"If we are going to live in a democracy, the bulk of power needs to be with the people. And whoever has the data has the power."
Carissa Véliz is a leading philosopher of the digital age, reshaping how we think about autonomy, technology, and the invisible data architectures that govern our lives. An acclaimed ethicist, author, and professor at the University of Oxford, she is a vital voice calling for privacy to be recognized not as a luxury, but as a fundamental human right. Her groundbreaking book Privacy Is Power has become a manifesto against surveillance capitalism, arguing that personal data is not a commodity to be exploited, but an extension of ourselves.
Véliz’s work addresses digital profiling, informed consent, algorithmic bias, and the ethical design of technology. As a senior fellow at the Institute for Ethics in AI, she advises policymakers on how to ensure innovation respects human dignity. Her writing, featured in The Guardian, Wired, and The New York Times, offers clear, urgent insights into the moral challenges shaping our digital future.
“An essential guide to one of the most pressing modern issues.” — Hannah Fry
