Brief Guide to Becoming a Knowledgeable and Demanding Citizen in the Age Of AI

‘Surveillance capitalists are rich and powerful, but they are not invulnerable. They have an Achilles heel. Do you know what that is? They fear law.

They fear lawmakers who are not confused and intimidated but ultimately they fear you.

They fear citizens who are ready to demand a digital future we can call home.

Thank you.’

— Shoshana Zuboff at a lecture for the Alexander von Humboldt Institut for internet and society

These were the concluding words of a speech by Professor Shoshana Zuboff that would prompt me to want to contribute, no matter how small this contribution may be, to educating citizens to be able to demand more in this age of AI.

I have been exposed to many materials that I believe can be most instrumental in helping people navigate what until recently was foreign terrain.

Although this piece is aimed at citizens and not people with aspirations to work professionally in AI…