Don't Be Evil

6 hours ago

Cory Doctorow reflects on becoming officially 'Old' and embracing the gratification of knowing his childhood books have helped shape readers' lives.
Recounts a pivotal moment from the late 1990s involving his dotcom company, Opencola, which aimed to combine machine learning, P2P sharing, and web-crawling for personalized search.
Describes brainstorming a potentially evil idea to exploit Google's search data by generating spam pages with ads but rejecting it due to a love for the web and its values.
Introduces the concept of 'red-teaming' (attacking) and 'blue-teaming' (defending) in tech, and the term 'Tron-pilled' for those who 'fight for the user' to make the internet better.
Argues that the difference between ethical technologists and modern internet scammers like Zuckerberg and Musk is not genius but a lack of shame and callousness.
Emphasizes the need for 'Tron-pilled' technologists to defend and build a new, good, post-American internet.
Includes sections with links to news articles, historical references, upcoming appearances, recent media engagements, latest and upcoming books, and a colophon with licensing and distribution details.

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