294
14 Summary: What’s Wrong with AI?
14.2.4 Profiling, Targeting, and Digital Twins
Since the revelations of Edward Snowden (*1983), we know that we have all been
targets of mass surveillance, and based on our personal data, “profiles” of us have
been created—no matter whether you wanted this or not.
34 In some cases, such
profiles have not only been data bases or unstructured data about us. Instead, “digital
doubles”, i.e. computer agents emulating us, have been created of all people in
the world (as much as this was possible). You may imagine this like a black box
that has been created for everyone, which is continuously fed with surveillance
data and learns to behave like the humans they are imitating. Such platforms may
be used to simulate countries or even the entire world. One of these systems is
known under the name of “Sentient World”.
35 It contains highly detailed profiles
of individuals. Services such as “Crystal Knows” may give you an idea.
36 Detailed
personal information can be used to personalize information and to manipulate our
attention, opinions, emotions, decisions and behaviors.
37 Such “targeting” has been
used for “neuromarketing”
38 and also to manipulate elections.
39 Furthermore, it plays
a major role for today’s information wars and the current fake news epidemics.
40
14.2.5 Data Protection?
In seems, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) should have protected
us from mass surveillance, profiling and targeting. In fact, the European Court of
Human Rights has ruled that past mass surveillance as performed by the GCHQ was
unlawful.
41 However, it appears that lawmakers have come up with new reasons for
34 Sentient World Simulation and NSA Surveillance—Exploiting Privacy to Predict the Future?
(May 19, 2019) https://emerj.com/ai-future-outlook/nsa-surveillance-and-sentient-world-simula
tion-exploiting-privacy-to-predict-the-future/.
35 Sentient world: war games on the grandest scale, The Register (June 23, 2007) https://www.the
register.co.uk/2007/06/23/sentient_worlds/.
36 Crystal, https://www.crystalknows.com, “The app that tells you anyone’s personality” https://
web.archive.org/web/20181205032704/, https://www.crystalknows.com/.
37 How Covert Agents Infiltrate the Internet to Manipulate, Deceive, and Destroy Reputations, The
Intercept (February 25, 2014) https://theintercept.com/2014/02/24/jtrig-manipulation/.
38 Morin and Renvoise [10].
39 Cambridge Analytica: how did it turn clicks into votes? The Guardian (May 6, 2018) https://
www.theguardian.com/news/2018/may/06/cambridge-analytica-how-turn-clicks-into-votes-christ
opher-wylie.
40 Meet the weaponized AI system that know you better than you know yourself, Extreme Tech
(March 1, 2017) https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/245014-meet-sneaky-facebook-poweredpropaganda-ai-might-just-know-better-know.
41 GCHQ data collection regime violated human rights, court rules, The Guardian (September 13,
2018) https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/sep/13/gchq-data-collection-violated-humanrights-strasbourg-court-rules.
14 Summary: What’s Wrong with AI?
14.2.4 Profiling, Targeting, and Digital Twins
Since the revelations of Edward Snowden (*1983), we know that we have all been
targets of mass surveillance, and based on our personal data, “profiles” of us have
been created—no matter whether you wanted this or not.
34 In some cases, such
profiles have not only been data bases or unstructured data about us. Instead, “digital
doubles”, i.e. computer agents emulating us, have been created of all people in
the world (as much as this was possible). You may imagine this like a black box
that has been created for everyone, which is continuously fed with surveillance
data and learns to behave like the humans they are imitating. Such platforms may
be used to simulate countries or even the entire world. One of these systems is
known under the name of “Sentient World”.
35 It contains highly detailed profiles
of individuals. Services such as “Crystal Knows” may give you an idea.
36 Detailed
personal information can be used to personalize information and to manipulate our
attention, opinions, emotions, decisions and behaviors.
37 Such “targeting” has been
used for “neuromarketing”
38 and also to manipulate elections.
39 Furthermore, it plays
a major role for today’s information wars and the current fake news epidemics.
40
14.2.5 Data Protection?
In seems, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) should have protected
us from mass surveillance, profiling and targeting. In fact, the European Court of
Human Rights has ruled that past mass surveillance as performed by the GCHQ was
unlawful.
41 However, it appears that lawmakers have come up with new reasons for
34 Sentient World Simulation and NSA Surveillance—Exploiting Privacy to Predict the Future?
(May 19, 2019) https://emerj.com/ai-future-outlook/nsa-surveillance-and-sentient-world-simula
tion-exploiting-privacy-to-predict-the-future/.
35 Sentient world: war games on the grandest scale, The Register (June 23, 2007) https://www.the
register.co.uk/2007/06/23/sentient_worlds/.
36 Crystal, https://www.crystalknows.com, “The app that tells you anyone’s personality” https://
web.archive.org/web/20181205032704/, https://www.crystalknows.com/.
37 How Covert Agents Infiltrate the Internet to Manipulate, Deceive, and Destroy Reputations, The
Intercept (February 25, 2014) https://theintercept.com/2014/02/24/jtrig-manipulation/.
38 Morin and Renvoise [10].
39 Cambridge Analytica: how did it turn clicks into votes? The Guardian (May 6, 2018) https://
www.theguardian.com/news/2018/may/06/cambridge-analytica-how-turn-clicks-into-votes-christ
opher-wylie.
40 Meet the weaponized AI system that know you better than you know yourself, Extreme Tech
(March 1, 2017) https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/245014-meet-sneaky-facebook-poweredpropaganda-ai-might-just-know-better-know.
41 GCHQ data collection regime violated human rights, court rules, The Guardian (September 13,
2018) https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/sep/13/gchq-data-collection-violated-humanrights-strasbourg-court-rules.