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Information Science, “Understanding the Impact of Surveillance Technologies on Afro-Brazilian Communities”
Kainen Bell is a Ph.D. student in Information Sciences, advised by Dr. Anita Say Chan. His research uncovers algorithmic biases and follows the work of digital rights activists and organizers of anti-surveillance campaigns in Brazil. He holds a Bachelor's Degrees in Social Work and Business Administration from the University of Washington in Seattle, and a Masters Degree in Social Work from Columbia University in New York. Prior to his Ph.D, Kainen completed a Fulbright Research Fellowship in Brazil, and later lived in Recife for 3 years, working for a community-based non-profit organization.
For his dissertation, Kainen will conduct a 4-month, exploratory study to capture the growing manifestations of resistance to digital surveillance technologies in Brazil. More specifically, he will focus on learning how Afro-Brazilians collaborate to resist and prevent the abuse of facial recognition technologies in their communities. Starting in July, Kainen will travel between the Southeastern (São Paulo and Rio) and Northeastern regions (Recife and Salvador) of Brazil, interviewing 20-25 stakeholders including organizers of anti-surveillance campaigns, policymakers, and civil society organizations. He will follow organizers of a local anti-surveillance campaign in Recife, and a national anti-surveillance campaign (Tire Meu Rosto da Sua Mira) fighting to stop the installation of 20,000 facial recognition cameras in São Paulo. Kainen will also be a Global Policy Fellow at the Institute for Technology and Society (ITS) in Rio de Janeiro where he will participate in an intensive 4-week program and meet with ITS partners, fellow researchers, and policymakers in the area of digital privacy. To supplement his 4-month field experience, Kainen will return for two additional months starting in January to conduct follow-up interviews and observe the uses of facial recognition cameras at the 2025 Carnaval celebration in Rio or Recife, depending on initial fieldwork and recommendations from the anti-surveillance campaign leaders.
Using ethnographic and community-based research methods, he intends to support the design of frameworks for collaboration between academic scholars and impacted communities. As similar projects emerge, this study will be the foundation for a model for supporting anti-surveillance campaigns in Brazil.