Uberveillance
It was apparent later in 2010 as I became aware of how deeply my digital footprint extends across the Internet, informing a state of Uberveillance, a concept which correlates with the topics of transparency and (the death of) privacy. As I sought out opportunities to learn more about the concept of Uberveillance, then covert policing, national security and a host of other topics courtesy of the IEEE ISTAS’10 conference at the University of Wollongong emerged and began influencing my research activities as a PhD undergraduate.
I was invited to contribute to an online community and build a web presence for the workings of Uberveillance, tracking related articles across the internet and writings in peer reviewed journals. I invested a great deal of my time in developing the main Uberveillance website between 2010 till 2020, which is a treasure trove of links to resources and collaborative works with a number of author contributors. Here is a WayBackMachine snapshot amongst many - https://web.archive.org/web/20200609222349/http://uberveillance.com/blog
The website was decommissioned in 2020 due to the onset of COVID-19 and unwanted attention that seeks to negatively portray the deeply informed position of Dr. M.G. Michael.
“… Ubiquitous or pervasive electronic surveillance that is not only ‘always on’ but ‘always with you’, ultimately in the form of ...” Oxford Reference Dictionary
I consider that the investment in this interrogation of the totality of Veillances provided a very cogent and philosophical understanding of the power differentials that Foucault and many others explore as a means to better express the workings of an unbalanced social posse of colonisers. The sheer brutality of an always on surveillance is not only an assault on the senses, in addition and in conversation with others fills them with great angst, as explored in the writings of Professor Katina Michael.
My position settles when we truly interrogate and question those who state they are seeking to improve humanity, or are acting in our best interests for our safety and well being. Then and only then can I have some ease of mind as to what it is that their research output seeks to counteract.
Here is an article that appeared in the UOW news titled 'Are we ready to live in an Uberveillance society?' on the same topic - https://media.uow.edu.au/news/UOW147704.html
‘Uberveillance’ by Alexander Hayes, 2010
