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The AI Panopticon: How Big Tech and the State are Watching You | With Jim Killock

The AI Panopticon: How Big Tech and the State are Watching You | With Jim Killock

"My ultimate vision... was to achieve by means of AI and technology, what Jeremy Bentham tried to do with his panopticon." — UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood.

When the state openly admits it wants its eyes on you at all times, how do citizens fight back?

In this episode of In Solidarity, Matthew Linares sits down with Jim Killock, Executive Director of the Open Rights Group. We cut through the Silicon Valley PR to expose the terrifying reality of the modern surveillance state. From the aggressive rollout of facial recognition and predictive policing to the "revolving door" between Big Tech lobbyists and policymakers, we explore how our democratic infrastructure is being hollowed out for corporate profit.

This isn't just a warning - it's an escape plan. Jim breaks down the illusion of corporate regulation, the realities of "enshittification," and the actionable steps you can take to reclaim your digital sovereignty today.

Get involved offline. Find an Open Rights Group meetup near you: https://www.openrightsgroup.org/get-involved/

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Support our work. In Solidarity is openDemocracy’s podcast about people, power, and politics. We rely on listeners like you to keep our independent journalism free. Donate today: https://www.openDemocracy.net/donate/

Chapters:

00:00:00 - Introduction

00:01:32 - The AI Panopticon

00:04:18 - The Lobbyist Loop & The "Rip-Off"

00:06:41 - Reclaiming Digital Sovereignty

00:10:54 - "Enshittification" & The Illusion of Choice

00:15:03 - Escaping the Matrix (Why Regulators are a "Mug's Game")

00:19:19 - The Analog Resistance

00:23:22 - What you can do

Credits: Presented by Matthew Linares

Audio engineering by James Battershill

Theme song ‘Odyssey’ performed by Edward Abela


openDemocracy Author

Matthew Linares

Matthew Linares is Technical and Publishing Manager and Editor of digitaLiberties at openDemocracy. He leads on openDemocracy's CopySwap media network project.
He writes and organises around technology and society at: Thought and projects.

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openDemocracy Author

Jim Killock

Since joining Open Rights Group as its Executive Director in January 2009, Jim Killock has led campaigns against three strikes and the Digital Economy Act, the company Phorm and its plans to snoop on UK users, and against pervasive government Internet surveillance. He is working on data protection and privacy issues. In 2012, ORG won Liberty's Human Rights Campaigner of Year award alongside 38 Degrees, for work on issues from copyright to the Snooper’s Charter.

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