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Articles

Philosophy and the Panopticon

Surveillance cameras watch our every move. They reduce crime and maybe save lives. So why the fuss about privacy? Scott O’Reilly discusses the technologies of control.

Imagine that you are sitting quietly by yourself reading the latest issue of Philosophy Now. Your attention is drawn to a slightly provocative article questioning the rise of the surveillance state and the growing trend towards information invasive technologies. You feel an unmistakable queasiness as you read about the accelerating erosion of privacy made possible by the information revolution. Suddenly you realize that nearly all your activities are captured by surveillance cameras: at the mall where you shop, on the city streets where you walk, and in the office where you work. It begins to dawn on you that every purchase you have ever made, every movie you’ve rented, every magazine you’ve subscribed to is part of an electronic profile in some vast consumer or bureaucratic database – and that every time you surf the web or send and receive e-mail you’ve left a digital trail others can follow.

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