From Big Brother to Big Data: revisiting Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four in the age of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Abstract

Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell's fictionalised dystopia, continues to be one of the most powerful literary explorations into surveillance and authoritarianism that have ever been written. While Orwell describes a centralised totalitarian regime that functions through constant surveillance and propaganda, the twenty-first century has seen a more intricate model of digital governance, governance by algorithm, big data and Artificial Intelligence. This paper suggests that today's technological infrastructures have helped make Orwell's vision come true, rather than displace it. Today, that omniscient gaze is embodied in vast networks of government, privately owned technology giants and digital platforms that are constantly gathering, processing, and trading on personal information. Through nineteenth-century narrative techniques, new modes of speech, and a creative use of Cervantesian conceit, Orwell's novel presents a timeless approach to the ethical and political impact of artificial intelligence in the era of surveillance, algorithmic governance, and digital capitalism. The paper also explores the reshaping of the notions of truth, freedom and autonomous choice mediated by predictive algorithms, facial recognition technologies, misinformation and personalised digital ecosystems. In conclusion, Orwell's dystopian imagination provides a valuable critical lens for understanding and assessing the potential downsides and upsides of the information society now increasingly dominated by AI.