This is part 3 of the transcript for the Debugger podcast, “What is the Original Sin of the Internet.” Somehow we went from bankrupt sock puppets to a fundamental attack on free will to billions of dollars of research designed to find psychological vulnerabilities and hack people’s minds. Bill’s version [Keep reading]
This is part two of a six-part series based on my new podcast, Debugger. I am on a quest to find the Original Sin of the Internet with a series of experts who were there at the beginning of the Internet age. Next up: Bill Woodcock from the Packet [Keep reading]
First up: Richard Purcell, one of the first privacy executives. From him, you’ll learn as much about working on the railroad as you will about the abuse of power through privacy invasions. But before that, I try to explain what I mean by “original sin” in the introduction, and why [Keep reading]
Is there an Original Sin of the Internet? Join me on a journey to find out. Today I’m sharing a passion project of mine that’s been years in the making. I’m lucky. I’m getting old. Much better than the alternative! My career has spanned such a fascinating time in the [Keep reading]
Florence Puana at her deposition Last week, I told you about Florence Puana — the 99-year-old woman who ended Honolulu’s biggest law enforcement scandal ever. Puana, you might recall, moved to Hawaii right before the Pearl Harbor attacks, raised nine children there, and lived to see her 100th birthday. She [Keep reading]
Some scam stories hurt more than others. In this one, Janet lost her husband of 52 years, and days later, got a call from someone who claimed she worked with her husband’s former employer. There was a life insurance policy, the caller said, but there were unpaid premiums. As anyone [Keep reading]
INTRODUCTION Perhaps in no field do innovation and privacy collide as dramatically as healthcare. Treatments, medications, therapies — these might be the most intimate details of a person’s life, secrets that need safekeeping. At the same time, the wonders of modern medicine and the power of artificial intelligence promise to unlock [Keep reading]
Romance scams cost Americans $500 million each year, the FBI says. And the crime is soaring fast. Lonely people isolated at home during the pandemic are an attractive target for thee criminals. We’re currently exploring this awful phenomenon in a two-part podcast series at AARP’s The Perfect Scam. In last [Keep reading]
You live with someone for 50 years. You do everything with them. Eat, sleep, cry, laugh, suffer. Then one day, you’re alone. Just thinking about that void can take your breath away. Now imagine someone steps into that void and manages to …ease the pain, just a little. Anyone would [Keep reading]
INTRODUCTION Americans have become less trusting in recent decades, plenty of surveys seem to agree. Yet trust is a funny thing. People say they don’t trust tech companies, particularly social media companies, but they hungrily gobble up Tweets and Facebook updates all same. Still, lack of trust in … seemingly everything…is hurting us, a [Keep reading]
Bob Sullivan