It's no secret that a variety of devices and their masters are going to be watching you every time you leave the house. Instead of being infuriated or marginalized by this, why not use their own powers against them? Now you can shoot first (well, photos, at least) with the new Aposematic Jacket.
As reported by wired.com, this new wearable technology protects not just with surveillance, but with the threat of it as well. Welcome to the world of "sousveillance", taken from the idea that you are watching from below, not being watched from above (the "sur" in "surveillance.) The Aposematic's South Korean creators, artists Kim Yong Hun and Shin Seung Back, stitched four working cameras (and eight dummies) onto a regular black blazer, daring any passersby to mess with the wearer.
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| The Aposematic, spotted in the wild. (Image courtesy mashable.com.) |
The Aposematic is named for the bright frogs and other creatures who use their overt threat of danger to ward off predators. These days, too much information can sting worse than a dose of too much poison venom. Four cameras are triggered from a discreet button hidden in the Aposematic's sleeve, immediately offering a panoramic image which can be beamed to a website for realtime extreme exo-monitoring. It's the ultimate selfie, plus a sort of security. “Cameras make people act ‘properly,’ ” Kim says. “Once someone’s behavior is recorded, it will exist beyond time and space so that will have the possibility of being ‘judged’ by others anytime and anywhere.”
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| What're you lookin' at? (Image courtesy pinterest.com.) |
Kim raises serious questions about the state of our society and how surveillance/sousveillance now acts as a built-in behavior modifier. He ponders, “How will people act when everything is recorded all the time? Will people have to always behave themselves? Or will we have to re-invent the concept of the ethics of humanity?”
Even though the Aposematic is an art project rather than a fashion movement, it makes it neatly known that accountability is for everyone. We must first observe and affect our own surroundings before we can hope to do so with others. We must be the checks and balances that the surveillance of the powers-that-be lacks. Hopefully the changes that are enacted as we progress further into a surveillance society aren't just because someone is watching...they'll be because some people should have been acting better all along, and will shape up in a world where they have nowhere to hide. And now, that includes the watchers too.
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| Bling bling, sousveillance is a thing. (Image courtesy de.wikipedia.org.) |
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