Chapter 1: The Robotics Revolution and Privacy Concerns

As one of the initial directors of the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, I can confidently state that after four decades, we have made significant strides in utilizing robotics to enhance lives through AI and innovative technologies. This achievement is personally gratifying.

Moreover, I had the privilege of knowing one of the most remarkable inventors, Steve Jobs, who was inspired by my book published in 1993 about the transformative potential of the Internet.

Here is my poem that Steve read when the World Wide Web emerged.

To succeed, you must clarify your desires and motivations.

However, during this journey, I became increasingly focused on both my privacy and yours. In 1996, my lab fell victim to highly skilled data thieves.

This prompted me to invent a solution aimed at safeguarding your privacy, even if the mechanisms are often unnoticed. I transitioned from Carnegie Mellon University to Seagate Technology, where I was tasked with developing a product to ensure data encryption across all digital storage manufacturers globally. These devices are now ubiquitous, working silently to protect your privacy while adhering to TCG Storage Standards.

The very page you are currently reading is likely routed through the electronics and firmware I helped standardize for all storage device manufacturers, as well as the open-source software utilized worldwide.

Nonetheless, this initiative addresses only part of the challenge of safeguarding your privacy; it does not rectify the issue of reclaiming lost privacy. That aspect remains unresolved.

The complete answer to regaining your privacy from the Dark Overlords, who currently wield control over it, lies in your active involvement in safeguarding your own privacy.

It’s crucial to grasp this new technology just as you understand your vehicle or smartphone.

You must comprehend what you require, similar to your knowledge about the components of your car or phone and their significance.

Understanding this is simpler than mastering the details of your car or phone! However, you must be aware of it; otherwise, it simply won’t happen. The Dark Overlords have no interest in facilitating this.

This article outlines what you should demand from everyone, including companies and governments equipped with the technical capabilities that have already been proven feasible.

In the future, you and others will begin to take charge of your privacy, reclaiming it from the Dark Overlords who have unlawfully seized it.

This transformation will unfold rapidly once everyone recognizes that humanity's survival depends on it. Interestingly, the threat won't stem from mere data possession; instead, it lies in the ability of these Dark Overlords to manipulate your beliefs and perceptions at will. For further insights into how they can influence your free will, take a look at the slides shared by Rand Waltzman (on Twitter @cogsec).

The Overlords wield fiat lies aimed at controlling your mind, and these unchecked fabrications have been understood as a form of genocide against humanity for centuries. The Dark Overlords have always existed; however, modern technologies grant them unprecedented power. Yet, that same power can also be leveraged against them.

Indeed, these early threats are becoming increasingly automated via AI, providing the Dark Overlords with the deniability they need to appear innocent while exerting total control over your mind and free will.

Chapter 2: The Need for Awareness and Action

So how will you ultimately reclaim your privacy? What steps can you take to secure your liberty from the overwhelming influence of these Dark Overlords? I authored a book that delves into these questions. This article serves as a brief overview of the conclusions I reached in that work.

You have indeed lost a significant portion of your privacy, and the situation is far worse than you might imagine.

While governments can be Dark Overlords—as seen in China—they are not the sole culprits. In America, many large corporations, wealthy individuals, and non-governmental organizations play this role.

To illustrate the gravity of this issue, consider the recently launched Ground News website. This platform is a new contender among the Dark Overlords, masquerading as a benign entity.

Ground News aggregates information from various news outlets worldwide, monitoring what you read and how it shapes your thoughts, effectively linking all this data about you.

If successful, Ground News will surpass Facebook in terms of understanding and manipulating your behavior and beliefs.

Ground News is by no means the only Dark Overlord; thousands of similarly powerful entities exist in America today, rivaling Facebook in their capabilities.

However, the same science and technology that empowers the Overlords can also be turned against them. You can reclaim your privacy by utilizing their tools to undermine their control.

This paints a hopeful picture for a solution—one that will materialize once the public is prepared to embrace it.

Once that readiness exists, a swift resolution could unfold within two years, ensuring safety from the pervasive threats posed by these Dark Overlords to humanity. It may take another forty years for widespread awareness of this danger and its solutions to emerge, but it could also happen in three years. Unfortunately, it could extend to a century if skepticism about the proposed solutions persists. Fascinatingly, the solution is both necessary and sufficient to reclaim your privacy.

The path to regaining your privacy can be distilled into five essential product requirements. Just as your car needs wheels and brakes, and your phone requires a calling function and camera, these five elements collectively form a comprehensive solution to restore your privacy:

1. You must have complete control over who knows your identity in various roles. This control should be automated and verifiable through free, open-source, auditable software.
2. The system will provide transparency regarding your roles, allowing you to see them at all times. Your default role at birth will be your "I'm a real human" role, alongside potentially thousands of distinct, unlinkable identities for that role throughout your life, even if you achieve immortality.
3. The system will generate other roles, each associated with numerous identities. For instance, you may have roles for "I'm a US Citizen," "Age," "Grocery Shopper," "Visa Card Holder," "Magazine Subscriber," and many more, leading to thousands of roles and potentially millions of unique identities throughout your life.
4. Each identity must remain unique and untraceable to any other identity, whether within the same role or across different roles. You should live your life knowing that the Overlords cannot infringe upon your freedom or lawful existence. This will foster democratic principles, as the Dark Overlords will lose their ability to manipulate what you see, think, and do.
5. The technology that enables this control will be entirely yours. It will manifest as a device so small it can fit on your fingertip, capable of securely creating and managing all your identities. Self-encrypting storage devices of terabyte scale are already being produced, and one can easily be manufactured to fit on your fingertip. These compact yet secure devices will incorporate numerous computers and extensive storage based on existing technologies.

You will be implanted with a chip at birth, but this chip will merely serve as a secure root; it won't authenticate you or log you in. Other auxiliary devices—such as rings, glasses, hats, and smartphones—will perform those functions. These external devices will operate in tandem with any human-implanted chip to which they are paired. Familiar concept?

That is my forecast. If you seek a detailed defense of my assertions, I am available for further discussion. Many are already aware of this; however, some work for the Dark Overlords and may be inclined to mislead. In fact, if you are one of these Overlords, I can share how you might enhance your financial success—similar to Steve Jobs' achievements with Apple—by shedding your Dark Overlord persona.

Unless there is healthy cooperation from the Dark Overlords, they will persist in their persuasive deceptions until you learn how to confront them with the truth.

Yet, you must be aware of the process for reclaiming your privacy. You don't need to grasp every engineering detail, just the remarkable capabilities of the technology and its fundamental workings. You simply need to be implanted with a chip once as a baby and use devices that communicate with it, much like you use your cell phone or car. The devices you wear will only serve as extensions of what your chip knows and can do.

Thank you!