More on science and technology from The Atlantic Monthly. It used to be that business and technology were considered the enemies of privacy. A badge the size of a credit card, pinned to the lapel of Taylor's shirt, transmits an infrared signal to sensors on the ceiling and walls. She can take his temperature by means of infrared, keep track of how often he rolls in and out of his bedroom, and create graphs documenting changes in his patterns of movement and in his heart rate and blood pressure. Surveillance has, of course, become part of everyday life in America.
Many employers now monitor their employees' telephone conversations.
The police plant video cameras on street corners, and direct marketers keep close tabs on where we go on the Web. But each of these activities accounts for only a slice of our existence. Oatfield aims to capture the whole pie. And it is continually fine-tuning its surveillance. When I toured Oatfield recently, Bill Pascoe, the architect of the facility's computer system, speculated that Oatfield might soon begin to monitor residents' breathing.