Stores could have detectors for convicted shoplifters, playgrounds and schools could have them for pedophiles, and abused spouses could have them for their former partners … Movements could be monitored continuously and cross-checked against crime scenes and times. Of course the system would not be complete without effective ways to apply immobilizing force and punitive violence. But that doesn’t seem too difficult. Anklets could automatically sound loud alarms when triggered by entry to forbidden places or when activated remotely by wardens. There might be some behavior-monitoring capacity built into an anklet or implant, together with a drug-release mechanism … The state will no longer need walls and watchtowers to enact its legal monopoly on confinement and violence. Telecommunications will do the job instead.
Predictor: Mitchell, William J.
Prediction, in context:In his 1994 book “City of Bits,” MIT computer scientist William J. Mitchell writes: ”Electronics can now perform many of a prison’s traditional functions without cells and walls – discipline and punishment sans slammer … Elaborations of this strategy are easy to imagine and will be increasingly straightforward for enthusiastic law enforcement agencies to implement as wireless telecommunications technology evolves. Already, cops can have ‘drive-by’ units to check on the location of offenders. Stores could have detectors for convicted shoplifters, playgrounds and schools could have them for pedophiles, and abused spouses could have them for their former partners. With more elaborate tracking technology, movements could be monitored continuously and cross-checked against crime scenes and times. Of course the system would not be complete without effective ways to apply immobilizing force and punitive violence. But that doesn’t seem too difficult. Anklets could automatically sound loud alarms when triggered by entry to forbidden places or when activated remotely by wardens. There might be some behavior-monitoring capacity built into an anklet or implant, together with a drug-release mechanism; one advocate of walking prisons imagines that ‘a sex offender’s specific patterns of aberrant sexuality would be recognized by the programmed chip, and the drugs would selectively tone down criminally sanctioned behaviors but allow normal or acceptable sexuality.’ For maximum-security offenders, the drugs could be sleep-inducing or even lethal … The state will no longer need walls and watchtowers to enact its legal monopoly on confinement and violence. Telecommunications will do the job instead.”
Biography:William J. Mitchell was a professor and dean of architecture at MIT and the author of the predictive book “City of Bits: Space, Place and the Infobahn” (1994). He also taught at Harvard, Yale, Carnegie-Mellon and Cambridge Universities. (Research Scientist/Illuminator.)
Date of prediction: January 1, 1994
Topic of prediction: Controversial Issues
Subtopic: Crime/Fraud/Terrorism
Name of publication: City of Bits
Title, headline, chapter name: Chapter 4: Recombinant Architecture
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://mitpress2.mit.edu/e-books/City_of_Bits/index.html
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney