Panopticon Revisited

Kietzmann, J., & Angell, I. (2010). Panopticon Revisited. Communications of the ACM, 53(6), 135-138.

5 Pages Posted: 6 Nov 2014

See all articles by Jan Kietzmann

Jan Kietzmann

Simon Fraser University - Segal Graduate School of Business

Ian Angell

Information Systems and Innovation

Date Written: November 5, 2014

Abstract

The year is 1787. Utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham publishes his ideas for a panopticon, a quite brilliant merger of architectural design with an understanding of human behavior. This is a prison requiring minimal supervision. It is circular in cross- section. Cells are placed on the circumference, stacked floor upon floor, with the doors facing a guard tower at the centre. That tower is designed so that a lone guard can see every point of the prison from behind a mesh screen – he can see the prisoners, each uniquely identified, but they can’t see him. Not knowing if they are being watched, but having to assume that they are, the prisoners adjust their behavior. At regular intervals, each prisoner is relocated according to his overall record of discipline – good behavior is rewarded, bad conduct punished. Ergo, a highly efficient and cost effective method for controlling sociopaths, and thereby regulating the prison.

Fast-forward to the first decade of the 21 century, and Closed Circuit Television (CCTV). The panopticon is no longer just a concept for prisons. Manhattan’s Chinatown has seen an increase from 13 to 600 ‘security’ cameras since 1998.4 Britain alone has 20% of the world’s CCTV cameras, which watch traffic, shoppers, and people walking down the street, all on the lookout for sociopathic acts. British subjects going about their ordinary lives can expect to be captured on camera 300 times a day, every day. George Orwell would have been proud and horrified to see that his vision of a society monitored by cameras and computers is quickly becoming a reality; and he wouldn’t be amazed that the most recent generation of cameras can also reprimand offenders in a child’s voice broadcast over loudspeakers. ...

Suggested Citation

Kietzmann, Jan and Angell, Ian, Panopticon Revisited (November 5, 2014). Kietzmann, J., & Angell, I. (2010). Panopticon Revisited. Communications of the ACM, 53(6), 135-138., Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2519389

Jan Kietzmann (Contact Author)

Simon Fraser University - Segal Graduate School of Business ( email )

Burnaby, British Columbia V5A 1S6
Canada

HOME PAGE: http://beedie.sfu.ca/profiles/JanKietzmann

Ian Angell

Information Systems and Innovation ( email )

United Kingdom

HOME PAGE: http://ianangell.com/

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
155
Abstract Views
959
Rank
343,436
PlumX Metrics