Opinion In Neal Stephenson's 1992 novel Snow Crash, he invents malware that can move species from silicon to the human brain. It's a good metaphor for so much of our online lives, but it raises a question of particular interest. If people can be harmed by our own technology, should we protect not only our data but ourselves through cybersecurity?
Cybersecurity expert demonstrates how hackers easily gain access to sensitive information
There are many areas where this makes sense. Our struggle to define what generative AI can safely do and how the results fit into law and ethics is as much about protecting our culture as our commerce.
You can't have it both ways. You can't say your AI expertise and security features are the best in the industry, and say there's no solution to online hate speech and disinfo
Likewise, the power of algorithmic content selection and social media to amplify disinfo and hate has a direct effect on how people behave towards others. These are real issues with terrifying potential for actual harm, as we've seen with far-right riots across the UK this past week. They exist at the interface between our technology and ourselves, and they must have a technological component to their remedy. Cyber security is about detecting and disabling malicious agents at interfaces. It feels like a good conceptual fit.
