Was Many protests over the past few months of President Trump’s latest changes and we will probably see more. Today in the series, the senior editor of Security and Investigations Wired, Andrew Cots, talks to us through the technology used by law enforcement agencies for surveying protests, how supervision technology has evolved over the years, and which means for anyone who goes out to the streets or posted in social media to express their fears. In addition, we share wired tips on how to keep safety if you decide to protest.
You can follow Michael Calore to BlueSky at @Snack -FightLauren Goode on BlueSky O @Lauregoodand Andrew Cots on BlueSky O @Costs. Write to us at uncannyvalley@wired.com.
How to listen
You can always listen to the podcast this week via the audio player on this page, but if you want to subscribe for free to get any episode, here’s how:
If you are on an iPhone or iPad, open an application called podcasts or just touch this link. You can also download an application such as gloomy or pocket money and search for “Uncanny Valley”. We are on Spotify too.
Transcription
Note: This is an automated transcript that may contain errors.
[Archival audio]: Without justice, no peace. Ho ho. Trump and Musk must go.
Michael Heat: People get to the streets to question the latest changes in the policy of President Donald Trump, some of which were created with the facilitate of Elon Musk and his so -called government efficiency department.
[Archival audio]: All 50 states have seen these so -called hand rallies, like several cities in Europe.
Michael Heat: The first protests with arms took place at the beginning of this month. Demonstrations about the destruction of Tesla have been taking place for weeks and after we look at the summer full of protests. So today we are talking about the risk of surveying by law enforcement authorities during protests. We will talk about how supervision technology is used, how it evolves over the years and what it means to anyone who takes on the streets or sends to social media to express their fears. This is Wired Uncanny ValleyProgram about the strength of the people and the impact of the Silicon Valley. I am Michael Calore, director of consumer technology and culture here in Wired.
Lauren Goode: And I’m Lauren Goode. I am an older writer in Wired.
Michael Heat: Katie Drummond is today, but we were joined by a senior editor Security and Investigations, Andrew Cots.
Andrew Couts: Thank you very much for having me.
Michael Heat: So let’s start by talking about what is happening now. There are protests with your hands, there are protests with the removal of Tesla. Are they connected at all?
Lauren Goode: Protests with Tesla’s hands and movement are not the same, but they are related. Some of them are based in some ways, which Donald Trump quickly introduced without the consent of the congress in a miniature time since he took office in January. Tesla parts directly to Elon Musk, who plays this official but unofficial role in Trump’s administration as the Doge leader. Sometimes we call him a chief buddy, and the idea to question the power of Musk as one of the richest people in the world, devaluating one of his most critical companies in the private sector, which is Tesla, while protests with arms concern all kinds of things. They protest against the dismissal of federal employees, overly and potentially unconstitutional immigration policy, threats to women’s rights and LGBTQ rights, threats to social security, threats to healthcare. The list is long. The idea is that it will basically get my rights.