What is Panoptilog?

Panoptilog is a portmanteau of panopticon and log. It was inspired by DARPA's lifelog project.

The allusions to surveillance tools are somewhat tongue-in-cheek. My intentions with this project are to enable myself to automatically journal and analyze data on my own life. However, I want to acknowledge that the software I'm building ultimately do amount to surveillance tools, albeit for self-surveillance. A journal isn't spyware if one is introspecting, but an automated journal -- wherein one is externally observed -- can be construed as such even if the person observed has sole control over that data. Thus, I named the project what I did lest I get too comfortable with that idea.

Personal data is not intrinsically valuable; rather, its worth lies in the fact that knowledge of one's private life translates to power over that person. At present, we leave behind a digital trail every time we open an internet-connected device. Many for-profit companies are interested in exploiting this trail to influence consumer spending. Many governments are interested in it to gain leverage over their adversaries.

What if we retained such logs on ourselves? A near-complete record of our own digital trail: one that can be indexed and searched privately for our own personal discovery and enrichment. There is an assymmetry in data analysis capabilities between individuals and service providers. Panoptilog seeks to lessen this gap. If leaving digital footprints is inevitable, then individuals should at least have equal ability to journal and draw insights from their own data.

All Panoptilog software are copyleft licensed and freely modifiable.