The implicit ambiguity of surveillance as both control and care has been a key theoretical issue in social science research on surveillance practices and technologies since the foundational work of Michel Foucault. This issue also reflects a prevalent socio-technical perspective in which a central factor in considering technology’s effects on society and relationships is always contextual and situational. This talk will explore the ambiguities of surveillance in light of current research projects focusing on care and control in the areas of family and healthcare. One project investigates the use of surveillance and tracking technologies in intimate contexts of everyday life. It focuses on how children are engaged in self-monitoring, how they are surveilled, and how these practices are negotiated, resisted and subverted. Another project is developing a framework for the use of surveillance technologies to manage elderly with dementia while balancing the need for safety and all citizens’ right to privacy and dignity.

Associate Professor Anders Albrechtslund has a background in Philosophy and is an Associate Professor in Information Studies and Director of Center for Surveillance Studies, Aarhus University. He is currently a Visiting Fellow at the School of Sociology, ANU. His published work focuses on interpersonal surveillance, ethics and technology, privacy and digital media.