We are being watched. When we enter a building, place a phone call, swipe a credit card, or visit a website, our actions are observed, recorded, and often analyzed by commercial and government entities. Surveillance technologies are omnipresent—a fact underscored by the Boston Marathon bombing dragnet and the revelations of widespread domestic surveillance by the National Security Agency. We live in a “surveillance society” driven by a range of innovations, from closed-circuit TV cameras to sophisticated data mining algorithms. How did our surveillance society emerge, and what is the effect of ubiquitous surveillance on our everyday lives?
If you missed the symposium, you can watch the archived video stream and view photos from the day.
Part of the Lemelson Center's New Perspectives on Invention and Innovation symposia series that increases public understanding of innovation and technology by looking at the role of invention in American history.
