[Air-L] CFP: Dialogue in Surveillance & Society on Synthetic Data and Surveillance

[Bryce Newell]

Dear Colleagues,

We invite expressions of interest to write short (~2000-word) position papers for an upcoming Dialogue section of Surveillance & Society<https://ojs.library.queensu.ca/index.php/surveillance-and-society/index> focused on the promises and perils of synthetic data. The Dialogue will address the surveillance implications raised by the development of synthetic data through machine learning processes, including those which serve as training data for artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI applications. We aim to publish the section in the December 2024 issue of Surveillance & Society<https://ojs.library.queensu.ca/index.php/surveillance-and-society/index>.

In this Dialogue, we seek contributions that address the following questions:

  *   Is synthetic data, as a concept and technology, a surveillance- and privacy-preserving “solution”? That is, does the development and use of synthetic data as training data for AI technologies, apps, and platforms circumvent or mitigate problems of surveillance, privacy, data protection, hidden labor, and so forth? If so, how and to what extent? If not, why not?
  *   Does the development and use of synthetic data as training data for AI technologies and platforms raise the same concerns implicated by the use of standard (non-synthetic) datasets or does it implicate novel surveillance or privacy concerns? If so, in what ways? What are these novel surveillance implications or concerns?

Submissions should problematize the “solution” of synthetic data and offer critical reflection on how and whether synthetic data is a solution, even though proposals may argue for or against the technology as a surveillance- or privacy-preserving technique. Proposals may also address some of the reasons that AI training data have taken the shape they have (e.g., expropriation, racial legacies, tech affordances + channeling, scale, etc.) and how and why synthetic data fit into that reality. Submissions should also speak to how the proposed intervention will inform surveillance-studies scholarship.

We are hoping to curate a small set of position papers from scholars in various parts of the world, including in the Global South and areas not as commonly the focus of surveillance studies research. As such, we will prioritize submissions against those criteria, in addition to excellence and fit with the full set of accepted papers, including presenting a range of views and positions on the subject of the Dialogue.

If you are interested in proposing a short paper for inclusion in this discussion, please send the following information as an expression of interest to Bryce Newell (bcnewell at uoregon.edu<mailto:bcnewell at uoregon.edu>; please use the subject line: “Dialogue Submission”) on or before the end of day on June 1, 2024:

  *   Your name
  *   Details of your institutional affiliation (if applicable)
  *   Link to your online profile, website, etc., with list of your publications (if available)
  *   A title and 300-400 word abstract for your proposed contribution (proposals should connect to the themes identified above and also have a strong normative, critical, and/or argumentative element)

Please note that Dialogue pieces are not refereed, but are subject to editorial review and, if (tentatively) accepted, possible requests for revision. We plan to allow authors of accepted papers the chance to read and engage with the other accepted papers prior to publication, to create a real dialogue within the section. We will be selecting only a small number of pieces for inclusion in this special section.

We look forward to reading your proposals.



Sincerely,

Bryce Newell

Dialogue Editor, Surveillance & Society

Co-Director, Surveillance Studies Network (SSN)

Associate Professor, University of Oregon