There is a quiet shift underway in how we are expected to exist online. It does not announce itself with the force of a new technology, nor with the clarity of a single policy. It appears instead as a requirement, a small prompt during account creation, a field to be filled, a box to be … Continue reading The Age of Authentication
Category: Technology and Modernity
Essays examining how modern technologies shape society, culture, and human behavior.
The Robot Monk
A humanoid robot named Gabi reportedly took Buddhist vows this week at a temple in Seoul. The headlines wrote themselves almost immediately. “Robot monk.” “AI converts to Buddhism.” “Humanoid takes vows.” The story circulated with the predictable mixture of fascination, amusement, and mild existential discomfort that seems to accompany nearly every modern AI milestone. At … Continue reading The Robot Monk
You Thought It Was Free
There is an old saying—updated for the digital age—that if something is free, you are the product. It is a useful warning, though I am no longer sure it is sufficient. Because now, it seems to me, you may also be the labor. I am reminded, as well, of the older phrase from The Moon … Continue reading You Thought It Was Free
The Economics of Modern War: Factories, Drones, and the Fragile Ecology of Trust
The Price of Interception Modern warfare has developed a strange economic imbalance. A missile interceptor costing several million dollars may be launched to destroy a drone assembled from a few hundred dollars’ worth of electronics. The exchange is tactically successful yet economically unsettling, revealing how the structure of war may be changing. In some recent … Continue reading The Economics of Modern War: Factories, Drones, and the Fragile Ecology of Trust
The Ecology of Trust: What the Internet Teaches Us About Trust and Civilization
Modern cybersecurity architecture begins with a curious assumption: trust is dangerous. Security frameworks associated with John Kindervag operate from a simple premise—no user, device, or system should be trusted merely because it appears familiar. Every request must be verified and every interaction authenticated. Anyone who has spent time working in cybersecurity eventually notices how easily trust assumptions … Continue reading The Ecology of Trust: What the Internet Teaches Us About Trust and Civilization
Three Paths Through the Same Question
For the past year this site has explored a number of overlapping themes—technology, trust, history, genealogy, and the strange ways information moves through human systems. As the archive grows, a clearer structure has started to emerge. Going forward, posts will generally follow a simple weekly rhythm. Technology and Trust Systems Sunday evenings will focus on … Continue reading Three Paths Through the Same Question
Information as a Weapon
Every semester in one of my cybersecurity courses, I assign my students a short article from 1997 titled Information as a Weapon1. After they finish reading it, I ask them a simple question: Is this article still relevant today? The reaction is usually predictable. The paper was written before social media, before ransomware gangs, before … Continue reading Information as a Weapon
