Security Cameras and the Obedience Imperative
“People are shocked when they hear the cameras talk, but when they see everyone else looking at them, they feel a twinge of conscience and comply,” said Mike Clark, a spokesman for Middlesbrough Council who recounted the incident. The city has placed speakers in its cameras, allowing operators to chastise miscreants who drop coffee cups, ride bicycles too fast or question the President. [Quote slightly edited for clarity.]
The quote is from Bloomberg, “George Orwell Was Right: Spy Cameras See Britons’ Every Move.”
I’m reminded of Milgram’s authority experiment, where he had men in white lab coats telling people that they needed to deliver electrical shocks.
(Via Slashdot, a ways back. Photo of Roxanne by L.N.L.)