The prediction, in brief:

I look forward to a time when no one will be exempt from surveillance. So long as corporations, governments, and citizens are equally vulnerable, lack of privacy will be the ultimate equalizer. It will also drastically reduce crime – especially street crime – when there’s a constant possibility of electronic evidence turning up in court. On a domestic level, I doubt that this will affect us much, one way or the other. If my neighbors don’t bother to bug my phone right now, why should they bother to video my apartment in the future? On a macro level, the impact will be significant; and I believe most of it will be positive.

Predictor: Platt, Charles

Prediction, in context:

In a 1993 article for Wired magazine, Charles Platt, author of “The Silicon Man,” writes about privacy – or the lack thereof – in the networked world of the future:”No one likes the idea of being under surveillance, and computer privacy is a big, angry issue. But how many people have really thought the privacy question through to its conclusion? Suppose that current trends continue to the point that everyone is without privacy – institutions as well as individuals. Who loses, and who gains? … In surveillance, as in other fields, the computer revolution is a weapon that can be used both ways. It can help the individual as well as the state … I look forward to a time when no one will be exempt from surveillance. So long as corporations, governments, and citizens are equally vulnerable, lack of privacy will be the ultimate equalizer. It will also drastically reduce crime – especially street crime – when there’s a constant possibility of electronic evidence turning up in court. On a domestic level, I doubt that this will affect us much, one way or the other. If my neighbors don’t bother to bug my phone right now, why should they bother to video my apartment in the future? On a macro level, the impact will be significant; and I believe most of it will be positive.”

Date of prediction: January 1, 1993

Topic of prediction: Controversial Issues

Subtopic: Privacy/Surveillance

Name of publication: Wired

Title, headline, chapter name: Nowhere to Hide

Quote Type: Direct quote

Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/1.05/1.5_nowhere.to.hide_pr.html

This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney