The case for studying stylometric deanonymisation as surveillance tech

Abstract

The author argues that the development of stylometric deanonymisation tools, which could be used to identify individuals from their writing style, should be studied. This research is important because surveillance technology is becoming more powerful and widespread, potentially undermining democratic societies and stabilizing totalitarian regimes. This raises questions about the feasibility of creating truly unsurveillable societies, a goal pursued by proponents of decentralized technology and privacy-preserving solutions. The author argues that stylometrics poses a significant challenge to this goal, as it can be used to link anonymous online identities to real-world individuals. The author proposes a research initiative to develop AI-based stylometric deanonymisation tools, acknowledging the potential infohazard associated with such research and outlining strategies for managing it. – AI-generated abstract.