On Trust

There has been a fair amount of effort on UCAN (User Controlled Authorization Networks), and other types of ‘decentralized credentials’ over the last couple years. These efforts perpetuate the same control structures that exist today, with delegated trees of hierarchical control. This is in contrast to a personal or ‘decentralized’ trust we might hope for… Continue reading On Trust

The City

Earlier this week I visited The City with a group of friends. It’s an interesting place, and I’m glad I took the time to experience it, as it provided a unique context to reflect on a set of more abstract ideas. The claim to fame of the city is that it is the largest art… Continue reading The City

Tibet 2018

In the second half of August, 2018, I biked from Golmud in Qinghai to Lhasa. The road, the G109, is a lifeline for Tibet, with 85% of supplies for Tibet imported along this route. It parallels the primary train line into the region, and was one of the first paved routes on the plateau. It’s… Continue reading Tibet 2018

Open Letter to the Cuba Internet Task Force

The following is a response to an invitation to participate in the recently formed Cuba Internet Task Force. Task Force Representatives: I will not be joining the Cuba Internet Task Force, or Subcommittees, because I believe the harm done by the existence of these committees outweighs any potential benefit of the recommendations that can come… Continue reading Open Letter to the Cuba Internet Task Force

A whirlwind trip to Beirut

Through a series of unlikely events, I found myself with the opportunity to visit Beirut for a week in early March of 2018. It was a great experience, and challenged many of the stereotypes I had developed about the realities of both the middle east and proximity to conflict zones. The most impressive aspect of… Continue reading A whirlwind trip to Beirut

DPRK Consumer Technology

The video from the talk I gave on how to get more public visibility into DPRK consumer technology is now online. Slides for the talk are available here.

34C3

I’m very excited to have two talks at CCC at the end of the month. The bulk of accepted talks can be seen and voted on at the CCC “halfnarp”. The first talk is on the Internet in Cuba. It expands upon the recent talk I presented at IMC last month, to provide additional color… Continue reading 34C3

China in 2017

I had the chance to visit China last week and tag along with the tail-end of a longer trip organized around various Makerspaces around the region. This is the first time in several years that I’ve spent a prolonged amount of time in the dense population areas of Beijing and Shanghai, and it was fascinating… Continue reading China in 2017