18th CENTURY philosopher and architect Jeremy Bentham invented a new type of prison in which inmates could be watched by jailers at any time, or all the time, without the knowledge of the prisoners. The panopticon has disturbing implications for the total surveillance society in which we find ourselves today.
Paul Collins and Phillip Collins, authors of The Ascendancy of the Scientific Dictatorship, discuss the legacy of Bentham and his panopticon.
Here's the promised link to the online e-book version of The Last Circle by Cheri Seymour, a chilling look at the lengths to which some will go to gain the power to bend others to their will.
And here's the link to the free e-book edition of Accelerando by Charles Stross, a sci-fi novel that depicts what the Singularity might look like — from a pro-Singularity perspective.
