Security

Panopticon

Türkçe: Panoptikon

Jeremy Bentham's prison design in which a central guard can see everyone but nobody knows when they are being watched.

// EXPLANATION

Michel Foucault used the idea as a metaphor for social control: a person who thinks they are watched polices themselves. The digital panopticon applies the same logic to data collection and algorithmic monitoring.

// ALSO KNOWN AS

panopticondigital panopticon

// RELATED TERMS

Surveillance capitalismThe economic order in which user behaviour data is collected and turned into prediction products as a source of profit. TelemetryThe automatic sending of usage and error data from devices and software to a remote server.

// ARTICLES THAT MENTION THIS TERM

SCIENCE_SOCIETY SCIENCE_SOCIETY September 14, 2026 What Is the Digital Panopticon and How Do You Escape It? Bentham's Panopticon no longer needs stone walls or a watchtower; it lives in the chips in our pockets and in data centers. Here is how we walked into the algorithmic cage, and how to get out… 5 MIN READ #HARDWARE

SCIENCE_SOCIETY SCIENCE_SOCIETY September 14, 2026 The Digital Panopticon in Schools: How AI Fuels Teacher Mobbing AI tools rushed into schools were supposed to spark a pedagogical revolution. Instead, many have become an algorithmic mobbing mechanism that monitors, scores and pressures teachers around the clock… 4 MIN READ #EDUCATION

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