Defining the Sensor Society

Abstract

Sensor technologies are proliferating in our networked environments. Devices such as smart phones, cameras, drones, and a growing array of fixed environmental sensors and interactive online platforms now permeate all aspects of our lives. This developing environment is causing radical changes to traditional forms of information collection, storage and analysis processes. There is a shift from targeted, purposeful and discrete forms of information collection to always-on, ubiquitous, ever-expanding and non-specific forms of collection. The increased use of sensors therefore marks important changes to our understandings of surveillance, information processing, and privacy. The advent of the ‘sensor society’ consequently raises significant questions about the role of privacy, power and surveillance in the world of the ever-watching, ever-sensing always-on interactive device. In this paper, we outline our concept of the ‘sensor society’ which provides a new lens to view the role of sensors, the explosion of collectable data, predictive processes and information infrastructures in our societies.

Keywords: Sensor society, sensors, metadata, predictive analytics, information infrasturctures