Topic: Profiling

Sports commentator Stephen A. Smith used his platform on ESPN to denounce Governor Greg Abbott's new immigration law as racist. Smith argued that the law allows for arrests based on "suspicion," which he believes will lead to the profiling of Latinos based on their language, clothing, or perceived economic status.

The Federal Trade Commission banned Rite Aid from using facial recognition technology for five years after the company was accused of using it to falsely identify people of color and women as shoplifters. The FTC alleged the "secret" surveillance program led to thousands of false accusations and employee harassment of customers.

TikTok uses advanced computer vision to automatically catalog items in users' rooms, creating real-time consumer profiles for advertisers. This technological advantage has led to "entitlement" among Silicon Valley giants like Google and Microsoft, who are losing market share. The established tech companies are now pivoting to AI and ChatGPT to regain their dominance in the advertising market.

Pieczenik discusses the history of psychological profiling in intelligence, tracing it back to the OSS and figures like Ruth Benedict. He explains how Benedict's analysis of the Japanese national character influenced General Douglas MacArthur's decision to retain Emperor Hirohito. Pieczenik views himself as the heir to this tradition of applying psychoanalytical theory to nation-state behavior.

Spotify is implementing automatic ad insertion technology that targets listeners based on gender, age, race, and musical taste. This system requires podcasters to sign agreements that prohibit music snippets without cleared licenses to avoid billing from record companies. Examples of these targeted 20-to-30-second pre-roll spots include advertisements for CarPro USA and JCPenney.

Adam Curry and John C. Dvorak open the show from Austin and Silicon Valley on February 2, 2020. They discuss the significance of the date as a palindrome and the overlap of Super Bowl Sunday and Groundhog Day. Initial reports from the Netherlands and France suggest Asian individuals are facing racial profiling and wearing "I am not a virus" signs due to the emerging coronavirus outbreak.

A segment on data profiling explores how internet users are categorized by political belief, race, and income to manipulate the news they see. The hosts recall the early promises of the internet and RSS, which were supposed to allow users to customize their own news flow. Instead, they argue, algorithms now perform this customization automatically to create echo chambers and facilitate censorship.

Spotify has introduced a feature allowing users to create music playlists for their pets. The hosts characterize this as a sophisticated data-profiling exercise designed to capture personal emotional information about the owners. By answering questions about their dog's personality, users are inadvertently providing Spotify with deep psychological data for their algorithms.

New laws in Canada allow police to demand breath samples from any driver without reasonable suspicion of impairment. Civil rights activists express concern that these powers will lead to increased racial profiling. The hosts predict that such mandatory testing will eventually become a global standard, potentially integrated directly into vehicle ignition systems for insurance purposes.

The history of celebrity in the American presidency is examined, comparing the public profiles of Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump to potential candidate Michael Bloomberg. Reagan's extensive career in film, television, and the Screen Actors Guild is cited as a more traditional path to fame than Trump's reality TV success. Bloomberg is described as lacking the necessary "celebrity" charisma to succeed in the current media landscape.

The discussion focuses on reports that Facebook has requested customer transaction data from major banks like JPMorgan Chase to build more detailed user profiles. The hosts question the legality of banks sharing such sensitive information and express concern over the "closing loop" of data between financial institutions and social media giants.

A donor's letter sparks a discussion about whether news networks use camera filters to make Donald Trump look "washed out" or "pasty." The conversation shifts to the frustrations of Global Entry and TSA profiling, with an anecdote about a traveler named Muhammad who faces constant "Quad S" (SSSS) security searches despite having official clearance.

Amazon is rapidly expanding its advertising business, leveraging the massive amount of consumer data it collects through Whole Foods, Audible, and its primary retail platform. The hosts express alarm at the level of detailed profiling Amazon can perform, combining purchase history with entertainment and dietary habits.

Reverend Jared Moultrie, a South Carolina NAACP president, claimed he was racially profiled and harassed during a traffic stop. However, police released body camera footage showing a polite exchange regarding an unregistered vehicle and improper tags, contradicting the pastor's social media account.

Two Native American teenagers on a campus tour at Colorado State University were stopped and patted down by police after a parent on the tour reported them for being "too quiet" and wearing "strange clothing." The university president later apologized, stating that the boys were racially profiled. The school offered the family a "VIP tour," which they have yet to accept.

A congresswoman confronts Zuckerberg regarding Facebook's collection of data on individuals who do not have accounts. The hosts discuss "canvas profiling" and the technical reality that users are tracked via hash codes and Wi-Fi data even when location sharing is disabled.

Mainstream media outlets, including ABC News, utilized former law enforcement officials like Ray Kelly and Brad Garrett to profile the Parkland shooter before full facts were established. These analysts suggested that bullying and long-term planning are common elements in school shootings, even when local reports characterized the suspect as the aggressor rather than a victim. The coverage emphasized the "18 school shootings in 2018" statistic to frame the policy discussion around gun control.

Steve Wynn describes Stephen Paddock as having a "vanilla profile," noting he was a rational, conservative gambler who did not drink alcohol. The discussion explores Paddock's proficiency at video poker, which requires a sober and flawless execution to maintain favorable odds, contradicting the image of a "snapped" or demented individual.

Media outlets including NBC and CBS began constructing a psychological profile of Stephen Paddock, describing him as a man "descending into madness" with "crazy eyes." Reports surfaced claiming Paddock was a former IRS agent and accountant who had accumulated 47 firearms over several years. Former FBI agent Manny Gomez suggested on CBS that Paddock was looking for the "largest impact" regardless of the specific target or venue.

Senator Tim Scott meets with President Trump to discuss the administration's response to racial violence in Charlottesville. Scott claims to have been stopped by law enforcement seven times in one year, a claim the hosts find skeptical given his "US Senator" license plates. They argue that Scott's position provides him with significant privilege that contradicts his narrative of harassment.