Stanisland Magazine

Controversial digital artwork blurred the lines between artistic expression and privacy violations. But not everyone agrees.

The modern age is plagued by surveillance, and contradictions often overlap with the ethics of its purpose. As we grow closer to the products of applied sciences, privacy is becoming a distant aspiration.

Thanks to conformity and predictable behaviours, smart devices are now a part of everyday life, with invariable options afforded to us. Without it, we arguably cannot function in today’s society.

Body Of Work Confounds The Art World

Despite the many legal and ethical challenges faced by artist Kyle McDonald, he still cites his 2011 artwork as an important “reference point.”

That body of work came to be known as “People Staring at Computers.” The project sought to capture Apple Store customers staring into the company’s on display iMacs and Macbooks. Following complaints, he was later investigated by the Secret Service, following the discovery of an application he installed on several devices throughout New York City.

The Project

The software captured images of people staring at Apple laptops, where he hoped to bring to light the ethics of privacy laws in an era of widespread surveillance. Each photograph was sent to, and stored on McDonald’s personal server.

Since the project wrapped, he received unintentional success enhanced by Apple’s strong objection to it. They managed to censor the artist following legal action, later resulting in a search warrant executed by the Secret Service.

The corporation reached out to the government agency citing privacy concerns, claiming McDonald’s actions had broken several laws. One was the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), in which Apple said they experienced “damage and loss” to their systems. Additionally, the company were concerned about their public image and hoped to mitigate any negative publicity by taking swift action.

Privacy & Addiction: The Facts You Need To Know

• More than 7 million CCTV cameras are installed in the UK.
• Website visitors spend an average of 10-20 seconds on a page before abandoning it.
• The average person checks their phone more than 144 times per day.
• 82.78% of iOS users have their private data tracked—free apps are four times more likely to harvest data than paid ones
• Londoners are captured on CCTV approximately 70 times per day.
• The general public supports the use of surveillance, with more than 86% participants in a study responding positively to it.
• The total number of cameras installed to survey London boroughs dramatically increased by nearly 240% between 2012 & 2022.

The Search Warrant

McDonald received a visit from the Secret Service, a response to the complaint. When they arrived in the early hours of the morning, both the artist and his roommates ignored the doorbell several times believing it was children playing a prank on them. But when he heard the visitors exclaim—“this is the secret service, open the door,” the gravity of the situation became clear.

Agents from the Electronic Crimes Task Force entered and notified him they had a search warrant, and began a sweep of his apartment.

This led to the confiscation of his laptop, and all of the photographs he had captured, including those stored on hard drives. Images exhibited online were eventually removed at the request of Apple, but the artist sought to fight back.

An Important Art Piece

It remains an important artwork, as it captured the nuances and loopholes in law, further questioning the nature of privacy. Apple’s insistence that he withdraw artworks online, drew attention to not only the ethics of the artist, but the conduct of the corporation. They issued a ‘takedown’ request in which the artist complied.

McDonald’s response was to reupload them, censoring the identities of those captured with Steve Jobs’ face.

While taking photographs in public is largely permissible under many legal frameworks around the world, protections for civilians caught in the crossfire are limited.

Pressing Issues

More than a decade later, salient questions remain regarding his canvas.

The artist likely had good intentions, offering to remove any photos at the request of the subject. But some commentators felt it went too far.

The work was a clear invasion of privacy for those shopping at the Apple Store. However, customers likely waived their rights upon entering the premises, despite not being a party to the artist’s project. If McDonald has done anything wrong, it is that he did not approach Apple, nor did he speak with visiting patrons beforehand.

Not only is it an artistic interpretation of surveillance, but an unintentional observation of our consumption of technology. As digital tools are increasingly replacing printed media, retail outlets like Apple’s are superseding libraries and book stores, circumventing our need to extrapolate information using traditional modes of learning.

This has led to movements of favouring tradition over technology, such as ‘digital detoxes’ that seek to leave behind our devices in favour of the analog spectrum.

Everyday Acceptance

We are subconsciously aware of many invasions of privacy that we have become apathetic to their very existence.

According to a study conducted by Consumer Intelligence, 25% of 18-34 year olds and 24% 35-54 year have olds own a video doorbell.

These home security cameras automatically capture activity when movement is detected. The footage can then be reviewed with an option to download it. This means that as CCTV becomes more affordable, private conversations will be difficult to hold in public, with video bells acting as surveillance on unsuspecting passersby.

Smartphone surveillance

We are, now, more than ever, becoming a party to our own surveillance. With selfies and filming ourselves now a part of social normalcy, the foundations of civilisation have been changed forever.

A 2018 study conducted by the Manchester Metropolitan University found that 82% of US adults between the ages of 18 to 34 have shared at least one selfie online, typically social media. The research indicated that the participants also took between 1 to 50 selfies weekly, with 21% posting them to platforms like Instagram.

It is particularly concerning as artificial intelligence is trained using datasets scraped from the internet. This means photographs shared to any social platform have the potential to be used as a record for machine learning and large language learning models (LLMs). In short, AI programmes generate stills and moving images based on publicly shared media, including social profiles set to public.

This has raised concerns, particularly under UK law, where a wider analysis of regulations has begun. The British Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has been proactive, sharing its unease regarding the answers provided by AI, which could inadvertently reveal personal information. Models trained using web scraped data, can potentially generate outputs filled with sensitive details. The ICO has insisted that any further development of LLMs should remain in line with British legal standards.

While countermeasures have been introduced to prevent such abuses, it remains to be seen how effective they can be. How can it be measured? The outcome remains to be seen.

Takeaway

Technology is becoming a societal misfire. Despite its yielding benefits, there is much to temper given its relatively short period in public life.

It is well known that Steve Jobs declined to let his children use smart tech. New York Times journalist Nick Bilton famously remarked to him that they must love the iPad; Jobs replied: “They haven’t used it. We limit the amount of technology our children use at home.”

Arguably the pioneer of smart technology, Jobs’ attitude to restricting phones and tablets for his own children is telling.

His biographer, Walter Isaacson, said “Steve insisted on nightly dinners at the large kitchen table, discussing books, history, and various topics. No one ever brought out an iPad or computer. The children didn’t exhibit an addiction to devices.”

Tech addiction is not straight forward. Though many aspire to have the latest implement, the contents it beholds are the real catalyst. In the UK, 46% of parents say they’re addicted to their smartphones, while 52% of teenagers prefer to sit in silence while ‘socialising.’

What happens next is anyone’s guess, but ‘People Staring at Computers’ remains a compelling commentary on the inception of our addictions. In many ways, it captured the very beginnings of the era we forgot who we really were.