Privacy is not just about keeping secrets. It is about protecting your power. In episode 629 of the Lawyerist Podcast, Zack Glaser talks with Oxford professor and author Carissa Véliz about how personal data gives companies, governments, and technology platforms the ability to influence our choices and shape our lives.
Carissa explains why seemingly harmless information, from the music you enjoy to the way your phone battery drains, can be used to identify, categorize, and predict you. They explore how AI has made surveillance cheaper and more powerful, why predictions should never be treated as facts, and how automated scores can affect important decisions without giving people a meaningful way to challenge them.
The conversation also offers practical ways to reclaim control without abandoning technology entirely. From choosing more private digital tools to questioning the predictions presented as inevitable, Carissa shows why every decision to protect your privacy matters.
If you have ever clicked “accept” without thinking about what happens next, this episode will change the way you think about your data, your autonomy, and who gets to shape your future.
Listen to our previous episodes on AI, Privacy & Legal Ethics.
#618: AI and Legal Ethics: Protecting Client Privacy in a Changing Legal System, with Sunny Eaton Apple | Spotify | LTN
#612: AI for Lawyers: What You Need to Know Before Your Clients Do, with Cat Casey Apple | Spotify | LTN
#582: Deepfakes, Data, and Duty: Navigating AI Ethics in Law, with Merisa Bowers Apple | Spotify | LTN
#543: What Lawyers Need to Know About the Ethics of Using AI, with Hilary Gerzhoy Apple | Spotify | LTN
#486: How to Safely Include AI in Your Legal Tech Stack, with Will Anoh Apple | Spotify | LTN
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Chapters / Timestamps
00:00 – Introduction
00:55 – The Future of Law Firm Leadership
05:00 – The Four Cornerstones of Leadership
09:00 – Be a Next Level Leader
10:45 – Meet Carissa Véliz
11:45 – Why Privacy Is Power
13:30 – How Personal Data Limits Your Autonomy
15:50 – Who Decides What Your Data Says About You?
17:50 – How Companies Exploit Personal Vulnerabilities
20:10 – The Data You Never Realized Was Personal
21:15 – The Connection Between Surveillance and Prediction
22:30 – Applying Fiduciary Duties to Personal Data
24:15 – Why You Cannot Contest a Prediction
26:20 – Banning the Sale of Personal Data
28:25 – Predictions Are Power Plays, Not Facts
30:30 – AI and the Expansion of Digital Surveillance
33:25 – How to Take Back Your Digital Privacy
37:30 – Why Every Privacy Choice Matters
40:00 – The Future Is Not Predetermined
41:25 – The Most Private Way to Read a Book
