital (= Google, FB, and other sources capital invested in studying us, including other private organisations engaged in this) 'institutionalised' = put into practice through sign-on agreements, perhaps also monthly contributions, different teams and experts, departments, etc) 'asymmetries of knowledge' - as she mentioned in the next sentence, Google knows a lot about me in terms of my politics, age, gender, hobbies, health, my social circle, etc, whereas I know very little about Google / Alphabet, Facebook. 'in human history' - in the past, the state, church, or private entities would know very little about you and me apart from perhaps some basic records (birth, death, perhaps also marriage, perhaps additional stuff from court records).

[@thisklik]

i like that is written MOCRACY when Shoshana is talking

[@heberje]

Fossil fuel gangsters pose a bigger threat to our planet than digital gangsters.

[@zacharydavis4398]

Thank you for spending the time to create and share this content. So relevant to Trump and his enabled (autocratic/authoritarian/dictatorial/etc) administrations/teams/Big-Techs/etc role in the blip in Modern American history …

[@shadetreader]

Everything we were told to fear from communısm has come true under capıtalism.

[@gaslitmasses75]

I soiled my undergarments when I watched this interview... and, of course, "they" already know this

[@philipmcritchie7309]

this woman looks bloody fantastic for 68....

[@Californiansurfer]

We are adults , we know that our feed back is what we get for free. So, we have no controls, that is bullshit.. I spend two hours a day and that is it. I don’t get caught up. You can say the same thing about television programming or the media know more than us. We are Americans and right to our own freedom. Who are you to tell me what is right? We all don’t go along to get along..

[@prospero6337]

So smart...

[@bubblefroggy1]

Ralph Nader interviewing Shoshana Zuboff about her book "The Age of Surveillance Capitalism" on Ralph Nader Radio Hour: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mHrRqoeVf759ibs

[@partfluency]

Still relevant, maybe more than ever.

[@monicaangelini3324]

but but but...now in I have to give my consent even to be able to use my bank online, if I dont, no ebanking for me. So I am literally forced to accept (with a 3 page guidance on how to eliminate cookies from my computer (yah right) in the meantime my bank is sharing all my habits with god knows who

[@msenthilkumaran6069]

Human beings! You are almost done.

[@rubensnogueira3199]

5:54 She is wrong: the development we see *IS* inevitable. Does anyone see the public ready to rollback all the "great" apps we have now, just because we need less dangerous solutions? Technology is a power, much stronger than us, and has the potencial to make us all slaves in a way or another. Jacques Ellul wrote about that almost 70 years ago.

[@liteharted]

Yikes!

[@cdeluz]

Big Brother is watching us, and it goes far beyond search engines and social websites. Windows 10 was initially "free." Microsoft is monitoring everything you write (e.g., to whom it was written, when it was written, and what you wrote about). As for the Goliaths, she neglected to mention Xfinity (Comcast). Your name, address, and phone number are published on the internet at www.ecolisting.com. for anyone to access if you have a landline with them.

[@whoamInonsense]

will technical revolution change the concept of labour introduced by industrial revolution ?

[@Joseph1NJ]

I tried to have this conversation on a tech site last month. The blowback I got was nothing more than apathetic. Your thoughts are no longer yours, I said. Crickets...