'Humans behave better when watched': Xprice founder, tech leaders make the case for surveillance

Several technology leaders have argued that a future of widespread surveillance could have benefits, with Xprice Foundation founder Peter Diamandis becoming the latest to make the case.

Taking to X, Diamandis said, “A trillion sensor in space, in the air and on the ground will allow us to know anything, anywhere, at any time. There will be no hiding.. A good thing... Humans behave better when they’re being watched.”

He expanded on the idea in a post on Substack, describing what he called a future of "radical transparency".


“Radical transparency is coming. A future where you can know anything, anytime, anywhere. A future where no one can hide,” he wrote.

“We are wrapping the planet in an ‘Sensor Ecosystem’: a living, multi-layered sensing system that runs from the cameras in your home, to the phone in your pocket, to autonomous cars and humanoid robots on the ground, to drones and flying cars in the air, all the way up to a constellation of satellites imaging every square meter on the Earth every single day.”

According to Diamandis, the rapid growth of connected devices will make this possible. He claimed that by 2030 there will be around 40 billion connected devices, each equipped with multiple sensors, producing vast amounts of data that artificial intelligence can analyse.

Diamandis is not the first technology executive to argue that constant monitoring could improve behaviour.

During Oracle's Financial Analyst Meeting in 2024, founder Larry Ellison said, “Citizens will be on their best behavior, because we’re constantly recording and reporting everything that is going on,” according to Fortune.

Fortune noted at the time that Ellison's vision bore similarities to China's social credit system, which uses an extensive network of cameras and advanced facial recognition technology to monitor citizens.

Diamandis' latest comments appear to have been prompted by a recent podcast conversation with Will Marshall, chief executive of Earth-imaging company Planet, according to TechCrunch.

During the discussion, Marshall said, “No one can hide anymore. If you build a school, we’re going to see the school. If you build a data center, we’re going to see the data center. And the accountability is going to be there for the whole world to see, no matter what.”

The debate over surveillance comes at a time when Meta is facing privacy-related scrutiny over its Ray-Ban smart glasses. The company has also been dealing with complaints about the camera-equipped glasses and is fighting a lawsuit over privacy concerns.