Big Questions, Big Ideas

The Ball State Philosophy and Religious Studies Department in partnership with Muncie Public Library presents the Big Questions, Big Ideas series. Learn to think critically about complex issues and questions, and cultivate an awareness of the diversity of ideas in our world.

November's topic will be "Surveillance, Biometrics, and the Erosion of Liberties", by Dr. Adam Bowen.

Given the prevalence of smartphones, wearable fitness trackers, doorbell cameras, dash cams, etc., consumers not only consent to surveillance, but also actively surveil themselves and others. Uploading pictures and videos to social media platforms creates an ever-increasing motherlode of biometric data that is mined by third parties, often without consent, and aggregated into massive databases to train facial recognition AI models utilized by law enforcement agencies. Does biometric surveillance of this kind infringe fundamental civil liberties? Privacy? Due process? In this presentation, together we will discuss whether, and to what degree, widespread surveillance erodes civil liberties and human rights protections.