I’m honoured to have been one of 58 contributors to the State of AI Ethics Report (SAIER) Vol. 7, “AI at the Crossroads: A Practitioner’s Guide to Community-Centered Solutions,” published by the Montreal AI Ethics Institute. This edition explores how we can move from principles to practice in AI, grounding ethics in real-world action, collaboration, and shared accountability. Read the full report here: montrealethics.ai

What “The Ursula Exchange” means

I coined the term “The Ursula Exchange” to describe a modern, non-consensual trade: 
when people hand over their identity to technology without realizing the cost. 
It happens low key in everyday permissions we’re being pushed to accept, very quietly, and gradually, ****without ****transparency*****

When a platform stores your voiceprint to “improve services”…
When facial scans, likeness, or recordings are captured and kept behind terms pretty much nobody reads…

That’s The Ursula Exchange.

Just like Ariel giving up her voice without knowing the consequences, millions of us are entering agreements we don’t fully understand. Our biometric identity has value: our voice, face, movements, expressions. Once collected, it can be copied, sold, trained into models, or used to create synthetic versions of us.

The public is being asked to comply first, and understand later..

Have you noticed the recent change on google.com requiring  full access to your photo album in order to do an image search on a single image ? 

Did you know:

• Full photo-library access means a platform can scan, analyze, and store anything you’ve ever taken including other people

• Voice data can become a “voiceprint” that lives permanently in training systems

• Face scans can be linked to identity, location, behaviour, and future profiling

• Deleting an app does not delete what was already collected

None of this means we stop using technology, but consent should be informed, not hidden in fine print.

Progress without transparency is not progress.
Human authenticity needs a seat at the table in AI’s future.

Ask questions. Read permissions. Your identity is worth more than convenience.