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Bruce Schneier: It's Time For Technologists To Become Lawmakers (venturebeat.com)
Bruce Schneier, a well-known security guru, this week called on technologists to become lawmakers and policy makers so countries can deal with issues such as the governance of artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. From a report: "The future is coming," Schneier said, speaking at the RSA security conference in San Francisco. "It's coming faster than we think. And it's coming faster than our existing policy tools can deal with. And the only way to fix this is to develop a new set of policy tools. With the help of the technologists, you understand the technologies." The issues are a lot larger than just computer security. Schneier wants more public interest technologists in all areas.
[...] We saw the policy makers and technologies talk past each other when the FBI wanted Apple to break into an iPhone that belonged to a terrorist shooting suspect, Schneier said. The debate over Edward Snowden's disclosure of the National Security Agency's eavesdropping programs was another flash point. The need for policy makers to understand technology is clear. "This is no different than any other part of our complex world," he said. "We don't expect legislators to be experts in everything. We expect them to get and accept expertise. The second thing we need is for technologists to get involved in policy, and what we need is more public interest technologists" -- those who focus on social justice, the common good, and the public interest.
[...] We saw the policy makers and technologies talk past each other when the FBI wanted Apple to break into an iPhone that belonged to a terrorist shooting suspect, Schneier said. The debate over Edward Snowden's disclosure of the National Security Agency's eavesdropping programs was another flash point. The need for policy makers to understand technology is clear. "This is no different than any other part of our complex world," he said. "We don't expect legislators to be experts in everything. We expect them to get and accept expertise. The second thing we need is for technologists to get involved in policy, and what we need is more public interest technologists" -- those who focus on social justice, the common good, and the public interest.
He want technical experts to become efficient lawmakers while staying on top of their technical expertise at the same time?
I think he seriously underestimates what it takes to become either one.
And then he says "We don't expect legislators to be experts in everything. We expect them to get and accept expertise.". That is the real problem we need to fix. If an expert tells you that you can't crack encryption because of mathematics, stop fussing like a spoiled kid who's not getting what he's asking for.
#DeleteFacebook
Technologists are the last people who should be in charge. I've never meet a group of people who as a whole lacked humanity more than technologists.
Do you really want people like Mark Zuckerberg or Jeff Bezos or what's-his-face from Tesla or ESR making policy that has control over your life? These people already have too much control over our lives (mostly because we give it to them, but still).
The engineers that make the most money for their firms are the ones that find simple solutions to complex problems.
The lawyers who bill the most money for their firms are the ones that find complex solutions to simple problems.
In a business environment where profit is the driving motive, these two professions have wildly diverging motivations. If you don't believe me, just look at the mess that is patent law.
Lets take a look at this week alone...
If you read/vote for a bill/amendment from the opposing party, you will be put on a list to be "primaried" and removed from office.
Declaring anti-Semitism as being wrong is unacceptable for a lawmaker now.
Having a stance that a live born baby should be protected is unacceptable.
You have to support KKK member Northam in VA.
You have to support serial rapist Fairfax in VA.
You do anything they don't like, they will investigate you and anyone who has ever helped you to attempt to jail them.
ICE now performs pregnancy tests on all 9+ year old girls coming across the border illegally, and if you think this might be a problem that should be fixed your party will attempt to remove you from office.
You would have to be literally insane to want to be a Congressperson in DC at this point.
Voters are distrustful of politicians, and laypeople are distrustful of technologists. In both cases it's because politicians and technologists have power, whether through the legislative and bureaucratic processes or whether through application of uncommon knowledge. Layer on top of that the fact that there's a broad segment of the US electorate that is distrustful of educated "elites", which for obvious reasons technologists tend to be, plus the fact that technologists rarely have the sort of people skills needed to win elections.
I think technologists-turned-lawmaker-wannabes are going to have a rough time getting elected.
I think it would be great to have technologically-savvy lawmakers... but I think it's better to focus on electing politicians who know how to find and take good advice about things they don't understand.
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