What happens before the bullet hits the body

This event will present the multifaceted work of the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition against ‘predictive’ policing programmes, which culminated with the publishing of the report "Before the bullet hits the body" (2018). Adopting as a starting point the installation exhibited at Pedion tou Areos that features LAPD's infamous algorithm identifying an area’s predicted rate of crimes, the members of the Coalition will explain how through their research, campaigns, and successful court action, they managed to dismantle LAPD's predictive policing. The event will explore the challenges encountered by the Coalition, as well as the strategies that built a diverse community fighting algorithmic control of people's lives. The dystopian present that the Coalition members have had to confront is a reminder of the dystopian futures that other parts of the world may also have to face soon, as algorithms play an increasingly important role in all aspects of our lives.