equalAIs - Empowering People & Thwarting Machines

Abstract

Under the current data paradigm, third parties often capture, analyze, and make use of an individual's data without that individual's knowledge or consent. The uses of this data are often opaque, and even when an individual signs a "Terms of Service Agreement" it is questionable whether they truly provide informed consent. With the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), we're seeing momentum to provide individuals with greater data privacy protection. As part of the Assembly on artificial intelligence and governance -- a joint project between the Berkman Klein Center at Harvard University and the MIT Media Lab -- we are creating technical and policy mechanisms that empower individuals to thwart third parties from successfully analyzing their data and to communicate that they do not want their data to be used in ways that they did not consent to. We are building a tool that directly embeds "Do Not Track"-like signature in images while simultaneously duping image classification systems.