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Mathematicians Uncomfortable With Ties To NSA, But Not Pulling Back
An anonymous reader writes: When we talk about how the NSA operates, it's typically about the policymakers and what the agency should or should not do. It's worth remembering that the NSA is built upon the backs of world-class mathematicians, whom they aggressively recruit to make all their underlying surveillance technology work. A new piece in Science discusses how the relationship between mathematicians and the NSA has changed following the Snowden leaks (PDF). But as Peter Woit points out, these ethical conundrums are not actually spurring any change. This is perhaps due to the NSA's generous funding of mathematics-related research.
The article talks about the American Mathematical Society, which until recently was led by David Vogan: "...after all was said and done, no action was taken. Vogan describes a meeting about the matter last year with an AMS governing committee as 'terrible,' revealing little interest among the rest of the society's leadership in making a public statement about NSA's ethics, let alone cutting ties. Ordinary AMS members, by and large, feel the same way, adds Vogan, who this week is handing over the presidency to Robert Bryant, a mathematician at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. For now, U.S. mathematicians aren't willing to disown their shadowy but steadfast benefactor."
The article talks about the American Mathematical Society, which until recently was led by David Vogan: "...after all was said and done, no action was taken. Vogan describes a meeting about the matter last year with an AMS governing committee as 'terrible,' revealing little interest among the rest of the society's leadership in making a public statement about NSA's ethics, let alone cutting ties. Ordinary AMS members, by and large, feel the same way, adds Vogan, who this week is handing over the presidency to Robert Bryant, a mathematician at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. For now, U.S. mathematicians aren't willing to disown their shadowy but steadfast benefactor."
mathematicians find overwhelming moral and ethical conflict pertaining to employment by the NSA dwarfed considerably by their tacit concern that large, unsupervised spy agency isnt actually funding mathematics in the altruistic pursuit of knowledge and wisdom. When pressed for comment, Mercedes Benz, Lexus, and multi-story housing community with on-site suzuki violin tutor issued a collective shrug. all this and a story about the flu designed to sell medication and take your mind off the next financial collapse, at 11.
Good people go to bed earlier.
Speaking as a PhD candidate in mathematics, while I personally won't have anything to do with the NSA (other than being on their watchlists, natch. I guess I shouldn't have dared to ever glance at Linux Journal,) I can't bring myself to hate on mathematicians who do. For all I know, my fellow grad students and I are only studying math because the NSA gave the university money to cover some of our stipends. In fact, that's probably the case.
Like it or not, if mathematicians cut ties with the NSA, there would be fewer mathematicians. Not just fewer mathematicians directly employed by the NSA, but also fewer mathematicians doing research at all and fewer mathematicians in training. American mathematical research would suffer a setback. I can see why the American Mathematical Society doesn't want that to happen.