Trevor Paglen on A History of the World in Spy Objects
The Enigma Machine, the B2 stealth bomber, the poisoned-tipped umbrella, Napoleon’s Briefcase of Secrets—as long as there has been conflict, there have been spies, and as long as there have been spies, there have been incredible gadgets and iconic objects. These are the stories of the tools that power the world of espionage, hosted by Alice Loxton.
This episode focuses on the question: How dangerous is metadata?
According to artist and author (and BCNM alum!) Trevor Paglen, it can be deadly. Paglen joins host Alice Loxton to shine a light on Skynet – a network of all-seeing satellites – and the ominous AI algorithm that farms metadata and gets to decide who lives and who dies.
Trevor Paglen is an American artist, geographer, and author whose work tackles mass surveillance and data collection. In 2016, Paglen won the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize, and he also won the Cultural Award from the German Society for Photography.