Synopses & Reviews
Since the 1960s, a significant effort has been underway to program computers to “see” the human face—to develop automated systems for identifying faces and distinguishing them from one another--commonly known as Facial Recognition Technology. While computer scientists are developing FRT in order to design more intelligent and interactive machines, businesses and states agencies view the technology as uniquely suited for “smart” surveillance—systems that automate the labor of monitoring in order to increase their efficacy and spread their reach.
Tracking this technological pursuit, Our Biometric Future identifies FRT as a prime example of the failed technocratic approach to governance, where new technologies are pursued as shortsighted solutions to complex social problems. Culling news stories, press releases, policy statements, PR kits and other materials, Kelly Gates provides evidence that, instead of providing more security for more people, the pursuit of FRT is being driven by the priorities of corporations, law enforcement and state security agencies, all convinced of the technology's necessity and unhindered by its complicated and potentially destructive social consequences. By focusing on the politics of developing and deploying these technologies, Our Biometric Future argues not for the inevitability of a particular technological future, but for its profound contingency and contestability.
Review
“After reading and hearing so many epitaphs to political discourse in a polarized nation in the wake of 9/11, I take heart from Tom De Luca's and John Buell's realistic but hopeful argument for one last mighty effort to pull democracy back from the brink.”
-Bill Moyers,
Review
“Masterful! Fascinating! Unsettling! Explains why Americans regularly demonize political opponents then suggests how we might free ourselves from a long, angry legacy. This rousing book should be required reading for scholars interested in the troubled past and citizens looking to a more democratic future.”
-James A. Morone,author of Hellfire Nation: The Politics of Sin in American History
Review
“In a lively and illuminating fashion, De Luca and Buell chart the politics of demonization in America, placing its temptations into correspondence with the sacrifices it imposes on democratic life.”
-William E. Connolly,author of Why I Am Not a Secularist
Review
“Mines diverse sources—newspaper columns, films, commercials, popular music, academic scholarship—offering a truly fair and balanced treatment of Democrats and Republicans, left and right, utterly refusing to demonize the demonizers. This vibrant book could not be more timely.”
-Jane Bennett,co-editor of The Politics of Moralizing
Review
“After reading and hearing so many epitaphs to political discourse in a polarized nation in the wake of 9/11, I take heart from Tom De Luca's and John Buell's realistic but hopeful argument for one last mighty effort to pull democracy back from the brink.”
“Masterful! Fascinating! Unsettling! Explains why Americans regularly demonize political opponents then suggests how we might free ourselves from a long, angry legacy. This rousing book should be required reading for scholars interested in the troubled past and citizens looking to a more democratic future.”
“In a lively and illuminating fashion, De Luca and Buell chart the politics of demonization in America, placing its temptations into correspondence with the sacrifices it imposes on democratic life.”
“Mines diverse sources—newspaper columns, films, commercials, popular music, academic scholarship—offering a truly fair and balanced treatment of Democrats and Republicans, left and right, utterly refusing to demonize the demonizers. This vibrant book could not be more timely.”
“Liars! Cheaters! Evildoers! captures the power of demonization in our polarized politics, though as the authors rightly point out, this is deeply rooted in our history and political economy. Rather than give in to a diminished civic life, Tom De Luca and John Buell set out a compelling course for restoring democratic civility to politics. This should be on the short list for those who wish to ready themselves for the next battle in our culture wars.”
Review
“Liars! Cheaters! Evildoers! captures the power of demonization in our polarized politics, though as the authors rightly point out, this is deeply rooted in our history and political economy. Rather than give in to a diminished civic life, Tom De Luca and John Buell set out a compelling course for restoring democratic civility to politics. This should be on the short list for those who wish to ready themselves for the next battle in our culture wars.”
-Stanley B. Greenberg,author of The Two Americas: Our Current Political Deadlock and How to Break It
Review
“Gates deftly explores the cultural work performed by facial recognition technologies, and in so doing demonstrates considerable skill in the critical analysis of emergent technologies. This book represents a significant contribution to our understanding about the ongoing elaboration of surveillance society throughout the globe.”
-Anne Balsamo,University of Southern California, author of Technologies of the Gendered Body: Reading Cyborg Women and Designing Culture: The Technological Imagination at Work
Review
“A groundbreaking study. Our Biometric Future considers facial recognition technology through its wide range of political entanglements, such as post-9/11 security measures, the management of urban populations in commercial districts, and self-representation in online social networking sites. Across these contexts, Gates shows how facial recognition's political effects have developed in spite of the fact that the technology does not actually work very well. Written with style and wit, Our Biometric Future will resonate with readers in cultural studies, new media, science and technology studies, and anyone interested in surveillance, privacy and security in contemporary life.”
-Jonathan Sterne,McGill University, author of The Audible Past: Cultural Origins of Sound Reproduction and MP3: The Meaning of a Format
Review
"This work is a fascinating, timely investigation of the cultural practices and institutional priorities surrounding automated face perception technologies"
-C. Tappert,Choice
Synopsis
View the Table of Contents. Read the Introduction.
After reading and hearing so many epitaphs to political discourse in a polarized nation in the wake of 9/11, I take heart from Tom De Luca's and John Buell's realistic but hopeful argument for one last mighty effort to pull democracy back from the brink.
--Bill Moyers
Masterful Fascinating Unsettling Explains why Americans regularly demonize political opponents then suggests how we might free ourselves from a long, angry legacy. This rousing book should be required reading for scholars interested in the troubled past and citizens looking to a more democratic future.
--James A. Morone, author of Hellfire Nation: The Politics of Sin in American History
In a lively and illuminating fashion, De Luca and Buell chart the politics of demonization in America, placing its temptations into correspondence with the sacrifices it imposes on democratic life.
--William E. Connolly, author of Why I Am Not a Secularist
Mines diverse sources--newspaper columns, films, commercials, popular music, academic scholarship--offering a truly fair and balanced treatment of Democrats and Republicans, left and right, utterly refusing to demonize the demonizers. This vibrant book could not be more timely.
--Jane Bennett, co-editor of The Politics of Moralizing
Liars Cheaters Evildoers captures the power of demonization in our polarized politics, though as the authors rightly point out, this is deeply rooted in our history and political economy. Rather than give in to a diminished civic life, Tom De Luca and John Buell set out a compelling course for restoring democratic civility to politics. This should be on the shortlist for those who wish to ready themselves for the next battle in our culture wars.
--Stanley B. Greenberg, author of The Two Americas: Our Current Political Deadlock and How to Break It
aThis is a book that looks toward achieving a democracy without demons-- a more inclusive, respectful, egalitarian, participatory, and just political covenant-- by examining the current proliferation of demonizing rhetoric in the United States as indicative of a dangerous and divisive moral paradox.a
--Perspectives on Politics
The level of vitriol in American politics has been rising with no end in sight. Terms like evildoer, war on terror, and axis of evil have become commonplace in our discussion of international politics. What ever happened to civil debate? Where has all this moralizing come from? And what harm has this new level of attack caused to democracy in America?
In this compelling and cogent account, Tom De Luca and John Buell chart the rise of what they rightly label as the demonization of American politics, showing how political campaigns often neglect debates over policy in favor of fights over the private character and personal lives of politicians. Political interests are still served by this style of politics, but democracy, the authors contend, is the loser. Covering everything from the Clinton impeachment to the war on terrorism to the 2004 presidential campaign, the authors show the distinctly American qualities of demonization and how their frequency and intensity has grown in the last four decades.
Suggesting that demonization is not inevitable or irreversible, this important book offers ways out of the political mudpit and back to a more civilizeddebate where democracy and freedom of speech can coexist in a productive, idea-rich environment.
Synopsis
The level of vitriol in American politics has been rising with no end in sight. Terms like -evildoer, - -war on terror, - and -axis of evil- have become commonplace in our discussion of international politics. What ever happened to civil debate? Where has all this moralizing come from? And what harm has this new level of attack caused to democracy in America?
In this compelling and cogent account, Tom De Luca and John Buell chart the rise of what they rightly label as the -demonization-of American politics, showing how political campaigns often neglect debates over policy in favor of fights over the private character and personal lives of politicians. Political interests are still served by this style of politics, but democracy, the authors contend, is the loser. Covering everything from the Clinton impeachment to the war on terrorism to the 2004 presidential campaign, the authors show the distinctly American qualities of demonization and how their frequency and intensity has grown in the last four decades.
Suggesting that demonization is not inevitable or irreversible, this important book offers ways out of the political mudpit and back to a more civilized debate where democracy and freedom of speech can coexist in a productive, idea-rich environment.
Synopsis
The level of vitriol in American politics has been rising with no end in sight. Terms like “evildoer,” “war on terror,” and “axis of evil” have become commonplace in our discussion of international politics. What ever happened to civil debate? Where has all this moralizing come from? And what harm has this new level of attack caused to democracy in America?
In this compelling and cogent account, Tom De Luca and John Buell chart the rise of what they rightly label as the “demonization”of American politics, showing how political campaigns often neglect debates over policy in favor of fights over the private character and personal lives of politicians. Political interests are still served by this style of politics, but democracy, the authors contend, is the loser. Covering everything from the Clinton impeachment to the war on terrorism to the 2004 presidential campaign, the authors show the distinctly American qualities of demonization and how their frequency and intensity has grown in the last four decades.
Suggesting that demonization is not inevitable or irreversible, this important book offers ways out of the political mudpit and back to a more civilized debate where democracy and freedom of speech can coexist in a productive, idea-rich environment.
Synopsis
The level of vitriol in American politics has been rising over the last decade. Clinton is a liar, Gore is a pathological exaggerator, Bush is a coke-head and Kerry is a traitor. There seems to be no end to the mud-slinging accusations from both the Republicans and Democrats. Meanwhile, terms like evildoer, war on terror, and axis of evil have become commonplace in our discussion of international politics. What ever happened to civil debate? Where has all this moralizing come from? And what harm has this new level of reckless attack caused to democracy in America? In this compelling and cogent account Tom De Luca and John Buell chart the rise of what they rightly label as the demonization of American politics, showing how political campaigns often neglect debates over policy in favor of fights over the private character and personal lives of politicians. Political interests are still served by this style of politics, but democracy, the authors contend, is the loser. Focusing on recent events, from the Clinton impeachment to the war on terrorism to the 2004 presidential campaign, the authors show the distinctly American qualities of demonization and how and why the frequency and intensity of this pernicious rhetoric has grown over the last four decades. Rather than simply lament this sad state, the authors identify the sources of this tendency and resources within American culture that can help us break the habit. Suggesting that demonization in American politics is not inevitable or irreversible, this important book offers ways out of the political mudpit and back to a more civilized debate where democracy and freedom of speech can coexist in a productive, idea-rich environment.
About the Author
Tom De Luca is associate professor of political science at Fordham University and the author of
The Two Faces of Political Apathy. He is the 2006 Fulbright Distinguished Thomas Jefferson Chair in American Social Studies at the University of Amsterdam.
John Buell is a columnist for the Bangor Daily News and a former editor at The Progressive. He is also co-author of The End of Homework.