Soft robots
that can grasp delicate objects, computer algorithms designed to spot
an “insider threat,” and artificial intelligence that will sift
through large data sets — these are just a few of the technologies
being pursued by companies with investment from In-Q-Tel, the CIA’s
venture capital firm, according to a document obtained by The
Intercept.
Yet among
the 38 previously undisclosed companies receiving In-Q-Tel funding,
the research focus that stands out is social media mining and
surveillance; the portfolio document lists several tech companies
pursuing work in this area, including Dataminr, Geofeedia, PATHAR,
and TransVoyant.
Those four
firms, which provide unique tools to mine data from platforms such as
Twitter, presented at a February “CEO Summit” in San Jose
sponsored by the fund, along with other In-Q-Tel portfolio companies.
The
investments appear to reflect the CIA’s increasing focus on
monitoring social media. Last September, David Cohen, the CIA’s
second-highest ranking official, spoke at length at Cornell
University about a litany of challenges stemming from the new media
landscape. The Islamic State’s “sophisticated use of Twitter
and other social media platforms is a perfect example of the malign
use of these technologies,” he said.
[...]
“When
you have private companies deciding which algorithms get you a
so-called threat score, or make you a person of interest, there’s
obviously room for targeting people based on viewpoints or even
unlawfully targeting people based on race or religion,” said
Lee Rowland, a senior staff attorney with the American Civil
Liberties Union.
She added
that there is a dangerous trend toward government relying on tech
companies to “build massive dossiers on people” using
“nothing but constitutionally protected speech.”
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