Internalized discipline makes the human inspector functionally superfluous

Evidence

Thus, discipline is internalized, while the inspector himself has become superfluous. In this way, then, the impression of the inspector’s invisible omnipresence and the idea of constant surveillance are produced in prisoners’ minds. Thus, through the illusion of the all-seeing gaze of the dark spot in the lantern, God has been constructed and, in a single move, the last of the sceptics has been, as it were, converted. — Jeremy Bentham, The Panopticon Writings, 59

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to Orwell’s O’Brien-like figure and the moment in 1984 where surveillance is so internalized the Party need not constantly watch. — connects to: Apparent omnipresence of the inspector sustains discipline — Jeremy Bentham, The Panopticon Writings, 33; Each inspector is himself under inspection, losing his omnipresence at moments of visible action — Jeremy Bentham, The Panopticon Writings, 316; Automation requires active human work to organize the relinquishing of subjectivity — Grégoire Chamayou, A Theory of the Drone, 650 (+7 more)
• SEED: The ‘inspector superfluous’ idea could fuel an essay on why total surveillance regimes ultimately depend on subjects’ belief, not technology.

Related

• Apparent omnipresence of the inspector sustains discipline (similarity 0.85)
• One observation action suffices to make prisoners police their own behavior permanently (similarity 0.83)
• Visible surveillance makes subjects police themselves without any force (similarity 0.82)
• Panoptic power derives from invisible omnipresence rather than real presence (similarity 0.81)
• The panoptic machine’s power is kept from tyranny by public observability of its observers (similarity 0.79)
• An opaque dummy object substitutes for the inspector in the lantern undetected (similarity 0.79)
• Each inspector is himself under inspection, losing his omnipresence at moments of visible action (similarity 0.79)
• Workers in new bureaucracies become their own auditors under internalized surveillance (similarity 0.78)
• Invisible inspection can awe prisoners to silence without any physical restraint (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• External surveillance becomes internalized as self-imposed bodily discipline #corroborates (0.90) — , Selod, Saher - Forever Suspect_…, 512
• Each inspector is himself under inspection, losing his omnipresence at moments of visible action #expands (0.82) — Jeremy Bentham, The Panopticon Writings, 316
• Disciplinary power shifts from marking time to shaping the act from within #expands (0.80) — Michel Foucault, Discipline & Punish- The Birth of the…, 232
• Disciplinary power stays invisible while making its subjects compulsorily visible #expands (0.80) — Michel Foucault, Discipline & Punish- The Birth of the…, 288
• Automation requires active human work to organize the relinquishing of subjectivity #complicates (0.78) — Grégoire Chamayou, A Theory of the Drone, 650