Information Panopticon and its impact on ICT

Introduction:
A term coined by Jeremy Bentham over two centuries ago, the panopticon was a type of prison designed by Jeremy Bentham to allow the observer to watch over its prisoners without giving them the impression that they were being watched. Bentham's central goal of the panopticon was control through both isolation and the possibility of constant surveillance. Although the design was not completed in his time, the French philospher and historian Michel Foucault developed on this idea of controlling space and applied it as a metaphor for the oppressive use of information in a modern disciplinary society.

Foucault's vision and current relevance:
In modern society, quoting Foucault, our spaces are organized "like so many cages, so many small theaters, in which each actor is alone, perfectly individualized and constantly visible". So, we are already living in a kind of panopticon where information about us is available without our knowledge. Also, Foucault realized that oppression in the information age is no longer about physical domination and control, but rather the potential for complete knowledge and observation. In such a society, physical intimidation is not relevant as people need to regulate their own behaviour to escape the constant threat of detection. In the current age, Foucault's vision of the panopticon is relevant in the context of surveilance and electronic monitoring of workers commonplace today. Thus the sentiment of an 'invisible omniscience' has persisted albeit in a different form. According to some, this is construcing a society where all behaviour is sharply regulated through the fear of observation.

In contemporary society:
Monitoring of data and profiling is now commonplace on the internet, wherever we go. From a simple search on Google to a credit card transaction, details of our browsing history, searches and bank details are stored in large databases and servers. In the age of ICT, such information has become increasingly public and privacy has become hard to find. Most people are unaware that they are being tracked and few of those who do can do anything about it. A case in point is the widespread use of wireless networks, most of which follow weak standards and unencrypted protocols from which data can easily be stolen. Here, we see the power of the panopticon - in the quest for making some information public and decentralised, we have unintentionally crossed the line somewhere and now almost nothing can remain hidden.

Conclusion:
The idea of the panopticon, initially conceived as a means to regulate, discipline and punish using all seeing gaze still exists today in a form that Bentham and Foucault did not imagine. We live in a world where we are constantly monitored, either by CCTV cameras at departmental stores to cookies and other details stored on our computer. On the occasions when we are aware of this, we behave differently because of this fear of being watched. Does this however ultimately help to regulate society and change our behaviour for the better? One may argue that we can only be judged when we do not know that we are being watched. As the world grows smaller, the information panopticon grows increasingly evident and our society heads towards a new and unexpected danger - the risk of too much information.