week 2

Question 1

❓ What is the Panopticon, and how does it function?

Answer 1

✅ A centralized surveillance model where a tower can see all inmates, but they cannot see the observer. This creates a state of permanent visibility, making individuals self-discipline their behavior.

Question 2

❓ What is the major effect of the Panopticon?

Answer 2

✅ It induces a state of conscious and permanent visibility, ensuring automatic power without direct force.

Question 3

❓ How is the Panopticon a “political technology”?

Answer 3

✅ It generalizes power relations beyond prisons, influencing everyday institutions like schools, workplaces, and governments.

Question 4

❓ What is the Surveillant Assemblage?

Answer 4

✅ A networked, decentralized system of surveillance that collects data from multiple sources to monitor and control populations.

Question 5

❓ What are “data doubles”?

Answer 5

✅ Digital profiles created by surveillance systems that classify, track, and influence individuals, often independent of their actual identity.

Question 6

❓ How does the Surveillant Assemblage affect different social classes?

Answer 6

✅Poor people are subject to criminal justice and social welfare surveillance.
Wealthier individuals experience corporate and consumer tracking.
The more institutions someone interacts with, the more surveillance they experience.

Question 7

❓ What is subjectivity, and how does surveillance shape it?

Answer 7

✅ Subjectivity refers to how individuals think, internalize norms, and perceive themselves. Surveillance influences subjectivity by defining what is considered “normal” or “abnormal.”

Question 8

❓ How does disciplinary power differ from traditional power?

Answer 8

✅ Instead of using force or violence, disciplinary power works by making people internalize rules and self-discipline their behavior.

Question 9

❓ How does social sorting differ from the Panopticon?

Answer 9

✅Panopticon: Individual-level surveillance through visibility & self-discipline.
Social Sorting: Macro-level categorization, where institutions classify and control populations based on strategic interests (e.g., race, risk factors).

Question 10

❓ What are the stakes of “data doubles” in surveillance?

Answer 10

✅ Accuracy issues—decisions based on incomplete or biased data can impact opportunities, security, and rights (e.g., predictive policing, credit scores).