Ben Snyder

A $7.5 billion cop-tech darling runs headfirst into human consequences Flock Safety's license plate readers are used by police in thousands of communities. When the cameras make mistakes, the consequences can be severe.

Mass surveillance can be a threat to privacy, sure, but it can also be a threat to safety. Misreads are a common harm unleashed by surveillance tech. The "privacy vs safety" debate framing rarely discusses this danger to public safety caused BY surveillance.

www.businessinsider.com/flock-safety...

The 100th episode of Peoples and Things?!? It was a blast talking to Lee Vinsel about my book Spy Plane on this very special episode of the 'ol P-n-T. athenaeum.vt.domains/peoplesandth...

@ucpress.bsky.social

#dumbdystopia

This episode was so great! I have so many students doing mini research projects and theses on social mobility at elite colleges. Looking forward to reading this book!@danielrmorrison.bsky.social @mosbornesoc.bsky.social

Why Protests Should Be Promises Modern movements that aim to advance racial equity should withhold and promise, rather than perform, writes Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò

Happy May Day to all who celebrate! Read this!

time.com/collections/...

U.S. Companies Honed Their Surveillance Tech in Israel. Now It’s Coming Home. After deploying AI tools in Israel and on the U.S. border, American tech companies are now powering domestic repression.

Worth a read. One thing I'd add is that the "imperial boomerang" often starts in the US, then goes abroad, then comes back. And that's what you see with companies like Palantir or Shotspotter. local US cops->IDF->federal US cops
theintercept.com/2025/04/30/i...

'We're citizens!': Oklahoma City family traumatized after ICE raids home, but they weren't suspects A woman says her family’s fresh start in Oklahoma turned into a nightmare after federal immigration agents raided their home, taking their phones, laptops, and life savings – even though they were …

This is horrifying. How much do you want to bet some clueless Palantir consultant was behind the intel for this raid. #dumbdystopia
kfor.com/news/local/w...

Enshitification…engaged

The rise of end times fascism | Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor The governing ideology of the far right has become a monstrous, supremacist survivalism. Our task is to build a movement strong enough to stop them

All of this just feels like the logical outcome of massive wealth inequality in which the rich go from merely segregated to literally living in a different version of reality.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...

Had a student (astrophysics major) tell me all the jobs in her dream field (federal patent law) are gone bc of govt cuts. Then said only thing she is getting offers for are places like Anduril, General Atomics, etc. 🙃

Love to!

Got a whole book on it for ya. So many examples.

It’s almost like the whole thing was a scam.

Glad to see Williams showing up for this.
www.presidentsalliance.org/wp-content/u...

True of literally every hyped thing right now

ICE may have deleted it, but you should NEVER forget that they posted it.

This administration is mounting a full-scale assault on freedom of thought and expression (not to mention the rule of law), the likes and brazenness of which we have not seen before.

#dumbdystopia

Here's what to know about the former MPD sergeant involved in deportations Charles Cross Jr. worked for MPD from 1993 to 2012.

They’re not sending their best.

www.jsonline.com/story/news/2...

Important reminder that Thiel has been perfecting this kind of surveillance in partnership with local police for years. We could have and should have stopped it then.

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Incredible clip. Thanks for sharing

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CEO what now?

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Not sure which is worse.

Smart dystopia: Big Brother has all knowing sight and is able to ruin people’s lives by outmaneuvering us.

Dumb dystopia: Big Brother engages in security theater, but actually knows little, ruining people’s lives bc of idiotic mistakes.

We’re obviously in the latter.