Watch We Live in Public

We Live in Public is a documentary film released by Channel 4 in 2010, directed by Ondi Timoner. The film focuses on the life and work of one of the Internet's early pioneers, Josh Harris, and his social experiments that explored the potential consequences of living in a hyper-connected digital society.

The film documents the rise and fall of Harris, who made his fortune in the late 1990s by creating Pseudo.com, an internet streaming platform that was way ahead of its time. But instead of resting on his laurels, Harris embarked on a series of social experiments that would push the limits of what it means to live in a digital age.

The film begins with Harris creating "Quiet: We Live in Public," an underground art project that was essentially a social experiment. Harris transformed a New York City loft into a bunker-like structure where 100 volunteers lived for 30 days under constant surveillance. Each room in the bunker was equipped with a camera, and the resulting footage was broadcast live on the Internet.

As the experiment unfolded, it became clear that the participants were suffering from extreme mental distress, and Harris himself was struggling to cope with the stress of overseeing the project. The film shows how Harris's intense need to control and manipulate the environment around him ultimately led to the collapse of the project.

The film then moves on to Harris's next experiment, which he started after receiving a $10 million investment from a venture capitalist. "We Live in Public" was a much larger-scale project that involved placing 100 people in a controlled environment in which they could live their lives entirely online. The environment was equipped with cameras and microphones that captured every moment of the participants' lives, which was then broadcast on a public website.

The project, which took place in a former Cold War bunker in the Californian desert, lasted only two months. Participants suffered serious psychological distress, and the project ended in a violent confrontation between Harris and one of the participants.

The film then covers Harris's decline, as he spirals into depression and obscurity. The final scenes show Harris living in a decrepit apartment building in Ethiopia, where he has sought refuge from civilisation.

Overall, We Live in Public is a thought-provoking and often disturbing documentary that raises important questions about the impact of technology on our lives. Harris's legacy is a cautionary tale about the dangers of reckless experimentation and the moral implications of living in a world where privacy is a thing of the past.