Searching for Vonnegut's Narrator: Freedom, Identity and

Privacy in the Information Society

Andrew Murray

Vonnegut’s What?

Tell me about Dwayne

What About Kilgore?

And Who is Philboyd Studge?

What can we learn from all this?

There are many types of robots...

 "There was nothing sacred about myself or about any human being, that we were all machines, doomed to collide and collide and collide.“

Philboyd Studge

"You are surrounded by loving machines, hating machines, greedy machines, unselfish machines, brave machines, cowardly machines, truthful machines, lying machines, funny machines, solemn machines. Their only purpose is to stir you up in every conceivable way, so the Creator of the Universe can watch your reactions. They can no more feel or reason than grandfather clocks.“

Kilgore Trout: “Now it can be told”

Self-Determination

Only Philboyd Studge has it

He gives it to Kilgore Trout

What about us?

Autonomy Principles

Foundational Principles of Autonomy:Privacy – “The ability to determine for ourselves when, how, and to what extent information about us is communicated to others” (Westin, 1967).

Freedom of Speech and Information – “The censorship of a fanatical bigot is an offense to the autonomy of us all.’’ (Nagel, 1995)

Freedom from External Interference – “The capacity to be one’s own person, to live one’s life according to reasons and motives that are taken as one’s own and not the product of manipulative or distorting external forces.” Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy

Autonomy Threats

Ubiquitous computing

Ambient profiling and decision making

“Threats” based lawmaking

Data multiplication

Data overload

Semantic Data Management

Rules-based Approaches

Don’t Work!

Regarding privacy the Data Protection Act/Directive is too structural.

Reliance on permissions outdated

The data protection principles are NOT privacy principles.

Rules-based Approaches

Fear based lawmaking

The USA PATRIOT Act

The Data Retention Directive

Not just security fears also economic fears

The Digital Economy Act

A Rights Based Approach?A taxonomy of fundamental rights...

Right Security/Liberty Autonomy

Life X

Freedom from Torture X

Freedom from Servitude X

Liberty and Security X X

Fair Trial X

Privacy X

Religion X

Free Expression X

Freedom from Retrospectivity X

A Digital Rights Approach

Controversially I suggest that all the liberty/security rights are not digital rights. I can’t be digitally killed,

tortured, imprisoned etc. these are functions of physicality.

Autonomy rights are essential to digital freedoms though. We must press for

recognition of digital autonomy rights

What rights? Elsewhere I set out ten inalienable internet rights:

1. No law shall be made which shall restrict the right of the individual to full and free access to the internet. This shall include laws which prevent universal access, allow for degradation of quality of access or which allow for access to be suspended without a full and fair hearing in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

1. No law shall be made which shall restrict the right of the individual to full and free access to the internet. This shall include laws which prevent universal access, allow for degradation of quality of access or which allow for access to be suspended without a full and fair hearing in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

2. The service level offered to each internet user shall be universal. There shall be no application of technical measures to affect the level of service offered. This includes packet prioritisation or limitations. The internet shall remain neutral as to content carried.

2. The service level offered to each internet user shall be universal. There shall be no application of technical measures to affect the level of service offered. This includes packet prioritisation or limitations. The internet shall remain neutral as to content carried.

3. The individual shall have the right to use the internet in private. This includes the right to object to monitoring of their activities and the creation of service logs.

3. The individual shall have the right to use the internet in private. This includes the right to object to monitoring of their activities and the creation of service logs.

What rights? 4. Each person has the right to inclusive internet access. This includes the right to access

educational services and training on the use of internet resources and the right for persons of special access requires such as the physically or visually impaired to have a right of full access and participation.

4. Each person has the right to inclusive internet access. This includes the right to access educational services and training on the use of internet resources and the right for persons of special access requires such as the physically or visually impaired to have a right of full access and participation.

5. The individual shall have the right to employ encryption technology in the pursuit of personal privacy and security of transmissions.

5. The individual shall have the right to employ encryption technology in the pursuit of personal privacy and security of transmissions.

6. No information shall be created or retained about an individual without their permission or agreement. All information or data so created or stored must be stored securely and must only be processed in accordance with the permission of the individual data subject. Data is not to be passed on to third parties (including states parties) without either the permission of the individual or an appropriately obtained court order obtained in accordance with the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

6. No information shall be created or retained about an individual without their permission or agreement. All information or data so created or stored must be stored securely and must only be processed in accordance with the permission of the individual data subject. Data is not to be passed on to third parties (including states parties) without either the permission of the individual or an appropriately obtained court order obtained in accordance with the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

What rights? 7. Each person shall have a right to roam the internet free from surveillance.7. Each person shall have a right to roam the internet free from surveillance.

8. Each person shall have the right to freely express their views and opinions including religious opinions. This right shall not be abridged except insofar as these views cause harm to others and then only following appropriately obtained court order obtained in accordance with the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

8. Each person shall have the right to freely express their views and opinions including religious opinions. This right shall not be abridged except insofar as these views cause harm to others and then only following appropriately obtained court order obtained in accordance with the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

9. Each person shall have free and unfettered access to public informational resources including sources of law and precedent, government documents and consultation documents. Individuals will be allowed unfettered discussion of such resources and the state shall supply technical support in creating an environment for the free exchange of ideas and comments.

9. Each person shall have free and unfettered access to public informational resources including sources of law and precedent, government documents and consultation documents. Individuals will be allowed unfettered discussion of such resources and the state shall supply technical support in creating an environment for the free exchange of ideas and comments.

10. Individuals shall have a right of peaceful protest and assembly in the virtual sphere. This right does not include the right to cause harm to others.

10. Individuals shall have a right of peaceful protest and assembly in the virtual sphere. This right does not include the right to cause harm to others.

Without privacy and control over data access we risk losing autonomy

The real danger is the gradual erosion of individual liberties through automation, integration, and interconnection of many small, separate record-keeping systems, each of which alone may seem innocuous, even benevolent, and wholly justifiable.

Anon. US Privacy Study Commission, 1977.  

If we lose autonomy we risk becoming meat based robots.

Contact:

Andrew Murray

Department of Law

LSE

Houghton Street

London

WC2A 2AE

Email: a.murray@lse.ac.uk