Police forces across the country now have access to surveillance technologies that were recently available only to national intelligence services. The digitization of bias and abuse of power followed.
In the year 1984, there was self-congratulatory coverage that the dystopia of the novel had not been realized. However, an expert argues that the technologies described in the novel are here and watching us.
Many people dismiss the reality format as rubbish, but the shows and the social media discussion they promote are an important indicator of public opinion on vital issues.
Facial recognition software is an Orwellian concept that will monitor and regulate the public. Most disturbing is the recent announcement by China to use it in school systems.
Sooner or later, China will recognise the value of digital assets. This adds to the urgency of citizens ensuring they control the data trails that tell the world what they think and do.
Nick Couldry, London School of Economics and Political Science
Capitalism has become focused on expanding the proportion of social life that is open to data collection and processing – as if the social itself has become the new target of capitalism’s expansion.
Home Secretary Theresa May is giving new powers to the police, which will enable them to clearly identify who is using a computer or mobile phone at a given time. Putting the politics of national security…
Darryl Woodford, Queensland University of Technology and Katie Prowd, Queensland University of Technology
While much has been made of the drop in ratings for this year’s season of Big Brother, not to mention cancellation of the Friday and Sunday episodes, social media activity is actually showing a slight…
Darryl Woodford, Queensland University of Technology and Katie Prowd, Queensland University of Technology
Reality television, alongside shows such as Q&A – which may be Reality TV in all but name – frequently drives social media conversations about the Australian television industry. Big Brother, currently…
So it’s Day 21 in Channel 5’s Big Brother household. It would also have been George Orwell’s 111th birthday. And this month marks 65 years since his landmark novel Nineteen Eighty-Four was first published…
It’s tempting to wonder whether Channel Nine’s “Be Surprised” slogan, heralding the return of Big Brother, is intentionally ironic. After all, its producers are proudly offering nothing new. Speaking to…