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It feels like we're having the 1990s debate on "weapons-grade" encryption all over again. Yes, some software has the potential for abuse. But there's no reasona

It feels like we're having the 1990s debate on "weapons-grade" encryption all over again. Yes, some software has the potential for abuse. But there's no reasonable way to stop it from being written and used. New technology springs up to counter whatever harms arise, society adapts, and we move on.

dannyw 7y ago
Don’t expect it to turn out the same this time. Back then, technology was seen as full of promise and potential. Now, thanks to a number of actors like the familiar Facebook, our industry is no longer seen in the same light.
- iamnothere 7y ago
  My point still stands: > But there's no reasonable way to stop it from being written and used. Can't stop encryption, can't stop P2P file sharing, can't stop deep fakes either.
dclowd9901 7y ago
What technology has sprung up to disable "weapons-grade" encryption? Near as I can tell, it's still quite a problem for law enforcement. And it's a false equivalency: deep fakes mess with something far more essential to a working society than secrecy: truth.
- iamnothere 7y ago
  > What technology has sprung up to disable "weapons-grade" encryption? Cellebrite, etc. > Near as I can tell, it's still quite a problem for law enforcement. They complain about it because they want everyone's data all the time, likely for convenient fishing expeditions. But as far as we know (based on public testimony and documents at least) they have been able to get access when they actually need it for criminal and terrorist cases, or at worst they have been able to work around the lack of access in other ways. This all came out back when Comey was first complaining about it. > And it's a false equivalency: deep fakes mess with something far more essential to a working society than secrecy: truth. The truth left the public sphere long ago, leaving us with a false consensus propped up by the media. The "fake news" hysteria is just the public waking up to this condition, coupled with the media's growing fear over the loss of their ability to influence public opinion. It remains to be seen whether we will actually find a way to identify and hold onto the "real" truths, many of them highly unpleasant, or whether we will slip back into another false consensus led by the ruling class and their courtiers.

dannyw 7y ago

Don’t expect it to turn out the same this time. Back then, technology was seen as full of promise and potential. Now, thanks to a number of actors like the familiar Facebook, our industry is no longer seen in the same light.

iamnothere 7y ago
My point still stands: > But there's no reasonable way to stop it from being written and used. Can't stop encryption, can't stop P2P file sharing, can't stop deep fakes either.

dclowd9901 7y ago

What technology has sprung up to disable "weapons-grade" encryption? Near as I can tell, it's still quite a problem for law enforcement. And it's a false equivalency: deep fakes mess with something far more essential to a working society than secrecy: truth.

iamnothere 7y ago
> What technology has sprung up to disable "weapons-grade" encryption? Cellebrite, etc. > Near as I can tell, it's still quite a problem for law enforcement. They complain about it because they want everyone's data all the time, likely for convenient fishing expeditions. But as far as we know (based on public testimony and documents at least) they have been able to get access when they actually need it for criminal and terrorist cases, or at worst they have been able to work around the lack of access in other ways. This all came out back when Comey was first complaining about it. > And it's a false equivalency: deep fakes mess with something far more essential to a working society than secrecy: truth. The truth left the public sphere long ago, leaving us with a false consensus propped up by the media. The "fake news" hysteria is just the public waking up to this condition, coupled with the media's growing fear over the loss of their ability to influence public opinion. It remains to be seen whether we will actually find a way to identify and hold onto the "real" truths, many of them highly unpleasant, or whether we will slip back into another false consensus led by the ruling class and their courtiers.