Meredith Whittaker: steering Signal’s course through Silicon Valley’s surveillance shifts

Meredith Whittaker: Steering Signal’s Course Through Silicon Valley’s Surveillance Shifts

London, UK — 12th October 2023

Meredith Whittaker, a prominent figure in the tech realm, defies conventional business norms with her unyielding stance against the prevalent “surveillance capitalism” that powers much of Silicon Valley. Born and raised in the bustling Koreatown neighbourhood of Los Angeles, Whittaker has transitioned from her initial days at Google to becoming the president of the Signal Foundation in 2022, advocating for privacy in a world incessantly collecting user data.

Meeting Whittaker is akin to trying to catch a bolt of lightning. Her suggestions for a meeting place ranged from the lobby of her London hotel to a coffee shop notorious for its no-reservation policy. Ultimately, she settled on Your Mum’s Kitchen, a modest Korean eatery in the basement of a north London supermarket. Fondly recalling her roots, she shared her love for Korean cuisine, a culinary comfort carried from her Los Angeles upbringing to her home in Brooklyn.

The persona of Whittaker, petite and distinguished by dark curls streaked with grey, embodies her mission as a tech iconoclast. As a critical voice against corporate surveillance, she presides over the foundation behind Signal, an encrypted messaging app supported chiefly through donations and used by millions globally. Signal is particularly notable in its commitment to privacy, even in sensitive scenarios involving militaries and politicians worldwide.

Whittaker’s career pivot began at Google in 2006. She watched the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) systems capable of generating predictions from user data. This technology’s potential to inadvertently reinforce biases and incite significant ethical dilemmas became apparent in 2014 when a proposal to use AI in predicting genocides exposed the dark undertones of such technological advancements.

Her dedication to addressing AI’s societal impacts led her to co-found the AI Now Institute in New York, concentrating on the present rather than a speculative future. This institute collaborates with various entities to scrutinise the encroachments of AI on privacy and social justice. Her efforts extended to playing a pivotal role in organising global walkouts at Google, protesting against military engagements and advocating for ethical tech usage.

Whittaker’s journey within Google showed her the intertwined destinies of technological advancement and ethical governance. She spearheaded the open-source research group M-Lab, establishing collaborations beyond Google to evaluate global internet speed and performance. Despite Google’s substantial funding, Whittaker acknowledged the profound economic implications of independently building internet infrastructure.

Her eventual disillusionment with Google’s alignment with the Department of Defense on Project Maven, an AI-driven enhancement for drone imagery analysis, marked a turning point. In 2017, she actively rallied against this military contract, which she viewed as a dangerous merger of corporate surveillance capabilities and military power.

After Google’s controversial handling of internal ethical issues, Whittaker departed in 2019. She remains an outspoken advocate for alternative tech models through Signal, which navigates substantial reliance on fundamental infrastructure often controlled by large tech conglomerates. Signal maintains its dedication to privacy, operating on user donations and avoiding the monetisation of surveillance.

Her vision transcends mere privacy; it encompasses an overarching scrutiny of AI’s economic and political ramifications. Whittaker’s academic contributions delve into closed AI systems’ nature and promote workplace activism as a check on tech companies’ burgeoning dominance. She posits labour movements as potential counterbalances to tech capital’s pervasive influence.

Even as she balances her intensive travel schedule with routines that provide a semblance of normalcy, Whittaker remains steadfast in her pursuit. Her critiques of the AI sector underscore a profound concern about the monopolistic grip of major cloud providers like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon. She envisions a rewilding of the internet, fostering a diverse digital ecosystem that challenges current paradigms surrounding technology’s economic motives.

In a world swayed by revenue and growth, Whittaker’s ethos champions alternate models that prioritise social goods. The ethos guiding Signal’s encrypted messaging service reflects a broader vision advocating for dissent and honesty amidst growing surveillance.

Her work continues to shape conversations around AI, privacy, and ethical tech use, as she embodies a blend of scholarly insight and activist fervour, propelling the discourse towards envisioning a more equitable tech landscape.

Source: Noah Wire Services