Response 7, Steve Mann

In his essay, Mann describes the ways in which he attempts to subvert and create awareness of surveillance. Perhaps one of his most interesting and alarming points was that through the creation of a surveillance society, we all become in effect prisoners rather than citizens. After his Orwellian analysis of the current trend of society, he introduces his notion of “Reflectionism,” that is turning the cameras back on “the oppressor.” His process essentially constitutes a reversal of the ways that we are normally surveyed. He creates uncertainty over whether people are being surveyed, creates “non-selectivity,” and even creates the element of personal safety (and reducing crime) in his pieces. Through his own personal anecdotes, Mann reveals how the users of surveillance technology are easily made uncomfortable when the technology is turned on them. Thus, he is able to circumvent the usual one sided observation we experience in our everyday life.

Though it is clear that his techniques are effective on the base level of corporations &c, it becomes less clear how his endeavors will ultimately effect any change at a higher level, which is where any change will ultimately be decided. This inefficacy, of course, reflects the one sided nature of surveillance as a whole, the lack of power in our own hands. To this end I thought his idea of “Diffusionism” is perhaps more viable, as the dissemination of technology is a definite trend, making this possible. However, I question whether the inclusion of such technologies as GPS and video overlays could not become yet another method of observation and control. Would it not be possible, if not probable given the tendency towards function creep, that “Diffusionism” could replace the surveillance camera with the personal tracker? Mann deals with this problem in his essay, stating that “Diffusionism is a detournement of a detournement of a detournement,” but would this, in its actual practice, lead to a constant effort to make a detournement of a detournement, and so on?