From this week's readings, I chose to read Zach Blas's "Informatic Opacity."
In terms of my own data, I honestly don't spend a lot of time thinking about who has access to it. Having grown up accepting random Terms and Conditions to participate in society, I think I have and likely my entire generation has become desensitized to the idea that our data is being mined and our privacy is constantly being breached. I definitely stand with the idea that there's so much data out there that I'm not sure my individual data holds much significance. Moreover, I wouldn't say data collection has really consciously affected how I speak or act. I guess I wonder sometimes who sees me on the security cameras in the elevators and if my instagram like history will haunt me later on, but I would say I'm more apprehensive about the people around me accessing this data than large bureaucracies and corporations having access to it.
After reading Blas's article, however, I stand with the movement against these survelliance technologies. I can't say it's an issue I hold near and dear to my heart at this current moment, but I do believe that these technologies are inherently biased and likely ableist, racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, among many other prejudices. Especially those who exist between boundaries and categories, the people Blas calls "minoritarian persons," have to wrangle with these technologies to carve a space for themselves and for their identities. It's become increasingly clear that it is the people with privilege, money, and power who can have access to privacy. Privacy, as we know it, is not granted to those without wealth and status.