Mushon Zer-Aviv Artist Talk: Obfuscation & AdNauseam

Description

Mushon Zer-Aviv returns to discuss about Obfuscation & AdNauseam.  AdNauseam: clicking ads so you don’t have to   As online advertising is becoming more automatic, universal and unsanctioned, AdNauseam works to complete the cycle by automating all ad-clicks universally and blindly on behalf of the target audience. Working in coordination with your ad blocker, AdNauseam quietly clicks every blocked ad, registering a visit on the ad networks databases. As the data gathered shows an omnivorous click-stream, user profiling, targeting and surveillance becomes futile. AdNauseam is a browser extension designed to obfuscate browsing data and protect users from surveillance and tracking by advertising networks. Simultaneously, AdNauseam serves as a means of amplifying users' discontent with advertising networks that disregard privacy and facilitate bulk surveillance agendas. The talk covers both the background to the project and reviews various practices of data obfuscation. Mushon Zer-Aviv is a designer, an educator and a media activist based in Tel Aviv & NY. His work and writing explores the boundaries of interface and the biases of techno-culture as they are redrawn through politics, design and networks. Among Mushon’s collaborations, he is the CO-founder of Shual.com – a foxy design studio; YouAreNotHere.org – a tour of Gaza through the streets of Tel Aviv; Kriegspiel – a computer game version of the Situationist Game of War; the Turing Normalizing Machine – exploring algorithmic prejudice; Alef – the open source multi-script font; the AdNauseam obfuscation browser extension that clicks every blocked ad; the Collaborative-Futures.org collaboratively authored book; and multiple government transparency and civic participation initiatives with the Public Knowledge Workshop; Mushon is also in charge of map design atWaze.com. Mushon is an honorary resident at Eyebeam – an art and technology center in New York. He teaches digital media as a senior faculty member of Sh