Person of Interest as Media Technology of Surveillance: A Cautionary Tale for the Future of the National Security State With Diegetic Big Data Surveillance, Algorithmic Security, and Artificial Intelligence

Abstract

In this article, we examine the television series about global surveillance Person of Interest ( POI) (aired on CBS, 2011–2016) to reflect on popular understandings of surveillance and account for its representation of artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithmic surveillance. Drawing on television, media, and surveillance studies, we focus on the power of representations of social relations and diegetic technologies in possible and imagined futures to explore the role of cultural representations in shaping social order. Through the character of the AI Machine representing algorithmic surveillance, we evaluate the show’s critique of algorithmic autonomy and contend that, as a media technology of surveillance, the show participates in the hype of big data as a panacea while banalizing surveillance. We argue that POI could facilitate a comprehensive analysis of the politics of algorithmic surveillance but fails to do so due to its uncritical representation of artificial intelligence agencies in detecting security risks.