AI is getting better at performing mass categorization of photos and text. A developer can scrape a bunch of photos from, say, Facebook — either directly, likely violating the terms of service, or through offering an app by which people consent to the access — and then use a well-trained categorizer to automatically discern ethnicity, […]

I participate in a regular poll by the Christian Science Monitor on Internet policy topics.  This week’s question was about the recent data breaches at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management: As you can see, most people said yes.  I count myself among good company among the noes, including Dan Kaminsky and Dan Geer.  My answer: […]

Jonathan Zittrain: This is Jonathan Zittrain speaking. I’m on the line, wherever that is, with one Eric Kaplan, author of “Does Santa Exist? A Philosophical Investigation,” a book that I had the pleasure of reading and that Eric had the burden of writing—and we thought we would talk about it for a little bit. So, […]

Eric Kaplan is a writer and producer of the Big Bang Theory. He’s also a student and teacher of philosophy. Put the two together and you get Does Santa Exist?, an exploration of metaphysics, life, and ethics, from the point of view of a dangerously smart comedian. Eric and I recorded a conversation about his book, below.  (Spoiler non-alert: […]

  Guest post by Naomi Gilens, J.D. Candidate, Harvard Law School [I’m pleased to feature on the blog some of the best work undertaken by HLS students on Internet-related topics. –JZ] In 2002, the FBI used the newly-passed Patriot Act to demand that libraries secretly turn over records of patrons’ reading materials and Internet use. The […]