Tijmen Schep
Tijmen Schep is a technology critic, privacy designer and public speaker focussing ethical innovation. As a critic, his goal is to help a wider audience develop nuanced understanding of technological questions that face society. He coined the term “Social Cooling” to describe the data-driven chilling effects that can occur as we move from an information society to a “reputation economy”.
As a designer he helps develop privacy enhancing technologies. His book “Design my Privacy” is used by universities of applied design across the Netherlands and Germany. His work on Candle, a privacy friendly smart home prototype, won him a Dutch Privacy Award.
He currently works as an artist for the EU Sherpa project, which explores what issues around AI society should deal with by 2025.
Photo by Giorgos Gripeos, CC-BY
Sessions
HowNormalAmI.eu is an interactive documentary that showcases how algorithms judge your beauty, age, gender, weight, life expectancy and emotions by simply looking at your face. The project not only shows how face recognition technology is entering our everyday lives, but it lets you experience these judgements yourself in a safe and privacy friendly way.
This talk will zoom in on one algorithm that tries to deduce your Body Mass Index (BMI). The 'making of' will discuss the ethical questions it raised, the dubious science behind it, the dodgy data sources, and the surprising companies that are playing around with this technology.
Candle is an open source smart home system that asks the question: do we really have to choose between privacy and ease of use? This collaborative research project created beautiful and privacy focussed alternatives for common smart home products, such as a thermostat, smart lock, and all kind of sensors. All data stays in your own home, and it even offers 100% local voice control.
In this beginner friendly workshop - no coding or soldering required - you can create your own electronic devices.
Also, join us if:
- If you've already created Candle, or want to learn more about the project.
- If you work with Webthings, MySensors, or other open source software that Candle builds on.
- If you're interested in value sensitive design / privacy design.