The art of surveillance emerged from the realm of military practice as part of a larger discipline system based on observation. Architectural constructs were established in order to study and control human beings in closed environments during peacetime. Michel Foucault stated that, "the camp was to the rather shameful art of surveillance what the dark room was to the great science of optics." Unlike photography, which developed through theory and experimentation of the physical behavior of light, surveillance implemented a precise use of light in controlled environments to observe and analyze individuals. These "behavioral microscopes" began with the military camp and later calcified into more permanent structures such as schools and prisons. Foucault invoked one prison in particular, called the Panopticon, to describe these behavioral microscopes that he argued represented modern "disciplinary" societies at large. The theory was based on the assumption that regardless of whether individuals were being watched, instillating in them the fear that at any time they could potentially be monitored, would cause them to behave at all times.
Not only was there a need to control soldiers during peacetime, but soon military forces began to apply surveillance techniques to studying the behavior of enemies during wartime. Beginning in the eighteen century with the use of balloons to provide sketch artists with aerial views of the battlefield, through World War I with the proliferation of airplanes, photographic cameras, and techniques for comparative analysis, and intensifying even further in World War II when satellite and imaging devices began to break away from the traditional confinement to the optical spectrum. Realizing that visible light only constituted a small portion of the spectrum, X-Ray machines were now able to image objects and spaces based on their internal structure and at the opposite end of the spectrum, radio waves were capable of reaching wavelengths up to one kilometer making it possible to image distant objects.
Devices and tactics developed during wartime have once again begun to influence the art of surveillance as applied in peacetime. Manuel DeLanda has called this, the shift from the old Panopticon model to a wider "Panspectron." The camera phones in our pockets represent the beginning of a massive social transformation that could be at least as big as the ones triggered by television and computers. Another recent neologism used to describe this notion of individual citizens keeping a technological eye on the world has been referred to as "sousveillance," meaning "watching from below"--in comparison to "surveillance" meaning "watching from above." Proponents of the movement see it as an equalizer, making it possible for individual citizens to keep tabs on those in charge. Recent events such as Abu Ghraib have demonstrated the enormous power of anyone, anywhere with a digital camera and an internet connection. Perhaps enough power to alter the course of a war or shake the policies of the most powerful nation on earth. Since governments cannot control information as easily as products or property, digital devices and network connections allow individuals to bypass chains of command and control. In a sense it is a profound democratization of the media. Videophones coupled with higher bandwidth networks will radically transform activism. Today we are familiar with the visual manipulation techniques of Photoshop and often question the veracity of digital photos. Though it may be easy to alter images from a single camera, when you have images from dozens, or hundreds, or thousands of digital cameras in the hands of citizen witnesses it become much more challenging to try and hide the truth by reshaping our visual records.
As the technology progresses, not only will politics and activism be transformed, but so will our social discourse and personal relationships. As we become more accustomed to these tools that make it possible to retain and share fleeting or unexpected moments with perfect clarity, the more they will become integrated in our everyday lives and interactions. As soon as we accept these tools as extensions of ourselves the less we will want to have them restricted. It's a world where everything can be witnessed with perfect recall. It is a world where telling the truth is easy because lying is nearly impossible. We cannot decide to take this technological path nor can we simply decide to reject it. It will likely emerge as more and more of the pieces fall into place and a multitude of tools converge with compelling utilities.
Mobile phones and digital cameras are highly intelligent machines, however. They are often expensive and attached to a specific moment in time—new models constantly replacing older ones. But the same kind of upgrade is also happening to ordinary “dumb” objects. Radio frequency identification (RDID) tags are making this transformation possible. The new technology, which is rapidly gaining popularity in many fields (from medical practice to product manufacturing), is capable of transforming all products, animals, and even humans into objects, allowing them to be catalogued, searchable and locatable in space and time. Author Bruce Sterling defines this new breed of networked objects as a “spime” (“because it is tracked precisely in space and time”). A book will always remain a book, but when it is attached to a database the information associated with these items becomes ever richer and more up-to-date. “In this way, information technology is laying bare the reality that underlies all manufactured objects. In a world of spimes, even the simplest objects - furniture, cutlery, power tools - will be little more than material billboards for a vast, interactive, postindustrial support system.” Today the average mobile phone is exponentially more powerful and less expensive than computers a decade ago that took up the space of entire buildings. As computers continue to decrease in size as they increase in strength, we will watch the digital world migrate into the physical landscape. What fits in our pocket today, will likely fit in a blood cell within the next few years.
As most new technology that stands poised to redefine our reality, RFID tags imply series problems as well as major benefits. Not the least of which is its potential as a tool for surveillance. This project seeks to explore the uses and applications of RFID technology and its implications as such a tool. It will hypothesize as to how RFID technology could be applied for better or worse to everyday environments and situations and how that application may affect personal privacy. The project consists of several objects each with an embedded RFID tag. These objects will represent certain identity traits that may be conveyed about the individual in possession of them. Participants will be asked to select any or all of the objects that they feel represent them. They will walk past a scanner (doorways are obvious places where individuals may be tracked). Based on the objects the person is carrying or wearing the information will be interpreted to make assumptions about the individual’s identity. Since the infrastructure is not in place, this project will act as a social experiment to simulate how RFID technology could be used to identify individuals, their preferences, and even constructing associations over time.
Initially, surveillance inferred suspicion, but in a society where everything and everyone is constantly being tracked, surveillance takes on a different meaning. It is a world where telling the truth is easy because lying is hard. RFID technology will make products more efficient, desirable, and user –and- environment friendly while raising serious cultural and ethical questions in the process. In an advanced capitalist society in which the relationships between people become relationships between objects, perhaps enriching the nature of commodities will in turn enhance our own relationships. We are willing to adopt technologies that threaten our personal privacy when they are also convenient. These new sousveillance tools simultaneously offer exhilarations possibilities for how we see ourselves in relationship to one another and to the world. We are not being deceived; on the contrary we are making conscious decisions and are perfectly aware of what is at stake. As the biological imperative of living things becomes increasingly entwined with the digital revolution, society finds itself on the verge of one of the most transforming periods in history. Fundamental idea of what it means to be human will be both challenged and improved. The social and philosophical ramifications will be profound and the threats they pose will be considerable. It is impossible to predict the future while negating the present. Answers are always provisional but still must be attempted. Understanding and experimenting with RFID technology is the one way to allay fears and educate oneself about what lies ahead.
Michel Foucault. Discipline and Punish. (New York: Vintage Books, 1979). Page 172.
DeLanda, Manuel. War In The Age of Intelligent Machines. (New York: Zone Books, 1991). Page 205.
Sterling, Bruce. “Dumbing Down Smart Objects.” WIRED. October 2004
THE RFID READER
THE TAGGED OBJECTS
TAG 1. CD
TAG 2. Watch
TAG 3. Woman's shirt
TAG 4. Make up
TAG 5. New York Magazine
IF...
1 and 2 = you are probably an affluent male, age 18-27
1 and 3 = you are probably a petite female, age 18-27
1 and 4 = you are probably a female with dark complexion, age 18-27
1 and 5 = you are probably a male, age 18-27, living in New York City
2 and 3 = you are probably an affluent, petite female
2 and 4 = you are probably an affluent female with dark complexion
2 and 5 = you are probably an affluent male living in New York City
3 and 4 = you are probably a petit female with dark complexion
3 and 5 = you are probably a petit female living in New York City
4 and 5 = you are probably a female with dark complexion, living in New York City
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