ABSTRACT
Following Simondon’s theory of information, this chapter defines the latter as the force moving the becoming of the pair individual-environment. If, on the one hand, the pair evolution may be unpredictable, on the other hand it is possible to observe how information, in Deleuze’s control societies, can be channelled so as to transform individuals (bodies) into predictable and controlled ‘dividuals’ and spaces into highly monitored boxes.
Two examples help clarify these tenets: the first one aims at introducing a political device (Privately Owned Public Spaces) powerful enough to shape bodies and space movements through information deployed as constant surveillance. The second example introduces cybercrime. Inasmuch as traditional crime rates have been falling in recent decades, cybercrime is on the rise and its targets are the same ‘dividuals’ produced by control societies. Also, whereas crime is mostly spatial, cybercrime, as by-product of the homogenisation and normalisation of spaces, can happen anywhere, through the same technological devices used to guarantee security in the cities. The way in which the ontogenetic role of information is exploited has changed over the years: if it conveyed the meaning of spatial closeness and control in Foucault’s disciplinary societies, it is now embracing each aspect of human life.
