We are all being watched. From our phones to our Facebook activity, our data is being collected—and, in many cases, sold—to target us with ads, predict our identities and interests, determine our credit worthiness, and even evaluate our propensity for commiting crimes.

In the midst of a crucial moment in conversations about surveillance and public “safety,” we talked with Sareeta Amrute, associate professor of anthropology at the University of Washington and director of research at NYC think tank Data & Society, to discuss the history of the data and surveillance economies and what’s at stake now.