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Dodge M, Kitchin  R, 2007, "‘Outlines of a world coming into existence’: pervasive computing and the ethics of forgetting" Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design 34(3) 431 – 445
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‘Outlines of a world coming into existence’: pervasive computing and the ethics of forgetting

Martin Dodge, Rob Kitchin

Received 18 February 2005; in revised form 26 July 2006; published online 9 March 2007

Abstract. In this paper we examine the potential of pervasive computing to create widespread sousveillance, which will complement surveillance, through the development of life-logs—sociospatial archives that document every action, every event, every conversation, and every material expression of an individual’s life. Reflecting on emerging technologies, life-log projects, and artistic critiques of sousveillance, we explore the potential social, political, and ethical implications of machines that never forget. We suggest, given that life-logs have the potential to convert exterior generated oligopticons to an interior panopticon, that an ethics of forgetting needs to be developed and built into the development of life-logging technologies. Rather than seeing forgetting as a weakness or a fallibility, we argue that it is an emancipatory process that will free pervasive computing from burdensome and pernicious disciplinary effects.

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