[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.00,0:00:12.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,{\i1}rc3 preroll music{\i0}
Dialogue: 0,0:00:12.53,0:00:17.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Herald: All right, our next talk is Cory\NDoctorow, who I think needs very little
Dialogue: 0,0:00:17.58,0:00:21.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,introduction in this situation. But for\Nthose who don't know him: he's an
Dialogue: 0,0:00:21.82,0:00:24.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,activist, he's a science fiction\Nauthor, and I think he can be
Dialogue: 0,0:00:24.74,0:00:28.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,described as the King of Bloggers. \NI remember him appearing on XKCD
Dialogue: 0,0:00:28.72,0:00:34.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with a cape back in the good old days. \NSo, Cory, please take it away.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:34.96,0:00:38.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Cory Doctorow: I don't know how I\Nfeel about being a king, given
Dialogue: 0,0:00:38.77,0:00:41.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,given that I'm wearing a guillotine badge.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:41.85,0:00:44.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Perhaps, like, party secretary.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:44.14,0:00:47.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You have my permission to take my picture.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:47.64,0:00:53.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I'm going to I'm going to talk today \Nabout technology and optimism
Dialogue: 0,0:00:53.87,0:00:57.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and where it comes from \Nand where it needs to go.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:57.65,0:00:59.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I want to start by…
Dialogue: 0,0:00:59.46,0:01:04.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,well, I want to start by putting \Non my slides. So let's do that.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:04.75,0:01:10.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I want to start by busting a myth, \Nthe myth of the blind techno optimist.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:10.32,0:01:16.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You've probably encountered the story, \Nthe story that, you know, once upon a time,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:16.53,0:01:20.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there were a bunch o' nerds \Nwho had discovered the Internet,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:20.17,0:01:23.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and thought that if we just gave everyone\Nthe Internet, everything would be fine.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:23.59,0:01:26.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And that the only thing \Nthat they needed to work on
Dialogue: 0,0:01:26.42,0:01:28.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was making sure everyone got connected \Nand everything else would
Dialogue: 0,0:01:28.86,0:01:33.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,take care of itself. And now those idiots\Nhave led us into this crazy, terrible,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:33.65,0:01:38.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,dystopian world. And why didn't they\Nforesee all this trouble? And the way that
Dialogue: 0,0:01:38.44,0:01:42.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you know that this blind technological\Noptimism is a myth is that people don't go
Dialogue: 0,0:01:42.95,0:01:46.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,out and start organizations like the\NElectronic Frontier Foundation because
Dialogue: 0,0:01:46.70,0:01:50.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they think that everything is going to be\Nfine in the end. You know, if there's a
Dialogue: 0,0:01:50.43,0:01:57.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,motto that characterizes those early\Ntechnological optimists, it's not that
Dialogue: 0,0:01:57.36,0:02:01.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,everything is going to be great. It's that\Neverything will be great if we don't screw
Dialogue: 0,0:02:01.52,0:02:06.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it up. And if we do screw it up, it's\Ngoing to be really, really terrible. Now,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:06.81,0:02:12.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,before computing was the source of regular\Nstock bubbles, it was just a passion. It
Dialogue: 0,0:02:12.41,0:02:18.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was driven not by dreams of riches, but by\Nprogrammers who are able to make stuff
Dialogue: 0,0:02:18.48,0:02:24.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,happen. If you think about what the the\Njourney of a programmer is, it's that
Dialogue: 0,0:02:24.71,0:02:31.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,first you figure out how to express your\Nwill with sufficient precision that your
Dialogue: 0,0:02:31.31,0:02:37.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,computer then enacts your will, \Nand enacts it tirelessly, perfectly…
Dialogue: 0,0:02:37.13,0:02:41.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[stream lost]
Dialogue: 0,0:02:41.94,0:02:44.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,…computer is connected to a network, you
Dialogue: 0,0:02:44.71,0:02:48.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,can project your will around the world.\NYou can take the thing
Dialogue: 0,0:02:48.49,0:02:52.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that you've built, this self executing \Nrecipe, and you can give it to
Dialogue: 0,0:02:52.52,0:02:56.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,someone else, and they can execute it as\Nwell. It's, and… But it's better than a
Dialogue: 0,0:02:56.60,0:03:00.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,recipe, right? You might have a recipe for\Nyour grandmother's brownies. And when you
Dialogue: 0,0:03:00.81,0:03:05.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,send it to someone else, they still have\Nto follow the recipe. But a program is
Dialogue: 0,0:03:05.00,0:03:08.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like a self executing recipe. It's like a\Nmachine that just makes your grandmother's
Dialogue: 0,0:03:08.93,0:03:13.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,brownies appear in every household in the\Nworld if they just download your code and
Dialogue: 0,0:03:13.55,0:03:17.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,run it. And of course, as you get on the\Nnetwork and you find these people to share
Dialogue: 0,0:03:17.55,0:03:21.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,your code with, you're finding the people\Nas well. You're finding community…
Dialogue: 0,0:03:21.83,0:03:45.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[stream lost]
Dialogue: 0,0:03:45.42,0:04:41.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,{\i1}chimes{\i0}
Dialogue: 0,0:04:41.56,0:04:43.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Herald 2: But, well…
Dialogue: 0,0:04:43.43,0:05:21.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,{\i1}chimes{\i0}
Dialogue: 0,0:05:21.01,0:05:26.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But not in, yeah, \Nthat large scale, to be honest.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:26.25,0:05:32.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Tried around quite a few things, \Nand had a little
Dialogue: 0,0:05:32.12,0:05:37.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,little online session for the Towel Day\Nand for all these things. We had the
Dialogue: 0,0:05:37.47,0:05:45.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Easterhegg, the DiVOC, and yeah. We're\Nworking on it to get the connection back.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:45.66,0:05:52.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, yeah.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:52.24,0:05:54.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,CD: …giant, fat, phonebook-sized…
Dialogue: 0,0:05:54.64,0:05:56.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,H2: OK, I can hear the voice\NCD: …bill that they would get
Dialogue: 0,0:05:56.56,0:06:00.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,every month for all the things \Nthat they did, and so they they
Dialogue: 0,0:06:00.90,0:06:06.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they ran this whole system in the shadows.\NAnd the last thing they wanted was for
Dialogue: 0,0:06:06.98,0:06:09.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for what they were doing to come to\Nthe attention of their bosses.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:09.49,0:06:12.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so they had a whole bunch of rules\Nabout what you could and couldn't create.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:12.61,0:06:15.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They especially didn't want any sex, \Nand they didn't want anyone
Dialogue: 0,0:06:15.49,0:06:20.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,explaining how to make bombs on Usenet.\NAnd so there would be votes about
Dialogue: 0,0:06:20.48,0:06:23.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what news, new newsgroup could be created.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:23.11,0:06:27.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But every now & again, the backbone cabal,\Nwhich is what they called themselves…
Dialogue: 0,0:06:27.04,0:06:32.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,H2: So we do have a sound \Nof Mr. Doctorow here
Dialogue: 0,0:06:32.69,0:06:38.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I think it shouldn't, shouldn't\Nbe too much of a of time until we get the
Dialogue: 0,0:06:38.70,0:06:41.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,stream back.\NCD: …about cooking should go under the
Dialogue: 0,0:06:41.80,0:06:45.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,talk hierarchy, and\Nnot under the rec hierarchy.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:45.07,0:06:51.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And John Gilmore and other people who \Nwere in his company decided to set up
Dialogue: 0,0:06:51.42,0:06:56.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,their own alternative version of Usenet \Ncalled the alt. hierarchy specifically
Dialogue: 0,0:06:56.29,0:07:00.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to allow for a discussion of cooking \Nwherever the hell they wanted it.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:00.47,0:07:04.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To exercise that little quantum of \Nself-determination. And very quickly,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:04.47,0:07:10.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the alt. hierarchy grew until it was \Nlarger than all of Usenet put together.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:10.94,0:07:16.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So the worst nightmares of those early \Ndigital activists have come to pass.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:16.49,0:07:19.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We have total penetration of technology.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:19.94,0:07:25.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There is centralization, surveillance, and\Nmanipulation of all of our technology,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:25.64,0:07:33.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,everywhere. And the question that I think\Nis a valid one to ask is how were we dealt
Dialogue: 0,0:07:33.19,0:07:39.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,such a stinging defeat? How did it come to\Npass that people who foresaw this danger,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:39.14,0:07:45.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and worked to make things great and not\Nscrew them up, still arrived at this
Dialogue: 0,0:07:45.39,0:07:49.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,moment where the Internet consists of five\Ngiant websites filled with screenshots of
Dialogue: 0,0:07:49.74,0:07:54.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,text from the other four. That's a phrase\Nfrom Tom Eastman, a software developer
Dialogue: 0,0:07:54.25,0:07:59.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in in New Zealand. And this is where I get\Nto my thesis about about what's just
Dialogue: 0,0:07:59.65,0:08:02.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,happened and what needs to happen next,\Nbecause there is a story about
Dialogue: 0,0:08:02.68,0:08:08.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,technologists that says that the blind\Nspot was dystopia, that technologists just
Dialogue: 0,0:08:08.13,0:08:11.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,failed to understand that all of this\Nstuff could go horribly wrong.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:11.73,0:08:14.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And they really understood how\N–whoops–
Dialogue: 0,0:08:14.35,0:08:17.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They really understood \Nhow wrong it could go. The
Dialogue: 0,0:08:17.98,0:08:21.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The thing that technologists failed to\Nunderstand was the relationship of
Dialogue: 0,0:08:21.96,0:08:28.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,monopolism to technology and the economy\Nas it was emerging in the early days of
Dialogue: 0,0:08:28.06,0:08:33.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the technology revolution. So if you think\Nabout the early days of the commercial
Dialogue: 0,0:08:33.34,0:08:37.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Internet and commercial technology,\Npersonal computing and so on, it was very
Dialogue: 0,0:08:37.67,0:08:42.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,dynamic. Companies that were giants one\Nday ended up being acquired by upstarts
Dialogue: 0,0:08:42.76,0:08:49.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the next day. And that dynamism was not\Ndriven solely by technology, but also by
Dialogue: 0,0:08:49.21,0:08:54.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,US antitrust or anti-monopoly enforcers.\NSo I want you to think about what the
Dialogue: 0,0:08:54.63,0:08:59.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,experience of a kid in the United States\Nin the 1980s would have been like if
Dialogue: 0,0:08:59.21,0:09:04.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you were using technology. So you might\Nhave gotten your Apple II+ in say, 1980 or
Dialogue: 0,0:09:04.61,0:09:11.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,1981. In 1982 the modem that came with it\Ncould suddenly dial all kinds of services
Dialogue: 0,0:09:11.91,0:09:18.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all around America at a fraction of the\Ncost that it used to run that because AT&T
Dialogue: 0,0:09:18.08,0:09:22.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,had been broken up, and long distance\Ncharges fell through the floor. And then
Dialogue: 0,0:09:22.63,0:09:27.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in 1984, you might have replaced that\NApple II+ with an IBM PC, but it's more
Dialogue: 0,0:09:27.61,0:09:33.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,likely that you might have replaced it\Nwith an IBM PC clone. Whichever one you
Dialogue: 0,0:09:33.70,0:09:39.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,replaced it with, it was probably running\Nan operating system from this guy, the guy
Dialogue: 0,0:09:39.66,0:09:43.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who wrote this letter. Bill Gates. The guy\Nwho started this tiny little company
Dialogue: 0,0:09:43.35,0:09:48.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,called Microsoft. And the reason that the\NIBM PC was running code from this little
Dialogue: 0,0:09:48.44,0:09:52.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,startup and not from IBM itself was not\Nbecause IBM didn't know how to write code.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:52.94,0:09:57.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,IBM was really good at writing code. They\Nwere arguably too good at writing code.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:57.63,0:10:04.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And for 12 years prior to the creation of\Nthe PC, IBM had been in antitrust hell
Dialogue: 0,0:10:04.32,0:10:09.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with the Department of Justice in which\Nthey were sued and sued and sued. And
Dialogue: 0,0:10:09.13,0:10:14.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,every year of that 12 year lawsuit, IBM\Nspent more on its lawyers than the entire
Dialogue: 0,0:10:14.82,0:10:19.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,US Department of Justice spent on all the\Nlawyers pursuing all antitrust action. And
Dialogue: 0,0:10:19.86,0:10:24.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,one of the things that the Department of\NJustice was really adamant about was that
Dialogue: 0,0:10:24.62,0:10:28.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if you made hardware, you shouldn't try to\Nmonopolize the software for it. And so
Dialogue: 0,0:10:28.85,0:10:33.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,even though eventually IBM prevailed–the\Ncase was dropped against it–the last thing
Dialogue: 0,0:10:33.56,0:10:38.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they wanted was to get in trouble with the\NDOJ again. And so after this 12 year
Dialogue: 0,0:10:38.32,0:10:42.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,process, when they made their first PC,\Nthey decided not to try and make the
Dialogue: 0,0:10:42.21,0:10:45.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,operating system for it. Instead, they\Ntapped Bill Gates to make an operating
Dialogue: 0,0:10:45.87,0:10:50.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,system for it. And then Tom Jennings, the\Nguy who created FidoNet, which was the
Dialogue: 0,0:10:50.92,0:10:55.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,biggest competitor we had to Usenet. It\Nwas a non-Internet-based distributed
Dialogue: 0,0:10:55.21,0:10:59.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,message board system. Tom Jennings, who is\Na virtuoso hardware engineer who lives a
Dialogue: 0,0:10:59.85,0:11:05.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,few kilometers from my home here in Los\NAngeles, he was tapped by a company called
Dialogue: 0,0:11:05.55,0:11:11.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Phoenix that asked him to reverse engineer\NIBM's ROMs, and he reverse engineered the
Dialogue: 0,0:11:11.18,0:11:17.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,PC ROM, produced a specification that was\Nused as the basis for a new clone ROM, and
Dialogue: 0,0:11:17.33,0:11:22.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that clone ROM was sold to PC vendors all\Nover the world. And it's how we got
Dialogue: 0,0:11:22.60,0:11:27.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Gateway, Dell, Compaq and all of the other\NPC vendors that might have sold you that
Dialogue: 0,0:11:27.37,0:11:33.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,IBM PC clone in 1984 running an operating\Nsystem that IBM hadn't made, on phone
Dialogue: 0,0:11:33.54,0:11:39.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,lines that had been broken up from AT&T.\NAnd then in 1992, you might have noticed
Dialogue: 0,0:11:39.71,0:11:45.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that that little company, Microsoft, had\Ngrown to be a monopolist itself with 95%
Dialogue: 0,0:11:45.58,0:11:49.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the operating system market. And so in\Ncame the Department of Justice, and the
Dialogue: 0,0:11:49.54,0:11:53.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Department of Justice spent the next 7\Nyears dragging Microsoft up and down that
Dialogue: 0,0:11:53.48,0:11:59.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,same gravel road that they had dragged IBM\Nup and down for 12 years. And even though
Dialogue: 0,0:11:59.31,0:12:04.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Microsoft got away, the way IBM had, their\Nbehavior was tamed, too, because when a
Dialogue: 0,0:12:04.30,0:12:10.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,couple of guys in a Stanford lab, Larry\Nand Sergei, named their new search engine
Dialogue: 0,0:12:10.01,0:12:15.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,after the largest number they could think\Nof, a one followed by 100 zeros, a google,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:15.48,0:12:20.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Microsoft decided not to do to them what\Nthey had done to Netscape because they had
Dialogue: 0,0:12:20.31,0:12:24.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,seen what the Department of Justice does\Nto you if you do that to your nascent
Dialogue: 0,0:12:24.36,0:12:32.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,competitors. And so it felt in those days\Nlike maybe we'd found some kind of perfect
Dialogue: 0,0:12:32.06,0:12:37.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,market, a market where you could make your\Nproducts with low capital, just with the
Dialogue: 0,0:12:37.05,0:12:42.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sweat of your own mind, by writing code.\NThat you could access the global audience
Dialogue: 0,0:12:42.36,0:12:48.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of everyone who might want to run that\Ncode over a low cost universal network.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:48.51,0:12:53.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And that that audience could switch to\Nyour product at a very low cost, because
Dialogue: 0,0:12:53.24,0:12:59.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you could always write the code that it\Nwould take to to port the old data formats
Dialogue: 0,0:12:59.07,0:13:04.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and to connect the old services to your\Nnew product. It was a market where the
Dialogue: 0,0:13:04.79,0:13:10.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,best ideas would turn into companies that\Nwould find customers and change the world.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:10.30,0:13:14.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But what we didn't realize, what we were\Nnaive about in those halcyon days of the
Dialogue: 0,0:13:14.82,0:13:19.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,early Internet, was that antimonopoly law,\Nthe antimonopoly law that had made things
Dialogue: 0,0:13:19.64,0:13:24.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so robust and dynamic that had given\Neveryone who who had access to a computer
Dialogue: 0,0:13:24.93,0:13:30.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a chance to try and make a dent in the\Nuniverse, that that antitrust law had been
Dialogue: 0,0:13:30.28,0:13:35.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,shot in the guts in 1982, and was bleeding\Nout. And it's all thanks to this guy,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:35.68,0:13:41.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Robert Bork. Robert Bork is kind of an\Nobscure figure for for most people these
Dialogue: 0,0:13:41.67,0:13:44.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,days. Although I said that on Twitter the\Nother day and a bunch of people in their
Dialogue: 0,0:13:44.49,0:13:48.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,50s said, "Oh, I know who Robert Bork\Nis." But I think if you're not an American
Dialogue: 0,0:13:48.31,0:13:51.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in your 50s or a certain kind of weirdo\Nconservative activist, you've probably
Dialogue: 0,0:13:51.99,0:13:56.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,never heard of this guy. Robert Bork was\NRichard Nixon's solicitor general and he
Dialogue: 0,0:13:56.97,0:14:02.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,committed crimes for Richard Nixon. And\Nthey were so egregious that when Ronald
Dialogue: 0,0:14:02.32,0:14:07.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Reagan tried to appoint him to the US\NSupreme Court, the Senate decided not to
Dialogue: 0,0:14:07.23,0:14:12.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,confirm him because he was too grimy for\Nthe US Supreme Court. And so instead, he
Dialogue: 0,0:14:12.53,0:14:18.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,became a kind of court sorcerer to Ronald\NReagan and he created a new theory about
Dialogue: 0,0:14:18.66,0:14:24.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when monopoly laws should be enforced, a\Ntheory he called the consumer harm theory.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:24.40,0:14:29.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The consumer harm theory says that we\Ndon't hate monopolies because monopolies
Dialogue: 0,0:14:29.77,0:14:35.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are bad. We only hate monopolies because\Nthey sometimes raise prices, and so long
Dialogue: 0,0:14:35.14,0:14:39.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as a company that has a monopoly isn't\Nimmediately raising prices after they
Dialogue: 0,0:14:39.93,0:14:44.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,acquire that monopoly, it's OK to let the\Nmonopoly form and to let the monopoly
Dialogue: 0,0:14:44.94,0:14:49.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,fester. And this idea was incredibly\Npopular, and not just with Ronald Reagan.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:49.98,0:14:54.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Every one of the neoliberal leaders of the\NReagan era, from Helmut Kohl to Margaret
Dialogue: 0,0:14:54.97,0:15:01.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thatcher to Brian Mulroney to Augusto\NPinochet, took up the ideas of Robert Bork
Dialogue: 0,0:15:01.71,0:15:05.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and said that, from now on, we are not\Ngoing to get rid of our monopolies. From
Dialogue: 0,0:15:05.75,0:15:09.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,now on, we're going to encourage the\Ngrowth of monopolies on the grounds that
Dialogue: 0,0:15:09.40,0:15:14.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they are efficient and only shut them down\Nif we can prove that they've used their
Dialogue: 0,0:15:14.47,0:15:20.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,monopoly to raise prices. Now, this idea\Nis a stupid idea, but it's incredibly
Dialogue: 0,0:15:20.02,0:15:23.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,popular for rich people, because rich\Npeople like the idea that they could buy
Dialogue: 0,0:15:23.58,0:15:28.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,shares in companies that could establish\Nmonopolies. And those rich people funded
Dialogue: 0,0:15:28.00,0:15:33.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Robert Bork. They created, among \Nother things, a series of junkets called
Dialogue: 0,0:15:33.38,0:15:36.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Manne Seminars. M-A-N-N-E
Dialogue: 0,0:15:36.06,0:15:39.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Manne seminars are continuing \Neducational seminars for US
Dialogue: 0,0:15:39.92,0:15:44.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,federal judges in Florida, where you fly\Nto Florida, stay in a luxury hotel, and
Dialogue: 0,0:15:44.62,0:15:49.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,get lectured on the brilliance of Robert\NBork. 40% of US federal judges have been
Dialogue: 0,0:15:49.65,0:15:53.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,through the Manne seminars.\NUnsurprisingly, those judges are far less
Dialogue: 0,0:15:53.50,0:15:59.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,likely to punish monopolistic conduct. The\Npeople who like Robert Bork funded law
Dialogue: 0,0:15:59.75,0:16:05.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,schools and economics departments and\Njournals. And they they turned the idea of
Dialogue: 0,0:16:05.98,0:16:11.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,consumer harm into a kind of global\Ndoctrine that has now taken over every
Dialogue: 0,0:16:11.43,0:16:16.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,single regulator in the West. China has a\Nslightly different vision of it, as does
Dialogue: 0,0:16:16.51,0:16:21.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Russia. But the European Union, Canada,\Nthe US, most of Central and South America
Dialogue: 0,0:16:21.14,0:16:26.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have all adopted these rules. I don't know\Nto what extent these rules have penetrated
Dialogue: 0,0:16:26.75,0:16:33.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the African markets. And so, and and and\Nconsumer harm, this idea that monopolies
Dialogue: 0,0:16:33.18,0:16:37.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,should only be shut down if you can show\Nthat they're using monopolism to raise
Dialogue: 0,0:16:37.18,0:16:41.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,prices, is incredibly hard to prove. In\Nfact, you could basically call it
Dialogue: 0,0:16:41.21,0:16:45.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,impossible to prove. And as a result,\Nanti-competitive conduct became so
Dialogue: 0,0:16:45.88,0:16:51.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,routine, that we no longer think of it as\Nunusual. Until the Bork era, here are some
Dialogue: 0,0:16:51.26,0:16:55.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the things that were considered\Nviolations of antitrust law and that would
Dialogue: 0,0:16:55.04,0:17:00.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have attracted scrutiny from a regulator:\Nmerging with a major competitor, acquiring
Dialogue: 0,0:17:00.86,0:17:05.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a small competitor, or creating a vertical\Nmonopoly where you own different parts of
Dialogue: 0,0:17:05.44,0:17:11.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the supply chain, like Google buying an ad\Ntech company. Now, the story of how tech
Dialogue: 0,0:17:11.70,0:17:17.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,got monopolized leans hard not on Robert\NBork, but on all these exotic ideas like
Dialogue: 0,0:17:17.82,0:17:22.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,network effects. The idea that if you if\Nyou have one fax machine, it's useless and
Dialogue: 0,0:17:22.33,0:17:26.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,two are very useful and three are twice as\Nuseful and four is twice as useful again,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:26.87,0:17:30.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that once a tech company starts to\Nbecome successful, the network effects
Dialogue: 0,0:17:30.41,0:17:35.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,snowball and you will never dethrone it.\NDespite the fact that we no longer have
Dialogue: 0,0:17:35.09,0:17:41.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Friendster or AltaVista or Amigas or any\Nof these other potential purveyors of
Dialogue: 0,0:17:41.81,0:17:48.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,network effects. A close look at how tech\Ncompanies grew does not show that network
Dialogue: 0,0:17:48.44,0:17:53.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,effects is what led to that growth.\NInstead, you see predatory conduct.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:53.25,0:17:58.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Moneyball. Using access to the capital\Nmarkets to raise gigantic amounts of money
Dialogue: 0,0:17:58.47,0:18:02.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and buy or merge with all of your\Ncompetitors as the means by which they
Dialogue: 0,0:18:02.59,0:18:06.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,grew. And as an example of this, I want\Nyou to think about Google for a minute. So
Dialogue: 0,0:18:06.62,0:18:10.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Google is a company that has made exactly\None and a half successful in-house
Dialogue: 0,0:18:10.20,0:18:14.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,products. They made a really good search\Nengine and a pretty good Hotmail clone.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:14.49,0:18:20.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Everything else that they've made in-house\Ndied. This is just a small sample of the
Dialogue: 0,0:18:20.10,0:18:23.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Google product graveyard. And everything\Nthat they've done that's
Dialogue: 0,0:18:23.14,0:18:31.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,successful–Android, ad tech, YouTube, and\Nso on–all of these are companies that they
Dialogue: 0,0:18:31.16,0:18:37.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,acquired from someone else. So this is not\Na company that has a natural monopoly due
Dialogue: 0,0:18:37.44,0:18:43.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to a network effect. This is a company\Nthat has an unnatural monopoly due to
Dialogue: 0,0:18:43.29,0:18:48.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,predatory conduct. Now, network effects\Nare indeed real. They are a thing. And you
Dialogue: 0,0:18:48.91,0:18:52.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,can see them exemplified pretty well with\Nthe Bell System. This was what we called
Dialogue: 0,0:18:52.55,0:18:58.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,AT&T in the US before it was broken up in\Nthe 1980's. But with with net with tech,
Dialogue: 0,0:18:58.61,0:19:02.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,network effects are very different from\Nother kinds of industries. You think of
Dialogue: 0,0:19:02.26,0:19:07.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the railroad industry where once you have\Nrails that run from one place to another,
Dialogue: 0,0:19:07.63,0:19:13.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it doesn't make any sense to to put in a\Nsecond set of rails. And so the custom
Dialogue: 0,0:19:13.69,0:19:17.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,accrues to the rail vendor, which can add\Nmore rails to more destinations. And
Dialogue: 0,0:19:17.80,0:19:21.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,before long, you have these natural\Nmonopolies emerging in rail. But that's
Dialogue: 0,0:19:21.25,0:19:25.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,not how it works with technology. And the\Nreason is that technology has
Dialogue: 0,0:19:25.55,0:19:31.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,interoperability. So built into our\Ngeneral purpose computers and our general
Dialogue: 0,0:19:31.41,0:19:36.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,purpose network is the ability to run any\Nprogram provided you can express it in
Dialogue: 0,0:19:36.35,0:19:41.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,symbolic logic and to interface any new\Nnetwork service with any existing network
Dialogue: 0,0:19:41.61,0:19:45.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,service. Now, oftentimes that\Ninteroperability is deliberate and
Dialogue: 0,0:19:45.30,0:19:50.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,engineered. Someone will go to a standards\Nbody like the W3C and decide on what an
Dialogue: 0,0:19:50.24,0:19:55.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,HTTP header looks like. But just as often,\Nthat interoperability is adversarial. That
Dialogue: 0,0:19:55.97,0:20:01.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,interoperability is a form of competitive\Ncompatibility, where a new company makes a
Dialogue: 0,0:20:01.36,0:20:05.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,product that plugs into an existing\Nproduct or service without permission,
Dialogue: 0,0:20:05.60,0:20:09.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,against the wishes of the people who made\Nthe existing product or service. Like Tom
Dialogue: 0,0:20:09.60,0:20:15.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Jennings making his IBM PC ROMs. And what\Nhappens then is that the walled garden of
Dialogue: 0,0:20:15.35,0:20:19.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the company that came before becomes a\Nfeedlot in which all of the customers have
Dialogue: 0,0:20:19.69,0:20:24.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,been handily penned in, so that the new\Nmarket entrant can go over and choose
Dialogue: 0,0:20:24.92,0:20:30.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,whichever ones they want and devour them\Nin a smorgasbord. So to think about how
Dialogue: 0,0:20:30.19,0:20:36.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this worked with the Bell System, the Bell\NSystem originally had not just a monopoly
Dialogue: 0,0:20:36.44,0:20:41.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,over the wires, but a monopoly over the\Nthings that connected to the wires. It was
Dialogue: 0,0:20:41.16,0:20:47.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,against the law to connect a phone, or a\Nphone-like device, or even a thing that
Dialogue: 0,0:20:47.72,0:20:52.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,clicked on to a phone, to a phone that\Ncame from the Bell System or to a jack
Dialogue: 0,0:20:52.94,0:20:57.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that the Bell System had installed. And\Nthey argued that because they were a
Dialogue: 0,0:20:57.64,0:21:01.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,monopolist, they were part of America's\Nnational security and safety apparatus,
Dialogue: 0,0:21:01.76,0:21:06.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that allowing third parties to connect\Nthings to their network would result in
Dialogue: 0,0:21:06.15,0:21:10.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the network being made unreliable and\Ntherefore America being made insecure and
Dialogue: 0,0:21:10.22,0:21:15.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,unsafe. But they didn't use this power\Njust to keep the network operational. They
Dialogue: 0,0:21:15.92,0:21:20.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,used this power to extract monopoly rents,\Nto make money by screwing over their
Dialogue: 0,0:21:20.42,0:21:25.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,customers, by preventing new market\Nentrants. So, for example, to see where
Dialogue: 0,0:21:25.46,0:21:30.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,how bad this got, you can look at where it\Nbroke down. The first time that this
Dialogue: 0,0:21:30.03,0:21:34.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,system broke down was when AT&T sued a\Ncompetitor called Hush-A-Phone.
Dialogue: 0,0:21:34.97,0:21:39.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And Hush-A-Phone was a plastic cup that\Nsnapped over the mouthpiece of your Bell
Dialogue: 0,0:21:39.94,0:21:44.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,phone so that, when you were speaking,\Nyour voice would be muffled, and people
Dialogue: 0,0:21:44.97,0:21:49.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who are in the same room as you would find\Nit hard to listen in on your conversation.
Dialogue: 0,0:21:49.25,0:21:54.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And AT&T argued that the Hush-A-Phone, \Nbecause it was mechanically coupled to the
Dialogue: 0,0:21:54.70,0:21:59.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Bell System, endangered the integrity of\Nthe Bell System. And their regulator told
Dialogue: 0,0:21:59.17,0:22:03.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,them to go pound sand. They said, no, this\Ndoesn't endanger the system, get used to
Dialogue: 0,0:22:03.83,0:22:06.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it, people can connect things to their\Nphones. And that's when they lost
Dialogue: 0,0:22:06.86,0:22:10.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,mechanical coupling prohibitions. And then\Nthey went after another company called
Dialogue: 0,0:22:10.96,0:22:16.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Carterfone. And Carterfone made a walkie\Ntalkie that plugged into a regular RJ11
Dialogue: 0,0:22:16.98,0:22:21.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,jack that you could connect your phone to.\NAnd it was for people who worked on
Dialogue: 0,0:22:21.79,0:22:26.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,ranches and farms so that they could they\Ncould clip a walkie talkie onto their belt
Dialogue: 0,0:22:26.24,0:22:29.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and go out and work in the barn or ride\Nout on the range, and still take their
Dialogue: 0,0:22:29.85,0:22:35.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,phone calls. And AT&T argued that by\Nelectrically coupling devices to the Bell
Dialogue: 0,0:22:35.93,0:22:41.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,System that they were violating AT&T's\Nmonopoly and endangering America. And
Dialogue: 0,0:22:41.35,0:22:46.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,again, their regulator told them that that\Nwas not a valid reason, and they lost the
Dialogue: 0,0:22:46.32,0:22:49.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,ability to block electrical electrical\Ncoupling. And this is where we see the
Dialogue: 0,0:22:49.82,0:22:53.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,growth of everything from modems to\Nanswering machines and all of the other
Dialogue: 0,0:22:53.57,0:22:58.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,devices that eventually plugged into the\NBell System. So interoperability can turn
Dialogue: 0,0:22:58.75,0:23:03.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,network effects on their head. And\Ninteroperability was really key to the
Dialogue: 0,0:23:03.58,0:23:05.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,growth of the tech monopolists today.
Dialogue: 0,0:23:05.67,0:23:08.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So think about the iWork suite \Nand its history
Dialogue: 0,0:23:08.85,0:23:13.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Before the iWork suite came about,\NApple was in really serious trouble
Dialogue: 0,0:23:13.59,0:23:18.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in enterprise networks. If you ran a\Nbusiness, chances are most of the
Dialogue: 0,0:23:18.27,0:23:23.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,computers in your network were PCs, but\Nmaybe the designer or an executive who had
Dialogue: 0,0:23:23.34,0:23:27.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the right to decide what kind of computer\Nthey would use was would be running a Mac.
Dialogue: 0,0:23:27.65,0:23:33.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the way that that Microsoft punished\Nyou for running that Macintosh in the
Dialogue: 0,0:23:33.65,0:23:38.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Microsoft environment was by dragging\Ntheir heels on updating the Microsoft
Dialogue: 0,0:23:38.87,0:23:44.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Office suite for the Mac. And so Macs\Nbecame this kind of cursed zone, where if
Dialogue: 0,0:23:44.14,0:23:49.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,someone were to send a Word file or an\NExcel file to a Mac, and that file was
Dialogue: 0,0:23:49.10,0:23:53.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,then opened and saved again, it would\Nnever be openable again on any computer
Dialogue: 0,0:23:53.24,0:23:57.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,anywhere in the world. It would be\Nirretrievably corrupted. And Bill Gates
Dialogue: 0,0:23:57.70,0:24:03.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,did not fix this because Steve Jobs went\Nto him and asked him pretty please to make
Dialogue: 0,0:24:03.05,0:24:07.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a better Microsoft Office suite for the\NMac. Instead, Steve Jobs got a bunch of
Dialogue: 0,0:24:07.48,0:24:12.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,engineers to reverse engineer the the file\Nformats. And then they produced iWork,
Dialogue: 0,0:24:12.74,0:24:18.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,whose Pages, Numbers and Keynote are used\Nto read and write Office files perfectly.
Dialogue: 0,0:24:18.57,0:24:23.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And very quickly, they were able to\Ncolonize the Microsoft Office environment,
Dialogue: 0,0:24:23.50,0:24:28.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,running ads like the Switch ads, where\Nthey said, well, you may have hesitated to
Dialogue: 0,0:24:28.78,0:24:33.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,give up your Windows PC because all of\Nyour files are stuck in there.
Dialogue: 0,0:24:33.59,0:24:37.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But what if I told you that you could \Nread and write all the files ever
Dialogue: 0,0:24:37.26,0:24:40.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,created with a Windows system, \Nand you could do it from a Mac
Dialogue: 0,0:24:40.76,0:24:44.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by running one piece of competitive \Ncompatibility software, of software
Dialogue: 0,0:24:44.68,0:24:48.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that was adversarially interoperable \Nwith the Microsoft ecosystem?
Dialogue: 0,0:24:48.46,0:24:52.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And that is what rescued the Mac \Nfrom the scrap heap of history.
Dialogue: 0,0:24:52.33,0:24:57.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it wasn't just software, it\Nwas also hardware. In the early 1990's
Dialogue: 0,0:24:57.16,0:25:03.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Lexmark was the–or rather the\Nlate 1990s–Lexmark was the printer
Dialogue: 0,0:25:03.12,0:25:09.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,division of IBM, the not very well\Nreformed monopolist, and Lexmark used
Dialogue: 0,0:25:09.31,0:25:13.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,little microchips to stop people from\Nrefilling their laser toner cartridges.
Dialogue: 0,0:25:13.97,0:25:17.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And a company called Static Controls, a\Nlittle Taiwanese company, reverse
Dialogue: 0,0:25:17.48,0:25:21.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,engineered that microchip. It only held a\N12 byte program, so it wasn't hard.
Dialogue: 0,0:25:21.83,0:25:26.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And they made new chips that would allow \Nyou to refill your cartridge. Lexmark lost
Dialogue: 0,0:25:26.44,0:25:30.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,their lawsuit against Static Controls. And\Nso now Static Controls had this huge
Dialogue: 0,0:25:30.71,0:25:35.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,installed user base of people who are\Ndesperate for cheap toner cartridges. And
Dialogue: 0,0:25:35.53,0:25:39.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,instead of having a network advantage,\NLexmark now had a network disadvantage.
Dialogue: 0,0:25:39.79,0:25:46.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Today, Lexmark is a division of the\Ncompany that owns Static Controls.
Dialogue: 0,0:25:46.07,0:25:51.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it's not, of course, hardware also. It's\Nalso network services. When Facebook first
Dialogue: 0,0:25:51.99,0:25:55.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,got off the ground, Mark Zuckerberg had a\Nreally serious problem, which is that
Dialogue: 0,0:25:55.85,0:26:00.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,everyone who wanted to use social media\Nalready was on the dominant social media
Dialogue: 0,0:26:00.30,0:26:04.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,platform, a company called MySpace that\Nwas owned by the world's most rapacious,
Dialogue: 0,0:26:04.47,0:26:09.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,vicious billionaire, Rupert Murdoch. And\Nagain, Zuck did not go to Rupert and say,
Dialogue: 0,0:26:09.65,0:26:14.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,please allow your users to talk to my\Nusers because people want to use Facebook,
Dialogue: 0,0:26:14.04,0:26:17.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but they don't want to leave their friends\Nbehind. Instead, what they did was they
Dialogue: 0,0:26:17.52,0:26:22.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,made a bot and you give that bought your\Nlogin credentials, and it would go to
Dialogue: 0,0:26:22.28,0:26:26.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,MySpace and scrape the waiting messages\Nthat were there for you and put them in
Dialogue: 0,0:26:26.69,0:26:28.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,your Facebook inbox, \Nand you could reply to them, and
Dialogue: 0,0:26:28.88,0:26:32.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it would pilot them back out to MySpace.
Dialogue: 0,0:26:32.12,0:26:38.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, all of this led to a very dynamic \Nsystem that completely changed the
Dialogue: 0,0:26:38.27,0:26:42.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,way that we interacted with technology.\NBut all of this has gone the way of the
Dialogue: 0,0:26:42.54,0:26:47.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,dodo. And the reason for that is that as\Nthese companies acquired new monopolies,
Dialogue: 0,0:26:47.74,0:26:54.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they diverted their monopoly rents to\Nforeclosing on competitive compatibility.
Dialogue: 0,0:26:54.50,0:27:01.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So you may remember the urgent fight over\Nsoftware patents. The growth of software
Dialogue: 0,0:27:01.32,0:27:06.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,copyrights. The ongoing problem of anti-\Ncircumvention rules that make it illegal
Dialogue: 0,0:27:06.42,0:27:11.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to break DRM, most recently seen in the\Nshutdown of youtube-dl.
Dialogue: 0,0:27:11.38,0:27:13.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Enforceable terms of service.
Dialogue: 0,0:27:13.79,0:27:17.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Facebook has just used its terms of \Nservice to try and shut down
Dialogue: 0,0:27:17.03,0:27:21.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Ad Observatory, an academic project that\Ntracks Facebook's compliance with its own
Dialogue: 0,0:27:21.97,0:27:27.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,policies on political paid disinformation.\NAnd they've said that because this service
Dialogue: 0,0:27:27.23,0:27:31.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,violates their terms of service, it's\Nillegal. Never mind that Facebook had to
Dialogue: 0,0:27:31.21,0:27:34.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,violate MySpace's terms of service to gain\Nits ascendancy.
Dialogue: 0,0:27:34.55,0:27:39.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And then new rights that are purchased \Nwith very expensive lawsuits.
Dialogue: 0,0:27:39.50,0:27:42.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So today we have the Google-Oracle lawsuit
Dialogue: 0,0:27:42.78,0:27:46.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,going through the Supreme Court \Nin the United States. That might
Dialogue: 0,0:27:46.05,0:27:52.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,create a new copyright over APIs. Now, all\Nof these things–patents, copyrights,
Dialogue: 0,0:27:52.39,0:27:56.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,anti-circumvention, terms of service, \Nnovel copyrights–they trade under the
Dialogue: 0,0:27:56.46,0:28:02.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,name intellectual property. And if you're\Nfamiliar with the phrase intellectual
Dialogue: 0,0:28:02.31,0:28:07.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,property, you'll know that free culture\Nactivists hate this term. In fact, when
Dialogue: 0,0:28:07.18,0:28:09.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you ask them what we should call these\Nthings…
Dialogue: 0,0:28:09.16,0:28:12.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Sorry, there's my software patents slide, \NI knew I had one in there somewhere.
Dialogue: 0,0:28:12.33,0:28:13.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When you when you call it…
Dialogue: 0,0:28:13.77,0:28:16.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When you ask them what we should call\Nintellectual property, they say, oh, you
Dialogue: 0,0:28:16.41,0:28:19.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,should call it the author's monopoly,\Nbecause that's what they called it in the
Dialogue: 0,0:28:19.73,0:28:24.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,days of the Statute of Anne. That's what\Nthey called it in the founding in the
Dialogue: 0,0:28:24.21,0:28:29.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,United States, authors' monopolies. And\Nauthors get really pissy when you say that
Dialogue: 0,0:28:29.96,0:28:34.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they have a monopoly. And they do for good\Nreason, because although formally the fact
Dialogue: 0,0:28:34.02,0:28:37.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that I wrote this speech and therefore I\Nhave the monopoly over reading it to you
Dialogue: 0,0:28:37.95,0:28:42.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on my microphone means that I am a\Nmonopolist, I don't have a market power
Dialogue: 0,0:28:42.51,0:28:47.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,monopoly. Right? I can't use this monopoly\Nto extract monopoly rents from the
Dialogue: 0,0:28:47.49,0:28:52.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,marketplace. Writers who go to the five\Nremaining publishers–soon to be four
Dialogue: 0,0:28:52.81,0:28:56.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if Bertelsmann buys out Simon and\NSchuster–don't get to use the fact that
Dialogue: 0,0:28:56.40,0:29:02.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they have a monopoly to negotiate crazy\Nsupermarket prices that go beyond what
Dialogue: 0,0:29:02.25,0:29:07.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what would happen in a competitive market.\NUnlike, say, the the monopolists
Dialogue: 0,0:29:07.40,0:29:11.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,themselves, the actual monopolists we have\Nwho get to charge very high prices for
Dialogue: 0,0:29:11.03,0:29:19.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,their services. And so it's it's not a bad\Npoint that an author's monopoly is not a
Dialogue: 0,0:29:19.15,0:29:22.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,monopoly in the way that we talk about it\Nwhen we talk about monopolism in the tech
Dialogue: 0,0:29:22.50,0:29:29.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sector. But IP does have a very precise\Nmeaning, a meaning that is not…
Dialogue: 0,0:29:29.44,0:29:35.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,has nothing to do with intellectualism or\Nproperty. IP in the sense of software
Dialogue: 0,0:29:35.28,0:29:39.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,patents, copyrights, anti-circumvention,\Nterms of service, API copyrights, and so on
Dialogue: 0,0:29:39.89,0:29:45.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it has the precise meaning of any law\Nor rule that lets me decide who can
Dialogue: 0,0:29:45.36,0:29:50.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,criticize me, who can compete with me, and\Nwho and how my customers must behave
Dialogue: 0,0:29:50.10,0:29:54.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,themselves. And when you fuse a market\Npower monopoly with an author's monopoly,
Dialogue: 0,0:29:54.91,0:29:59.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when you have a market power monopoly that\Nhas IP behind it, you get something far
Dialogue: 0,0:29:59.91,0:30:05.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,more durable than either a regular\Nmonopoly or an author's monopoly,
Dialogue: 0,0:30:05.06,0:30:09.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a copyright monopoly. You get a monopoly\Nthat the government will defend rather
Dialogue: 0,0:30:09.39,0:30:15.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,than dismantling. So, for example, if you\Nhave a monopoly that you can defend with a
Dialogue: 0,0:30:15.45,0:30:20.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,patent, right, like today, you have HP\Nmonopolizing it's ink cartridge market and
Dialogue: 0,0:30:20.79,0:30:24.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they have patents over the security chips\Nand their ink cartridges. The government
Dialogue: 0,0:30:24.78,0:30:30.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,will seize compatible ink cartridges at\Nthe border on your behalf for because they
Dialogue: 0,0:30:30.74,0:30:35.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,violate your patents. And so instead of\Npunishing you for creating a monopoly, the
Dialogue: 0,0:30:35.74,0:30:41.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,government will reward you by doing your\Nenforcement work for you. And not only
Dialogue: 0,0:30:41.29,0:30:45.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that, but once you have a monopoly\Nthat's backed by some kinds of IP like
Dialogue: 0,0:30:45.07,0:30:49.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,anti-circumvention, the government will\Npunish people who report defects in your
Dialogue: 0,0:30:49.85,0:30:55.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,products. So if you have a monopoly over\Nprinters or if you have a monopoly over
Dialogue: 0,0:30:55.70,0:31:03.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,phones, and someone finds a defect that\Nallows third parties to install their own
Dialogue: 0,0:31:03.07,0:31:08.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,ink or their own app stores, the\Ncircumvention of your DRM becomes a crime
Dialogue: 0,0:31:08.69,0:31:12.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,under Article 6 of the European Copyright\NDirective, and under Section 1201 of the
Dialogue: 0,0:31:12.81,0:31:16.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and\Nunder similar laws all around the world.
Dialogue: 0,0:31:16.71,0:31:20.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the government will both fine and\Npotentially imprison the security
Dialogue: 0,0:31:20.77,0:31:24.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,researchers who point out that your\Nproducts have a defect in them.
Dialogue: 0,0:31:24.77,0:31:26.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, I started this talk by saying that
Dialogue: 0,0:31:26.95,0:31:30.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,early Internet boosters were not\Nblind to the perils of technology.
Dialogue: 0,0:31:30.62,0:31:33.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But some of them them were, a little.
Dialogue: 0,0:31:33.45,0:31:36.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,After all, once all that \Nmoney started sloshing around,
Dialogue: 0,0:31:36.20,0:31:38.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,then if you could convince yourself \Nthat tech was an unforced
Dialogue: 0,0:31:38.56,0:31:42.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,an unchecked force for good, then\Nyou could also convince yourself
Dialogue: 0,0:31:42.34,0:31:45.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that getting all of that money \Nthat the tech industry was generating
Dialogue: 0,0:31:45.63,0:31:48.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,would make you on the side of good.
Dialogue: 0,0:31:48.44,0:31:51.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The myth of two guys in a garage \Nwho could top a billion dollar giants
Dialogue: 0,0:31:51.93,0:31:56.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and become billionaires themselves,\Nfired a lot of techies' imaginations
Dialogue: 0,0:31:56.17,0:31:59.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and sidelined a lot of their conscience.
Dialogue: 0,0:31:59.09,0:32:03.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But those days are behind us, \Nthanks to monopolies.
Dialogue: 0,0:32:03.36,0:32:08.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thanks to monopolies, founders\Nwho want to start businesses that compete
Dialogue: 0,0:32:08.22,0:32:14.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with the monopolists, monopolists who have\Ndouble-digit growth every year, and who
Dialogue: 0,0:32:14.23,0:32:19.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,realize tens, if not hundreds of billions\Nof dollars in profit collectively.
Dialogue: 0,0:32:19.33,0:32:23.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Those founders, when they go to a venture\Ncapitalist or another funder, are told
Dialogue: 0,0:32:23.60,0:32:28.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that the funders aren't interested in\Nfunding these direct competitors.
Dialogue: 0,0:32:28.34,0:32:33.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Funders call the lines of business that\Nbig tech is in the kill zone, and they
Dialogue: 0,0:32:33.19,0:32:37.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,understand that any attempt to fund a\Nbusiness that operates in the kill zone
Dialogue: 0,0:32:37.24,0:32:39.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,will result in your company being crushed
Dialogue: 0,0:32:39.70,0:32:42.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by the monopolistic power of \Nthe entrenched company.
Dialogue: 0,0:32:42.74,0:32:47.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so instead, if you are a\Ntechnologist headed to Silicon Valley,
Dialogue: 0,0:32:47.45,0:32:52.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you don't dream of changing the world. You\Ndream of like having a mini kitchen with
Dialogue: 0,0:32:52.30,0:32:57.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,free kombucha and maybe getting massages\Non Wednesday on the on behalf of the
Dialogue: 0,0:32:57.93,0:33:03.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,company. And liberated from the fear of\Nlosing customers to competitors, tech has
Dialogue: 0,0:33:03.43,0:33:08.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,pivoted from liberating customers to\Nmanipulating, locking in, and abusing
Dialogue: 0,0:33:08.96,0:33:14.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,their users. And the code that does that\Nmanipulation, that abuse and that lock-in?
Dialogue: 0,0:33:14.93,0:33:18.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's all written by technologists.\NTechnologists who discovered their passion
Dialogue: 0,0:33:18.71,0:33:23.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for the field when they felt the thrill of\Nself-determination through writing code
Dialogue: 0,0:33:23.19,0:33:27.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and projecting it over networks. And this\Nis a really important fracture line.
Dialogue: 0,0:33:27.62,0:33:31.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think this is a way to understand things\Nlike the Googler Walkout and Tech Won't
Dialogue: 0,0:33:31.67,0:33:35.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Build It. No Tech for ICE. The solidarity\Nmovements against facial recognition and
Dialogue: 0,0:33:35.97,0:33:43.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,other surveillance technologies. That\Ntechnologists are no longer able to delude
Dialogue: 0,0:33:43.52,0:33:49.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,themselves with the thrill of billions\Ninto thinking that it's OK to do what
Dialogue: 0,0:33:49.13,0:33:52.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they've been doing. And one by one and in\Nincreasing numbers, they're starting to
Dialogue: 0,0:33:52.93,0:33:57.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,wake up to the fact that it's time to do\Nbetter. It's time to realize the
Dialogue: 0,0:33:57.54,0:34:01.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,liberatory power of technology and step\Nback from the power of technology to
Dialogue: 0,0:34:01.88,0:34:06.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,control us. That this will all be so great\Nif we don't screw it up and if we do screw
Dialogue: 0,0:34:06.24,0:34:10.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it up, it's going to be really, really\Nterrible. And there are precedents for
Dialogue: 0,0:34:10.31,0:34:13.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this. And unfortunately, the precedents\Nare pretty incomplete. So,
Dialogue: 0,0:34:13.66,0:34:18.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Robert Oppenheimer very famously was one\Nof the few people in the world who is both
Dialogue: 0,0:34:18.41,0:34:22.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,brilliant enough at being a manager and\Nbrilliant enough at being a nuclear
Dialogue: 0,0:34:22.00,0:34:25.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,physicist that he could lead the creation\Nof the first nuclear bomb and the
Dialogue: 0,0:34:25.86,0:34:31.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Manhattan Project in Los Alamos in the\NUnited States. And legendarily, as that
Dialogue: 0,0:34:31.18,0:34:35.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,first nuclear bomb test went off, he\Nturned away from the mushroom cloud and
Dialogue: 0,0:34:35.95,0:34:40.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,said, "I am become death destroyer of\Nworlds," and embarked on a lifelong
Dialogue: 0,0:34:40.29,0:34:46.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,project to demilitarize the atom to to put\Nback in the bottle the genie that he had
Dialogue: 0,0:34:46.47,0:34:53.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,made. And my hope is that we can arrive at\Na world in which our Oppenheimers decide
Dialogue: 0,0:34:53.94,0:34:59.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to put down their tools before they make\Ntheir atom bombs instead of after. That,
Dialogue: 0,0:34:59.29,0:35:04.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that we are at this crossroads now where\Nnot only are the harms so visible that
Dialogue: 0,0:35:04.10,0:35:10.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they're undeniable, but also that\Nrewards for building the digital
Dialogue: 0,0:35:10.07,0:35:17.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,equivalent of these A-bombs have dwindled\Nfrom a star in technology's hall of fame
Dialogue: 0,0:35:17.83,0:35:24.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to a really well funded pension plan. And\Nsurely that is not enough to sell out for.
Dialogue: 0,0:35:24.33,0:35:29.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So many of you listening today probably\Nread my novel Little Brother and its
Dialogue: 0,0:35:29.33,0:35:34.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sequel Homeland. I know that because I\Noften hear from you, especially at events
Dialogue: 0,0:35:34.41,0:35:41.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like CCC and DEFCON and at SchmooCon and\Nat THOTCON and so on. People come up to me
Dialogue: 0,0:35:41.70,0:35:47.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they say, you know, I read your book\Nand I, I understood both how powerful
Dialogue: 0,0:35:47.56,0:35:52.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,technology could be and how terrifying it\Nwould be if that power was not harnessed
Dialogue: 0,0:35:52.42,0:35:57.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for the people and instead was harnessed\Nto oppress people. And it made me embark
Dialogue: 0,0:35:57.50,0:36:01.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on my career as a technologist, as a\Nsecurity researcher, a human rights
Dialogue: 0,0:36:01.67,0:36:06.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,activist, a cyber lawyer. And, you know,\Nthat's the best thing in my life, really.
Dialogue: 0,0:36:06.49,0:36:11.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I mean, apart from my kid and my family.\NThe fact that there are people out there
Dialogue: 0,0:36:11.66,0:36:15.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who have devoted their lives to doing\Nsomething better because of something
Dialogue: 0,0:36:15.00,0:36:18.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I wrote, that's that's really important to\Nme. And frankly, you know, if my kid has
Dialogue: 0,0:36:18.10,0:36:23.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,got a chance of growing up in a world that\Ndoesn't make Orwell look like an optimist,
Dialogue: 0,0:36:23.09,0:36:26.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's going to be in part \Nbecause of that stuff.
Dialogue: 0,0:36:26.03,0:36:28.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But I've written a new Little Brother book.
Dialogue: 0,0:36:28.77,0:36:32.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I wrote this book that came out \Nthis year called Attack Surface.
Dialogue: 0,0:36:32.12,0:36:36.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this is genuinely not an ad. You don't\Nhave to read it. And in fact, if you're
Dialogue: 0,0:36:36.05,0:36:39.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,watching this, you probably don't need to,\Nalthough you might enjoy it. Because this
Dialogue: 0,0:36:39.91,0:36:45.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is aimed at a different kind of\Ntechnologist. This is a story about the
Dialogue: 0,0:36:45.56,0:36:51.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,kind of technologist who spends their\Nwhole life kidding themselves that working
Dialogue: 0,0:36:51.41,0:36:55.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on systems of control and oppression are\Nnot that big a deal, because if they
Dialogue: 0,0:36:55.55,0:36:58.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,didn't do it, someone else would do it.\NThere's an endless supply of
Dialogue: 0,0:36:58.93,0:37:03.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Oppenheimers, and if I turn my back,\Nsomeone else will be there to to finish my
Dialogue: 0,0:37:03.39,0:37:10.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,work. Who come to a realization, maybe\Nbelated, that they've spent their whole
Dialogue: 0,0:37:10.26,0:37:14.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,life building a dystopia that they don't\Nwant to live in. And who redeem
Dialogue: 0,0:37:14.71,0:37:20.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,themselves, who come back from the brink.\NAnd the reason I wrote this story now is
Dialogue: 0,0:37:20.54,0:37:26.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because I really wanted to reach the\Ntechnologists who are waking up every day
Dialogue: 0,0:37:26.95,0:37:31.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and saying I fell in love with this stuff\Nbecause it liberated me. And I spend my
Dialogue: 0,0:37:31.53,0:37:35.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,days figuring out how to take away the\Nfuture of people who might be liberated by
Dialogue: 0,0:37:35.92,0:37:41.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it themselves. And that's an urgent\Nmessage, because author's
Dialogue: 0,0:37:41.39,0:37:47.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,monopolies–IP–are available to everyone\Nthanks to the Internet of Things,
Dialogue: 0,0:37:47.49,0:37:49.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,thanks to our embedded systems.
Dialogue: 0,0:37:49.81,0:37:53.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm going to break here \Nand editorialize very briefly.
Dialogue: 0,0:37:53.19,0:37:58.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is the slide I'm most proud of, not\Nnot for any kind of intellectual heft, but
Dialogue: 0,0:37:58.60,0:38:02.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm really bad at the GIMP, and I think I\Ndid a really good job. So I just want to,
Dialogue: 0,0:38:02.67,0:38:05.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if you're if you're looking away from your\Nscreen, if you're like peeling vegetables
Dialogue: 0,0:38:05.67,0:38:10.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or something, spare a glance at this\Nslide. I'm very happy with this slide.
Dialogue: 0,0:38:10.06,0:38:18.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So the IoT means that every device in our\Nworld has access to an author's monopoly,
Dialogue: 0,0:38:18.23,0:38:25.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,has IP in it. And that governments will\Nenforce the strictures that the designers
Dialogue: 0,0:38:25.96,0:38:31.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and manufacturers of these devices put\Ninto them by punishing people who try to
Dialogue: 0,0:38:31.06,0:38:37.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,use competitive compatibility to undo\Nthose strictures. And not only that, but
Dialogue: 0,0:38:37.46,0:38:44.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,IoT devices are not merely smart as a\Nconvenience to invoke the law.
Dialogue: 0,0:38:44.67,0:38:49.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They're also smart as a way to enforce the\Nmanufacturer's desires, as a way to
Dialogue: 0,0:38:49.65,0:38:57.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,control the the actions of users, of\Ncompetitors, and of critics. That
Dialogue: 0,0:38:57.79,0:39:03.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,these devices have a kind of unblinking eye\Nthat watches you whenever you use them.
Dialogue: 0,0:39:03.64,0:39:05.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And if it catches you \Ntrying to do something
Dialogue: 0,0:39:05.61,0:39:08.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that might displease\Nthe manufacturer's shareholders,
Dialogue: 0,0:39:08.14,0:39:11.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it can stop you,\Nand it can rat you out to the authorities.
Dialogue: 0,0:39:11.46,0:39:14.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so, you know, speaking in my \Nprofessional capacity
Dialogue: 0,0:39:14.76,0:39:18.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as a dystopian science fiction writer, \Nthis scares the shit out of me.
Dialogue: 0,0:39:18.70,0:39:22.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, that is all a kind of grim way to end.
Dialogue: 0,0:39:22.35,0:39:27.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so I'm going to finish this off with a\Ncouple of words on what gives me hope. And
Dialogue: 0,0:39:27.68,0:39:33.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this comes from my colleague James Boyle\Nat the Duke Center for the Public Domain.
Dialogue: 0,0:39:33.19,0:39:37.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And Jamie, when he talks about\Nthe computer liberation movement,
Dialogue: 0,0:39:37.68,0:39:40.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he compares it to the ecology movement.
Dialogue: 0,0:39:40.50,0:39:44.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And before the term ecology was coined,\Nwe didn't have a movement.
Dialogue: 0,0:39:44.96,0:39:48.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We just had a bunch of issues.\NSome people cared about whales,
Dialogue: 0,0:39:48.81,0:39:52.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,some people cared about owls, \Nsome people cared about the ozone layer.
Dialogue: 0,0:39:52.37,0:39:55.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And maybe they thought that the people \Nwho cared about another issue
Dialogue: 0,0:39:55.02,0:39:57.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were doing important work,\Nbut it wasn't their work.
Dialogue: 0,0:39:57.90,0:40:01.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And they weren't really on the same side. \NThey weren't part of the same cause.
Dialogue: 0,0:40:01.73,0:40:06.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But the term ecology changed all of that.\NThe term ecology took a thousand issues
Dialogue: 0,0:40:06.44,0:40:12.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and turned it into one movement; \None movement that everyone had
Dialogue: 0,0:40:12.34,0:40:16.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,each other's back on. Even if the reason\Nyou were in the movement was owls,
Dialogue: 0,0:40:16.60,0:40:20.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you were there to fight the corner of the\Npeople who cared about the ozone layer.
Dialogue: 0,0:40:20.06,0:40:24.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And you began to understand that these\Nwere all facets of the same problem.
Dialogue: 0,0:40:24.37,0:40:26.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, today, monopolies have taken over
Dialogue: 0,0:40:26.56,0:40:30.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and destroyed the lives of people\Nin a million ways.
Dialogue: 0,0:40:30.20,0:40:30.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Right?
Dialogue: 0,0:40:30.75,0:40:34.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Whether you're a professional wrestling \Nfan, a beer drinker, a whiskey drinker,
Dialogue: 0,0:40:34.57,0:40:40.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,an eyeglass-wearer, a plane-flyer-in, \Nsomeone who relies on energy or
Dialogue: 0,0:40:40.47,0:40:45.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,financial services or whose money was\Nstolen by a company whose auditors were
Dialogue: 0,0:40:45.42,0:40:49.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,one of the big four accounting firms.\NWhether you are someone who is upset
Dialogue: 0,0:40:49.81,0:40:56.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because there's four movie studios left or\Nthree record labels or because there's
Dialogue: 0,0:40:56.01,0:40:59.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,only one movie theater left in the United\NStates… one movie theater chain of any
Dialogue: 0,0:40:59.68,0:41:02.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,size left in the United States. Or whether\Nyou're pissed off that you're not going to
Dialogue: 0,0:41:02.96,0:41:07.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,get the vaccine, because in the US there's\Nonly one company that makes glass bottles
Dialogue: 0,0:41:07.71,0:41:14.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of any size. All of these people don't\Nknow it, but they're in the same side.
Dialogue: 0,0:41:14.01,0:41:18.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They're on the same fight. And that fight\Nis the fight against monopolies.
Dialogue: 0,0:41:18.26,0:41:23.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, people talk about big tech \Nas though they're super geniuses.
Dialogue: 0,0:41:23.45,0:41:27.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But when we rip off the mask, \Nwe discover that
Dialogue: 0,0:41:27.21,0:41:31.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,these are not titans who built monopolies \Nthrough their special genius.
Dialogue: 0,0:41:31.32,0:41:33.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They're just three \Nsociopaths in a trench coat.
Dialogue: 0,0:41:33.93,0:41:37.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They're just the latest version \Nof the kind of monopolist
Dialogue: 0,0:41:37.32,0:41:40.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that we have been fighting \Nsince time immemorial,
Dialogue: 0,0:41:40.76,0:41:43.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,since the Rockefellers, \Nsince the Mellons,
Dialogue: 0,0:41:43.57,0:41:47.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,since every monopolistic family that\Ntried to establish a dynasty
Dialogue: 0,0:41:47.80,0:41:50.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that would allow them to rule \Nas though they were kings
Dialogue: 0,0:41:50.50,0:41:55.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was broken up and relegated to just having\Ntheir names on a couple of buildings.
Dialogue: 0,0:41:55.09,0:41:58.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We know how to deal with these people,\Nand it's time that we dealt with them
Dialogue: 0,0:41:58.39,0:42:03.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for what they are, which is \Njust plain, old fashioned sociopaths
Dialogue: 0,0:42:03.39,0:42:07.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and not as super geniuses who \Nstand astride the world like colossi.
Dialogue: 0,0:42:07.40,0:42:11.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you.
Dialogue: 0,0:42:11.81,0:42:19.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,H: Thank, thank you. I think I'm back now.\NAll right, well, thanks for this talk. We
Dialogue: 0,0:42:19.43,0:42:23.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are basically out of time, so we're moving\Nthe Q&A to the fireside chat, which will
Dialogue: 0,0:42:23.54,0:42:28.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,happen in, I think, 20 minutes or so. And\Nthen all the questions that have already
Dialogue: 0,0:42:28.52,0:42:31.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,been asked for this talk \Nwill also be answered then.
Dialogue: 0,0:42:31.00,0:42:36.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But Cory, I think we had a short\Nstream outage around minute 5.
Dialogue: 0,0:42:36.41,0:42:37.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,CD: OK.
Dialogue: 0,0:42:37.28,0:42:41.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,H: So if you know what you said at minute 5\NCD: Oh that was the full frontal nudity!
Dialogue: 0,0:42:41.05,0:42:43.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,CD: {\i1}laughter{\i0}\NH: You can maybe try to,
Dialogue: 0,0:42:43.03,0:42:45.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,H: try to recapitulate it.\NCD: I don't know what I said…
Dialogue: 0,0:42:45.96,0:42:48.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,CD: minute 5…\NH: History of networks apparently.
Dialogue: 0,0:42:48.38,0:42:51.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Unfortunately, it was not visible for us.\NSo I don't know myself, but I think
Dialogue: 0,0:42:51.58,0:42:53.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,H: it was the history of networks.\NCD: Probably it was my story about, it
Dialogue: 0,0:42:53.89,0:42:57.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it might have been my story about the \Nalt. hierarchy. That's probably it.
Dialogue: 0,0:42:57.81,0:43:01.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And and if you if you go to \Nyour favorite search engine,
Dialogue: 0,0:43:01.74,0:43:04.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,whether it's like, \NAltaVista or Ask Jeeves or Yahoo,
Dialogue: 0,0:43:04.47,0:43:08.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and type in:\Nalt.interoperability.adversarial
Dialogue: 0,0:43:08.33,0:43:11.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you'll find an article I wrote for \Nthe Electronic Frontier Foundation
Dialogue: 0,0:43:11.34,0:43:13.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about the history of the alt. hierarchy.
Dialogue: 0,0:43:13.76,0:43:16.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I think that's probably \Nwhat got cut out.
Dialogue: 0,0:43:16.55,0:43:18.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,H: OK, wonderful. Thank you.
Dialogue: 0,0:43:18.85,0:43:22.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,H: I think people know how to use Google.\NCD: I think Lycos has also indexed it.
Dialogue: 0,0:43:22.06,0:43:25.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,H: Yes. They'll try to they'll try to figure it out.
Dialogue: 0,0:43:25.81,0:43:28.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,H: All right. Well, thank you very much.\NCD: Thank you!
Dialogue: 0,0:43:28.100,0:43:30.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,H: Good luck & see you soon\NCD: I'll see you guys in the fireside chat.
Dialogue: 0,0:43:30.100,0:43:31.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,{\i1}rc3 postroll music{\i0}
Dialogue: 0,0:43:31.100,0:44:12.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Subtitles created by c3subtitles.de\Nin the year 2020. Join, and help us!