The concept of smart homes as modern panopticons and surveillance mechanisms is a thought-provoking perspective that raises concerns about the privacy and security implications of connected technologies within our living spaces. Han(2022) says that Google presents the interconnected smart home of the future as an “electric orchestra” with the resident as a “conductor” (5). I think the idea floating around here is that the ‘digital utopia’ of a smart home is more like being confined to a smart prison.Smart homes can be likened to the architectural concept of the panopticon, originally conceived by philosopher Jeremy Bentham. In a panopticon, a central authority can observe all inmates without them knowing whether they are being watched at any given moment. Similarly, smart home devices equipped with cameras, sensors, and microphones can continuously monitor residents, creating a sense of constant surveillance.
In smart homes, we are supposedly subjected to a panoptical gaze. It reminds me of Truman Burbanks, the protagonist of The Truman Show. Unbeknownst to him, his day-to-day life is recorded by hidden cameras. The absence of his consent here is what makes it a prime example of panopticon and surveillance. What Han is implying is that, if our lives become too much embedded in our dependence on technology, how does that play out in the long run- which is clearly a violation of our autonomy and consent. Whereas the panopticon is the model for external surveillance, panopticism is a term introduced by French philosopher Michel Foucault to indicate a kind of internal surveillance. In panopticism, the watcher ceases to be external to the one being watched. So, I believe our future abodes aka smart homes have a potential to become little sites of surveillance. Who will hold us captive? The Government? Big Brother? Big Tech? Will we become enhanced machines with AI? (180).
[Han, 2022], [Bentham, 1791], [Foucault, 1975]. [SD-10].
The Truman Show Embedded in our Reality of Smart Homes: Will We Be Held Captive Like Truman Burbanks?
2 thoughts on “The Truman Show Embedded in our Reality of Smart Homes: Will We Be Held Captive Like Truman Burbanks?”
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Well written, Shuvro. This also buttresses Han’s claim that while we think we are the ones using technology, technology is actually using us (p. 23), and we humans are losing our own corporeal effects and values as we continue to “swipe” our humanity away.
Great reflection Shuvro! In my 90’s, I explained how phono sapiens as stated by Han become an object of attention that oppressed humans without paying attention to what is currently happening in the site-based community. As Han states, ‘what is ruinous about digital communication is it means we no longer have time to close our eyes” (p. 79), technology, particularly smartphones has oppressed our lives.