Hackers On Planet Earth (HOPE) is a biennially technology conference sponsored by 2600 magazine, running since 1994, focused on security, digital rights and all aspects of the technology underground. Usually hosted in New York City, this year it went fully online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The conference streamed talks and workshops over nine days with dozens of speakers across a diverse range of subjects. All talks have been made available to the public on Internet Archive and below are some I found particularly interesting. I’m still working my way through the huge backlog of talks, so expect some more highlights in a future post.

Jaron Lanier Keynote

“One thing [a data union] does… is it gives people economic power… If you live in a market society at all, if you separate yourself from the market you disenfranchise yourself.“

Lanier is an influential computer scientist and computer philosophy writer, a pioneer in virtual reality in the late 90s and currently an interdisciplinary researcher at Microsoft. I’ve followed Lanier’s work for some time, he has a lot of unique perspectives on technology and its interaction with people and society.

His article One Half a Manifesto, a critique of the predictions of the technological singularity popularised by Ray Kurzweil, was what initially brought him to my attention. In a similar vein to that article, in this keynote he discusses his ideas on the predictions of human replacement by automation and AI and how the dominant tech stacks’ control of personal data ties into this. He also proposes ideas for breaking the corporate control over user data with “unionisation of data”, where users form blocs to take ownership and financial control over their data. It is both a scathing critique of current technology monopolies and an insightful proposal for a way toward a more equal distribution of power in the digital world.

How Your Mobile Phone Is Tracking You

“…I see as a recurring theme nine one one [location tracking] drove technology improvements in the mobile system, which then enabled a whole bunch of other technology to happen. It was considered really radical in 2002 that your phone would be able to track everywhere you are… and then in 2008 Google Maps came out.”

The fact that mobile phones create a trail of the user’s location data is common knowledge. This talk goes through the history of mobile phone tracking and the current and potential future state.

It is somewhat dry and mostly US focused, but has some surprising insights into the unexpected, and sometimes concerning, drivers of technology. In particular, the revelation that mobile tracking technology was and continues to be driven primarily by the demands of the US 911 emergency calls system.

Richard Thieme Keynote

“I have learned that life is hard. But it’s a lot harder when you’re stupid!”

Richard Thieme has been a staple speaker of hacking conventions for almost two decades. An Episcopal priest for much of his early life, he began writing on technology and culture in the early 80s and eventually left the priesthood to write full time and found the company ThiemeWorks.

This keynote is on the “hacker meritocracy” as a teachable model to improve intelligence and problem solving, but ranges over a wide range of topics and personal experiences. While I don’t agree with everything he says, he is an engaging speaker and invigorating thinker with strong opinions. Engaging and interesting regardless of your opinion of his ideas.

Cory Doctorow Keynote

“Lockdown; viewing the world through our screens, there is no longer any distinction between human rights and digital rights. There is no software freedom, there is only freedom.”

Cory Doctorow is a science fiction author, worked as European Affairs Coordinator for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, was a founding editor of the influential blog Boing Boing and has long been an advocate for copyright and digital rights reform.

His keynote traces a direct line from the instigation of software copyright, patents and digital rights management through to a dystopian future where human rights are subjugated by the same restrictive enforcement that prevents you from buying off-brand printer ink. He’s a compelling and insightful speaker and the recent global turmoil seems to have converged lines of thought he’s been pondering for years, revealing to him a dystopian endgame that seems all too imminent.