News/Research

Affect & Algorithm with Hannah Zeavin

17 May, 2022

Affect & Algorithm with Hannah Zeavin

Hannah Zeavin joined mental health advocate Amelia Vance (Future of Privacy Forum) to discuss the rapidly expanding mental health monitoring tech industry at the S.T.O.P. x RadTech - Affect & the Algorithm: Mental Health & the Risks of Emotion AI, hosted by the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project.

From the description:

n this session, we’ll examine the rapidly expanding mental health monitoring tech industry. Due to social distancing and the stresses of the COVID-19 pandemic, many Americans have turned to "Emotion AI" wellness apps that track our movements, facial expressions, speech, and eye blinks to diagnose our emotional wellbeing. While these apps may help in day-to-day management of symptoms, they also raise concerns surrounding surveillance and bias. Joined by privacy and mental health advocates Amelia Vance (Future of Privacy Forum) and Hannah Zeavin (UC Berkeley), we'll discuss the lack of government oversight of these technologies, their connection to other surveillance tech like facial recognition, and the racist, ableist biases often informing digital emotional and behavioral assessments.

Watch the video here!