Oct 17How to Be a Better Reactionary: Time and Knowledge in Technology RegulationI wrote this essay for a workshop that will be held at George Washington University this week titled “Politics of Controlling Powerful Technologies.” The workshop has been organized by Professor Jeffrey Ding, and I am very grateful to participate in it. …Technology22 min readTechnology22 min read
Nov 7, 2022Costs Untold: Sheila Jasanoff and the Long Trail of Emotional Abuse and Academic BullyingIn 2015, I started writing this essay about my experiences with emotional abuse and academic bullying at the hands of Sheila Jasanoff in the Harvard Program on Science, Technology, and Society. For a variety of reasons, I never found the energy or bravery to post it. But then, on November…Trauma13 min readTrauma13 min read
Nov 7, 2022Member-onlyCosts Untold: Sheila Jasanoff and the Long Trail of Emotional Abuse and Academic BullyingIn 2015, I started writing this essay about my experiences with emotional abuse and academic bullying at the hands of Sheila Jasanoff in the Harvard Program on Science, Technology, and Society. For a variety of reasons, I never found the energy or bravery to post it. But then, on November…Abuse13 min readAbuse13 min read
Published inBlockchain Biz·Jun 20, 2022Member-onlyWhy the Crypto Crash is Nothing Like the Dotcom CrashGreat internet tech emerged from the rubble of the early 2000s — but there’s no reason to think blockchain will do the same — When people think about new technologies, they often draw analogies to older ones. This impulse is understandable —it feels like analogies give us something to hold onto. But analogies can also mislead, if we draw parallels between things that are not actually alike but treat them as if they are…Blockchain5 min readBlockchain5 min read
Mar 29, 2022Member-onlyWhat Was “the New Economy”?This paper for the Business History Conference is the shaggiest thing I have written in years. Work and personal life developments — including happy things like getting a new puppy — meant I had to write this faster than I wanted. Still, my grumpiness with its form is more than…Technology25 min readTechnology25 min read
Oct 21, 2021Member-onlyThe Myth of the “Pinto memo” is Not a Hopeful Story for Our TimeA few of the issues I mention below were changed after I finished this post, when Wired “updated” the article on 10/20/21, but I think it is still worth examining the article as it originally came out on 10/14/21, so I have left my post as is. If historians are…Big Tech10 min readBig Tech10 min read
Feb 1, 2021Member-onlyYou’re Doing It Wrong: Notes on Criticism and Technology HypeMaybe more people are writing about the real and potential problems of technology today than ever before. That is mostly a good thing. The list of books and articles from the last few years that have nuanced and illuminating perspectives on the contemporary technological situation is rich and long. Recently…Technology19 min readTechnology19 min read
Published inThe Startup·Jan 25, 2021Member-onlySeven Theses on Technology and the US EconomyOver the past five years, including while writing The Innovation Delusion with Andy Russell, I have been reading a number of works that paint a similar picture of technology and the economy in the United States. …Technology7 min readTechnology7 min read
Published inOneZero·Feb 26, 2020Member-onlyI Won’t Buy Another iPhone Until Apple Supports Right to RepairWhy one longtime Apple fan is giving up on the company — I have been a loyal Apple customer since 2003, when I met the woman who became my wife. When Abigail and I got together, she had an iMac, a blue bubble of a thing that looked cutting-edge for its day. I have fond memories of staying up late into the…Right To Repair11 min readRight To Repair11 min read
Feb 11, 2019Rifkin’s Erroneous Riffing, or Why Basing Plans on Techno-Prophecy is Such a Bad IdeaIn the last few weeks, friends at Virginia Tech have been asking me worried questions about the futurist and writer Jeremy Rifkin, who has apparently become a guru or “thought leader” in some quarters on campus. My friends asked, Is Rifkin really a respected thinker about economics and technology? And…Technology10 min readTechnology10 min read
