How Australia Used Tech Against Welfare Recipients w/ Dhakshayini Sooriyakumaran

Paris Marx is joined by Dhakshayini Sooriyakumaran to discuss Australia’s robodebt scandal where automated decision-making was used against welfare recipients, and how exploitative AI implementations are being deployed by governments in social welfare and at the borders. Dhakshayini Sooriyakumaran is a proud Tamil person and a PhD candidate at Australian National University whose work focuses on digital identification systems and border policing regimes. Follow Dhakshayini on Twitter as @Dhakshayini_S . 🚨 T-shirts are now available ! Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast ( @techwontsaveus ) and host Paris Marx ( @parismarx ) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon . Find out more about Harbinger Media Network at harbingermedianetwork.com . Also mentioned in this episode: Dhakshayini wrote about robo-governance and why we need to oppose it. Robodebt eventually resulted in a A$1.8 billion settlement in favor of welfare recipients. Robo-planning was another proposed system for Australia’s disability insurance scheme that has been canceled. A blockchain trial was also considered. Australia is trialing a controversial cashless welfare card , and plans to increase the use of biometrics . Scarlet Wilcock researched the history of “welfare cheat” narratives in Australia. Canada has been using automated decision making to process visa applications. Just Futures Law and Mijente released a report called “ ICE: Digital Prisons .” Israeli company NSO’s Pegasus technology was weaponized against activists, politicians, and journalists. The Australian Human Rights Commission released a report on human rights and technology , while the European Data Protection Supervisor has called for a ban on biometrics . Support the show