Artificial eyes watch and record us through hundreds of moments every day of our lives, writes Atticus. Is CCTV the panacea for all social ills, or does it simply take us further down the wrong path?

CCTV variously blights our lives or improves our society, depending on the viewpoint. As a policing aid it obviously has benefits – at least as in terms of providing evidence – but what do all of these millions of cameras really do to our sense of self and of society? Can a technology truly provide a cohesive, or at least non-threatening, social environment? Or rather does it turn us all into suspects?