# Ethics of Disintegrating Identity in the Time of Big Data Approved speech wording and attribution are preserved; paragraph formatting is awaiting review. Visual text and AI-generated descriptions remain separate from speech. Paragraph placement is editorial; recording display times and exact frame timestamps are unchanged. **Other speaker (context):** And for our first ever conversation at the Acura, I'm so excited to have this session **Speaker uncertain:** At SBE this year. I'm excited to have a full room in what seems like a very friendly and energetic place. **Other speaker (context):** I think it's time to stay that way for the rest of the day. Now, I don't know if you can really hear me, so I'll hand it over to James Brusseau. --- ## Visual — Data Masks installation *DISC-0060::VIS-001::OCC-01 · Display occurrence: approximately 32.032–56.023 seconds in the original video. Boundaries are estimated.*  *Exact frame PTS: 40.006633 seconds in original video.* **Visible slide text — not speech** *Data Masks* at ZKM Karlsruhe for GLOBALE: Infosphere **AI-generated visual description — not speech or approved wording** Six mirrors carry textured white masks; a visitor’s reflected face aligns with one mask. The closing attribution identifies Sterling Crispin, 2015, promotional image. --- ### James Brusseau speech **James Brusseau:** I think that schizophrenia is underrated. The changes that we go through just on a daily basis, sometimes they're so extreme that they diverge into multiple personalities. I think that. But I know, I know that that idea is under pressure. --- ## Visual — Data privacy and one identity *DISC-0060::VIS-002::OCC-01 · Display occurrence: approximately 58.025–74.007 seconds in the original video. Boundaries are estimated.*  *Exact frame PTS: 64.030633 seconds in original video.* **Visible slide text — not speech** Data Privacy > You have one identity. The days of you having a different image for your co-workers, and for the other people you know, are coming to an end. Having two identities for yourself is an example of a lack of integrity. Mark Zuckerberg quoted in *The Facebook Effect*, D. Kirkpatrick, p. 199. **AI-generated visual description — not speech or approved wording** The quotation overlays a black-and-white photograph of Mark Zuckerberg. Closing credit: Anthony Quintano, F8 2018 Keynote, 30 April 2018, 19:10; Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. ## Visual — Integrity dictionary entry *DISC-0060::VIS-003::OCC-01 · Display occurrence: approximately 76.009–104.004 seconds in the original video. Boundaries are estimated.*  *Exact frame PTS: 90.023267 seconds in original video.* **Visible slide text — not speech** **in·teg·ri·ty** (in teg′rə tē) *n.* [LME integrite < L integritas < integer: see INTEGER] 1. the quality or state of being complete; unbroken condition; wholeness; entirety 2. the quality or state of being unimpaired; perfect condition; soundness 3. the quality or state of being of sound moral principle; uprightness, honesty, and sincerity *Visual limitations:* Dictionary source is not named on the displayed crop. Neighboring entries at top and bottom are cut off; the pronunciation’s small diacritics are uncertain. --- ### James Brusseau speech This is Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and he announces, you have one identity. The days of you having a different image for your co-workers and for other people you know are coming to an end. Having two identities for yourself is an example of a lack of integrity. So he's talking about exactly that. You have this self, which is yourself, say, on vacation. And then you have this other self, which is yourself at work. And those two are completely divergent until now. He says these things are coming together and he's making that claim both empirically and ethically. So let's do quickly the empirical and then we'll do the ethical. Empirically, he's right, they're coming together. This is a well-known case of this poor high school teacher. She did the kind of thing a lot of people do on vacation: she cut loose. Unfortunately for her, her vacation self pictured on her Facebook ended up in the eyes of her professional colleagues, who were also on Facebook. --- ## Visual — Facebook case: Ashley Payne *DISC-0060::VIS-004::OCC-01 · Display occurrence: approximately 106.006–144.011 seconds in the original video. Boundaries are estimated.*  *Exact frame PTS: 120.019900 seconds in original video.* **Visible slide text — not speech** FACEBOOK CASE High school teacher Ashley Payne’s festive vacation pictures spread through Facebook to her students, drawing complaints from parents. She lost her job. **AI-generated visual description — not speech or approved wording** A photograph shows a smiling woman holding two drinks. Closing attribution: Ashley Payne, Barrow County, Georgia Courts, Public Domain. The employment account is the slide’s claim. ## Visual — Acxiom location *DISC-0060::VIS-005::OCC-01 · Display occurrence: approximately 146.013–172.005 seconds in the original video. Boundaries are estimated.*  *Exact frame PTS: 150.016533 seconds in original video.* **Visible slide text — not speech** acxiom Locations Acxiom is headquartered in Conway, Arkansas. [Readable background signs] ARKANSAS REAL ESTATE SOLUTIONS Señor Tequila FRONT ST OAK ST **AI-generated visual description — not speech or approved wording** The location excerpt overlays a downtown street photograph. The camera pans across the same image without creating a new slide. Closing credit: Conway’s downtown at Toad Square, 6 October 2016, 15:25:37, Ronny Willhite, U458625; Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. *Visual limitations:* Small storefront labels are partly unreadable. ## Visual — Acxiom accuracy and scale *DISC-0060::VIS-006::OCC-01 · Display occurrence: approximately 174.007–186.019 seconds in the original video. Boundaries are estimated.*  *Exact frame PTS: 180.013167 seconds in original video.* **Visible slide text — not speech** acxiom **ACCURACY** Most accurate omnichannel identity resolution 100% deterministic digital and offline matching **SCALE** Broadest access to all the world’s data **AI-generated visual description — not speech or approved wording** A target icon accompanies accuracy; an axis-like icon accompanies scale. These are displayed Acxiom claims. --- ### James Brusseau speech So simple example, your vacation self and your professional self, these two things which could be completely divided are now being spun together by social media platforms. That's on the superficial level but the serious stuff is going on up with companies whose names are less familiar like Axiom. What Axiom does and what all data brokers do, is they buy data from websites, applications, etc., or they trade for it. And they put those data points together to do something called identity resolution. And this is where the end of multiple identity is going to come. Identity resolution. Here are three, just three data points. A swipe on Tinder. In and of itself, it means nothing. Virtually nothing. A dinner reservation. In and of itself, nothing. Uber ride. Three data points. Each one in isolation tells you almost nothing about who this person is. But you put just three together and you've got a pretty good idea of what kind of person is back behind this mobile phone. And that's three. So if that's what happens with three data points, what happens when Axiom gets their hands on 3 million, 30 million? --- ## Visual — Consumer-platform screenshots *DISC-0060::VIS-007::OCC-01 · Display occurrence: approximately 188.021–254.020 seconds in the original video. Boundaries are estimated.*  *Exact frame PTS: 220.019800 seconds in original video.* **Visible slide text — not speech** **Tinder** tinder.com Swipe Match **OpenTable** m.opentable.com/r/beauty-and-... Explore Beauty & Essex- New York 5,750 reviews · $31 to $50 Tapas / Small Plates · Lower East Side +100 Lucky! We still have 6 timeslots left! Wed, 10/24/2018 - Party of 2 9:45 PM · 10:00 PM · 10:15 PM · 10:30 PM · [next time cut off] Booked 234 times today Diners who book Beauty & Essex- New York also book these restaurants: Vandal · 1,960 · $50 & over Tapas / Small Plates · Lower ... **Map and Uber** Google Beauty & Essex Home · 3 MIN Recommended Now Affordable rides, all to yourself Pool $3.37 8:18pm UberX $11.66 8:10pm UberXL $15.26 8:09pm CONFIRM UBERX [Map labels] New York; Manhattan; Brooklyn; East Village; Tribeca; Washington Square Park; Webster Hall; STOMP; Williamsburg Bridge; Manhattan Bridge; Brooklyn Bridge; Battery Park; Jane’s Carousel **AI-generated visual description — not speech or approved wording** Three side-by-side screenshots connect a matching service, restaurant reservations, and a ride route. Phone status bars and minor map street labels remain in the saved image. *Visual limitations:* Some restaurant tiles and far-right interface labels are cropped; not completed from outside information. --- ### James Brusseau speech How will it be possible for you to be anyone but yourself? This is a real problem and it's going to be hard to not be who we are. --- ## Visual — Accuracy and fractured sculpture *DISC-0060::VIS-008::OCC-01 · Display occurrence: approximately 256.022–306.006 seconds in the original video. Boundaries are estimated.*  *Exact frame PTS: 280.013067 seconds in original video.* **Visible slide text — not speech** acxiom ACCURACY Most accurate omnichannel identity resolution 100% deterministic digital and offline matching **AI-generated visual description — not speech or approved wording** The accuracy claim is now paired with a fragmented, hollow human sculpture instead of the scale panel. No sculpture credit is printed. --- ### James Brusseau speech And then I'm saying secondly that this is one of those rare times when an old philosophical question in this case about identity, am I one or am I many, is actually spilling out of the philosophy department and into our real life. And it's not just spilling out, it's being forced. If we don't decide for ourselves, the decision will be made by the forces of big data technology driven by or powered by the profits behind this technology. It's irresistible. There's too much money to be made in resolving your MI identity. --- ## Visual — One identity: empirical and ethical claims *DISC-0060::VIS-009::OCC-01 · Display occurrence: approximately 308.008–342.008 seconds in the original video. Boundaries are estimated.*  *Exact frame PTS: 330.029700 seconds in original video.* **Visible slide text — not speech** > The days of you having a different image for your co-workers, and for the other people you know, are coming to an end. > Having two identities for yourself is a lack of integrity. EMPIRICALLY: MULTIPLE IDENTITY IS DIMINISHING ETHICALLY: THAT’S GOOD **AI-generated visual description — not speech or approved wording** The photograph of Mark Zuckerberg returns beside the quotation and two additional slide claims. Attribution for the image and original quotation appears elsewhere in this recording. --- ### James Brusseau speech So in Zuckerberg there were two things. There was the empirical claim that we're all being centrifugal force into unity. Then there's the ethical claim, do we want that? Zuckerberg says yes. We can go that way. We can embrace integrity. We can embrace the resolved identity. But in this meeting, we're going the other way. Instead of embracing the resolved identity, we're going to investigate strategies for escaping it. This paper is titled Disintegrating Identity in the Time of Big Data. And I want to say that there are two strategies of disintegration. --- ## Visual — Disintegration strategies *DISC-0060::VIS-010::OCC-01 · Display occurrence: approximately 358.024–374.007 seconds in the original video. Boundaries are estimated.*  *Exact frame PTS: 366.032333 seconds in original video.* **Visible slide text — not speech** DISINTEGRATION STRATEGIES Verbs over nouns in identity Perversion of big data platforms **AI-generated visual description — not speech or approved wording** A fragmented human sculpture occupies the right half. --- ### James Brusseau speech The first has to do with the conception of the self in terms of verbs before nouns, and the second has to do with the perversion of social media platforms. --- ## Visual — Verbs over nouns *DISC-0060::VIS-011::OCC-01 · Display occurrence: approximately 376.009–452.018 seconds in the original video. Boundaries are estimated.*  *Exact frame PTS: 400.032967 seconds in original video.* **Visible slide text — not speech** DISINTEGRATION ETHICS STRATEGIES VERBS OVER NOUNS IN IDENTITY CONCEPTION A person who would live abroad (noun) ⇄ Person buys one-way ticket (verb) [Gmail screenshot] Gmail · Search mail · Compose Inbox 6,220 1–100 of 17,520 JetBlue Fares from $64 one-way? Get outta town. - S 11:06 AM DELEUZE: *LOGIC OF SENSE* **AI-generated visual description — not speech or approved wording** Opposing arrows connect identity-as-noun and action-as-verb; the email subject offers a one-way fare. --- ### James Brusseau speech So first, thinking about identity in terms of nouns and verbs. This is, since the late 1960s, a common discussion in the philosophy of identity. Should we say that I am someone and therefore I do certain things or should we say I do certain things and therefore I become someone? The first approach is the Platonic approach or the substantive approach or the noun approach. The noun exists first and the verb reflects off the noun. The Deleuzian approach goes the other way. Deleuze says, look, someone sees a one-way airplane ticket to some other country and they go. That decision, that purchase is what makes someone the kind of person who would travel internationally. So it's not you're the kind of person, therefore you buy the ticket. It's that you buy the ticket and therefore you become that kind of person. That's the first step in thinking about identity in terms of verbs and nouns. So what does it have to do with multiple identity or resisting the identity resolution of the big data platforms? The claim is that doing the irresolvable creates a disintegrated identity. --- ## Visual — Doing and identity *DISC-0060::VIS-012::OCC-01 · Display occurrence: approximately 454.020–492.025 seconds in the original video. Boundaries are estimated.*  *Exact frame PTS: 470.002867 seconds in original video.* **Visible slide text — not speech** DOING THE IRRESOLVABLE CREATES DISINTEGRATED IDENTITY DOING → IDENTITY INCONGRUENT DOING → INCONGRUENT IDENTITY **AI-generated visual description — not speech or approved wording** The action-to-identity statements appear beside a high-contrast portrait. Later slide text identifies Isabelle Eberhardt; the closing credit names Louis David, 1895, Public domain. --- ### James Brusseau speech If we can do something which cannot be resolved with the identity that has been formed of us by the big data platforms, if we can do something which is incongruent with their predictive analytics, we are not just, we're not just doing something which is different. We are becoming someone who is no longer resolved, who is no longer captured by predictive analytics. And then the case is a romantic case from the 19th century, Isabel Eberhardt. --- ## Visual — Isabelle Eberhardt: incongruent experiences *DISC-0060::VIS-013::OCC-01 · Display occurrence: approximately 494.027–534.000 seconds in the original video. Boundaries are estimated.*  *Exact frame PTS: 510.009500 seconds in original video.* **Visible slide text — not speech** ISABELLE EBERHARDT INCONGRUENT EXPERIENCES ADOPTED ON TRAVELS *Religion/Customs/Station/Gender/Age* **AI-generated visual description — not speech or approved wording** The same high-contrast portrait remains; the text identifies Isabelle Eberhardt. Closing attribution: Louis David, 1895, Public domain. ## Visual — Not knowing why one goes *DISC-0060::VIS-014::OCC-01 · Display occurrence: approximately 536.002–564.030 seconds in the original video. Boundaries are estimated.*  *Exact frame PTS: 550.016133 seconds in original video.* **Visible slide text — not speech** GOES NOT KNOWING WHAT TO EXPECT NOT KNOWING WHAT TO EXPECT IS *WHY* SHE GOES **AI-generated visual description — not speech or approved wording** The Eberhardt portrait remains beside the two statements. --- ### James Brusseau speech She's a perfect example of someone who traveled in order to become someone else. She left French-speaking Switzerland, traveled in North Africa, changing her religion, changing her customs, changing her social station. She was minor aristocracy. Changing her gender, she masqueraded as a male; changing her age—all of these things. She went out and she lived in these ways and so became this other person and then captured it in a number of journal writings. So that's a romantic example of someone who goes not knowing what to expect, and it's because she doesn't know what to expect, that's why she goes. That's what allows her to become someone else in North Africa. That happened a long time ago. How can that happen today? This is my phone, came into my LinkedIn feed not too long ago. I saw this. They're asking for a job. AI, human AI interaction. I can do that. I kind of do that stuff. I can go for that job. And then I looked at who it came from. I've never heard of this person. This person is not a first connection, not even a connection of a connection, not a connection of a connection of a connection, but beyond that. --- ## Visual — LinkedIn example of irresolvable identity *DISC-0060::VIS-015::OCC-01 · Display occurrence: approximately 566.032–704.003 seconds in the original video. Boundaries are estimated.*  *Exact frame PTS: 620.019400 seconds in original video.* **Visible slide text — not speech** DISINTEGRATION ETHICS ELEMENTS OF THE IRRESOLVABLE ID, 2019 [LinkedIn screenshot] Search Virginia Dignum · 3rd+ Professor Ethical and Social Artificial Intelligence 3w · Edited > We are hiring two lecturers/associate professors at Umeå University on Responsible AI and human-AI interaction, with focus on but not limited to design for values, ethics, argumentation, verification, impact evaluation or explanation. ...see more **AI-generated visual description — not speech or approved wording** Yellow marks circle the third-degree connection and Umeå location in the post. --- ### James Brusseau speech If you're looking for the possibility of an act which will create a new identity for you, that's the kind of thing that turns you on. Something comes across my transom that could not have been predicted, that doesn't fit into my normal way of life. And then this is even better. Umayyah. What is an Umayyah? So here's an opportunity. It's on my phone. One-way airplane ticket. Show up and see if I can get this job. Do I know what I'm going to find there? No. But the argument is it's precisely because I don't know what to expect. That's why I go. And if I go that way, then the verb identity is in effect. What I do creates who I am, and that who I am is not resolved in the predictive analytics. It can't be. And then there's this too, this see more. No, I don't think so. You don't want to see more because if you start seeing too much, then you start to think about it. Now I learned this umeya, right? It's in some place where it's cold. I'm not sure I like that. Then I learn maybe, oh well I have to teach eight classes every semester. That's not so good. You start to learn too much. So it's very narrow these paths, these opportunities. --- ## Visual — Connection and knowing too much *DISC-0060::VIS-016::OCC-01 · Display occurrence: approximately 706.005–726.025 seconds in the original video. Boundaries are estimated.*  *Exact frame PTS: 716.015300 seconds in original video.* **Visible slide text — not speech** DISINTEGRATION ETHICS Must be spark of connection: Without that, no bridge to different existence/experiences But knowing *too much* allows calculated incorporation of incongruity into who you already are [Retained fragments below] hiring AI values, ethics, ...see more **AI-generated visual description — not speech or approved wording** Two arrows branch toward the paired statements. Only isolated words from the earlier LinkedIn example remain below. --- ### James Brusseau speech There has to be that little connection, that spark, that possibility and nothing more and then you go. --- ## Visual — Integration versus disintegration: visual *DISC-0060::VIS-017::OCC-01 · Display occurrence: approximately 728.027–740.006 seconds in the original video. Boundaries are estimated.*  *Exact frame PTS: 734.033300 seconds in original video.* **Visible slide text — not speech** INTEGRATION V. DISINTEGRATION: VISUAL Integrating Self Resolved Identity Lived Experience Disintegrating self Irresolvable identity **AI-generated visual description — not speech or approved wording** Three network drawings run left to right: one tightly convergent hub; several connected hubs; and a distributed mesh. Each has its corresponding label below. --- ### James Brusseau speech So that's disintegration ethics 2019 and that would be the verb over noun route to escaping predictive analytics. This is a visual representation. This is the integrated self, and then this is the disintegrated self with no center. We're conceptual people here, so we'll do the conceptual instead. What is critical for philosophy is that this is going to force us to choose between authenticity on one side along with docility or inauthenticity and freedom. --- ## Visual — Integration versus disintegration: conceptual table *DISC-0060::VIS-018::OCC-01 · Display occurrence: approximately 742.008–796.029 seconds in the original video. Boundaries are estimated.*  *Exact frame PTS: 770.002567 seconds in original video.* **Visible slide text — not speech** INTEGRATION V. DISINTEGRATION: CONCEPTUAL | Topic | Integration (left column) | Disintegration (right column) | |---|---|---| | OPTIMUM CONCEPTION OF SELF: | Captures all data points; Resolves identity | Sparks incongruous data; Identity irresolvable | | REASON FOR SELF-UNDERSTANDING: | Satisfy ourselves/Euphoria Convenience (Identity as termination) | Become someone else (Identity as station) | | DESIRE: | Ended (Platonic) | Excessive (Bataillian) | | PRIMARY VIRTUES IN BIG DATA REALITY: | Authenticity; Docility (to predictive analytics) | Inauthenticity; Freedom | **AI-generated visual description — not speech or approved wording** The slide aligns contrasting claims in two columns; the virtues row is highlighted by a dark band. ## Visual — Authenticity, freedom, inauthenticity *DISC-0060::VIS-019::OCC-01 · Display occurrence: approximately 798.031–820.019 seconds in the original video. Boundaries are estimated.*  *Exact frame PTS: 810.009200 seconds in original video.* **Visible slide text — not speech** INTEGRATION V. DISINTEGRATION: CONCEPTUAL Kierkegaard/Heidegger Tradition AUTHENTICITY — FREEDOM — INAUTHENTICITY Big Data Reality PRIMARY VIRTUES IN BIG DATA REALITY: | Left column | Right column | |---|---| | Authenticity; Docility (to predictive analytics) | Inauthenticity; Freedom | **AI-generated visual description — not speech or approved wording** An upper line spans authenticity to freedom under “Kierkegaard/Heidegger Tradition”; a lower line spans freedom to inauthenticity above “Big Data Reality.” --- ### James Brusseau speech I mean, of course, for the Kierkegaardian, Heideggerian tradition, there are few tighter bonds than this bond between freedom and authenticity. The way we know how to act when free is by reference to our authenticity. And the way we express our authenticity is as free people. But that comes apart here because if we are going to be free in a big data world, freedom is going to require these kinds of verb leaps. And that means we have to deny who we are. So freedom and inauthenticity lock together. And on the other side, docility and authenticity also link together. So I want to say conceptually there's this shift that we're going to be able to spot caused by big data technology. The shift is this split between authenticity and freedom. So that was part one. There is the verb noun strategy to escape resolved identity. The other strategy is perversion of the big data platforms. And the one we saw with LinkedIn is a good possibility. What is LinkedIn supposed to do? What LinkedIn is supposed to do is follow your career and lock you onto a line where you progress. But you can pervert LinkedIn by hopping on that opportunity, which makes no sense, and just going. Or another example: Tinder. Tinder is part of the big data information economy, but is there any easier place to imagine where you can experiment with new selves, find and make a new reality for yourself? --- ## Visual — Disintegration strategies *DISC-0060::VIS-010::OCC-02 · Display occurrence: approximately 822.021–840.006 seconds in the original video. Boundaries are estimated.* Repeated appearance of [DISC-0060::VIS-010](#DISC-0060::VIS-010::OCC-01). See its first transcription. ## Visual — LinkedIn job matching *DISC-0060::VIS-020::OCC-01 · Display occurrence: approximately 842.008–860.026 seconds in the original video. Boundaries are estimated.*  *Exact frame PTS: 850.015833 seconds in original video.* **Visible slide text — not speech** LinkedIn Help We’re here to help. > The **Jobs You May Be Interested In** feature shows jobs posted on LinkedIn that match your profile in some way. You can find this feature by clicking **Jobs** at the top of your homepage or look for it in the LinkedIn feed on the homepage. **AI-generated visual description — not speech or approved wording** Yellow highlighting emphasizes jobs matching a profile. ## Visual — Tinder Live platform perversion *DISC-0060::VIS-021::OCC-01 · Display occurrence: approximately 862.028–902.001 seconds in the original video. Boundaries are estimated.*  *Exact frame PTS: 880.012467 seconds in original video.* **Visible slide text — not speech** PERVERSION OF BIG DATA PLATFORM TINDER: *LIVE, NYC 2019* Must be spark of connection: Without that, no bridge to another But cannot know *too much*: Calculation ruins romance as link to unexpected values and experiences **AI-generated visual description — not speech or approved wording** A performer looks at a phone beside a microphone. The closing attribution identifies Lane Moore and a YouTube screenshot. --- ### James Brusseau speech Big data platforms in general have that double face. On the one hand they feed the data and the information engines of the e-economy, but on the other hand used mischievously you can create new identities for yourself through them. Thanks for having me. --- ## Visual — Third-party image credits *DISC-0060::VIS-022::OCC-01 · Display occurrence: approximately 908.007–912.011 seconds in the original video. Boundaries are estimated.* *Short-display inclusion exception:* Short substantive build, reference, or contact content; retained explicitly despite normal five-second threshold. No durations aggregated.  *Exact frame PTS: 910.009100 seconds in original video.* **Visible slide text — not speech** Data Masks at ZKM Karlsruhe for GLOBALE: Infosphere 2015 Sterling Crispin Promotional image Mark Zuckerberg F8 2018 Keynote 30 April 2018, 19:10 Anthony Quintano Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. Ashley Payne Barrow County, Georgia Courts Public Domain Isabelle Eberhardt 1895 Louis David Public domain Conway’s downtown at Toad Square 6 October 2016, 15:25:37 Ronny Willhite, U458625 Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Tinder: Live Lane Moore Tinder Live With Lane Moore feat. the cast of Orange Is The New Black! Feb 18, 2015 YouTube screenshot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCPHvoHlFi0 Lane Moore *Visual limitations:* Retained despite short display to preserve third-party attribution. Final URL glyph is visually similar to 0/O; consult the saved credit frame before reuse.