The aim of this paper on Marc-Uwe Kling's science fiction novel QualityLand (2017) is to analyze how fiction presents a transparent society as a digital panopticon and to explore the possibilities of personal resistance against digital control. Advanc- es in digital technology have made knowledge accessible, making any information available to anyone at any time. This is especially the case in today's public discourse, in which the word “transparency” is a common slogan. But is it possible that digital technology is actually creating a digital prison with total containment and real-time surveillance by pretending to optimize the impact of human society? The argument put forward here is based on The Transparency Society (2012) by the South Korean- born German philosopher Byung-Chul Han, in which he criticizes the false ideals brought about by digital technology. In these terms, Kling’s science fiction can be an- alyzed as follows: If, in the future, human life depends on Big Data, algorithms, and artificial intelligence, then the digital age can show the transformation of a society in regard to knowledge, power, emotion, and personal existence.
This raises the following questions: 1) In the novel, how can the “QualityLand” with fully developed digital technology build a transparency society? And how does atransparency society cause a cognitive crisis for its people by limiting access to knowl- edge? 2) Can Big Data algorithms in “QualityLand” change order in civil society and ultimately even collective actions? And is digital technology leading to the destruction of democracy? 3) Does artificial intelligence change human emotions? How does ar- tificial intelligence dominate human behavior based on its automation processes? And will the self-improvement function emphasized by artificial intelligence replace the human subconscious? 4) How can the individual finally exist as an independent sub- ject if the “QualityLand” is only “a digital panopticon”?
