Listening In

While this book presents a totalising account of how we came to be surveilled subjects, it retains a political imagination for the ways we can use these technologies to open our ears and listen back. – Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Director of Earshot.ngoListening In isn’t just a historical account — it’s a provocation. A kind of sonic archaeology that traces how the act of listening has evolved from a tool of espionage to a quiet force shaping the architectures of artificial intelligence. What begins with Cold War bugs ends in our bedrooms, in baby monitors, smart assistants, and even the micro-movements of our necks and jaws as we think. Along the way, the book asks something deeper: what happens when the most intimate parts of our lives — our voices, our silences, our grief — become training data? Structured like a mixtape, it doesn’t just explain the mechanics of surveillance; it immerses you in them. It’s haunting, and strangely personal. By the end, you may find yourself asking not what AI is becoming but what we’ve already become by letting it listen. * Lance Weiler, Associate Professor of Professional Practice, Founding Member & Director, Columbia University School of the Arts’ Digital Storytelling Lab *

Toby Heys is a professor of digital arts at the School of Digital Arts (SODA) at Manchester Metropolitan University, UK, and co-founder of the AUDINT sonic research unit.

David Jackson is a Senior Lecturer in Digital Visualisation at the School of Digital Arts at Manchester Metropolitan University, UK.

Marsha Courneya is an Associate Lecturer in Digital Dramaturgy at the International Film School of Cologne and doctoral researcher in Digital Culture and Communication at Birkbeck University, London, UK.