Charlie Stross, The panopticon singularity
►http://www.antipope.org/charlie/old/rant/panopticon-essay.html
The 18th century utopian philosopher Jeremy Bentham’s #panopticon was a #prison; a circle of cells with windows facing inwards, towards a tower, wherein jailers could look out and inspect the prisoners at any time, unseen by their subjects.
Though originally proposed as a humane experiment in #penal reform in 1785, Bentham’s idea has eerie resonances today. One of the risks of the #technologies that may give rise to a #singularity is that they may also permit the construction of a Panopticon society — a #police #state characterised by #omniscient #surveillance and mechanical law enforcement.