Looking Outwards 11: Societal Impacts of Digital Art

Finding Inspiration for Art in the Betrayal of Privacy

Jenna Wortham

Dec. 27, 2016

The article “Finding Inspiration for Art in the Betrayal of Privacy” by Jenna Wortham discusses topics including works of art, privacy, and data security.

The author introduces an art exhibition in Lower Manhattan and specifically lists some of the works to show how easy it is for people’s private information to be acquired and exploited unknowingly in the era of big data.

For example, information from Wifi-enabled devices passing through the gallery is gathered by eight antennas and relayed to a large screen, which shows how easy and common it is for us to be tracked.

The article acknowledges the high level of technology development and its wide range of uses, but also reminds people of the side effects brought by technology development–the cost of privacy.

In the author’s opinion, artists reflect on society through their creations, making people aware of the problems existing in society and reflect on them.