Investment in forms of algorithmic surveillance—from facial recognition in the supermarket to license plate recognition—have skyrocketed over the past decade. The promise is that algorithmic technologies allow for data to be analyzed at an enormous scale, increasing public safety. At the same time, these systems have been questioned for the many problematic outcomes of their (violent) use. Critics have pointed these systems reinforce racism and may lead to increased surveillance of marginalized communities. This lecture asks: How may we use algorithmic surveillance to look at itself? I will explore the colonial rise of surveillance systems, but also the materiality of these systems in our everyday lives—their images, technologies, and infrastructures. Ultimately, this exercise will help to imagine how we could learn to not take algorithmic surveillance at face value. This reflection will take shape as a live video-essay (a talk with short video segments).

Dienstag | 30. Juni 2026 18:00 Uhr
Hochschule für Künste Bremen | Großer Theorieraum (4.15.070)