Future Tense

Future Tense Newsletter: What Will Trump Mean for the Internet?

President Donald Trump sits during a meeting to sign executive orders in the Hall of Heroes at the Department of Defense on Jan. 27, 2017, in Arlington, Virginia.  

Photo by Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images

Greetings, Future Tensers,

It’s so difficult to keep up with the political news these days that we can sometimes miss small but critical stories. This past week on Future Tense, Dan Gillmor highlighted one such issue: If the president keeps his earlier promises, expect the internet to be made great again for telecom giants, and terrible for the average user. For decades, telecom companies and the government have had a mutually beneficial relationship, he writes. Corporations gladly carried out surveillance, while Washington enacted policies encouraging consolidation. Abandon net neutrality on top of it, as it seems Trump’s FCC pick inevitably will, and you’ve got companies that would, Gillmor writes, “both owe the government and have more control over what you and I can do and say.”

This month’s Futurography on cybersecurity self-defense continues with an introduction from Jennifer Golbeck on how to determine which online threats you need protect yourself against. She also wrote an explainer about how to set up a virtual private network to safeguard your surfing on unprotected public Wi-Fi. Plus, Josephine Wolff explains how personal cybersecurity is about more than protecting just yourself online.

Here are some other things we read this week, between lobbying for the return of jetpacks at the Super Bowl:

  • You’re not your car’s boss anymore: From blind-spot detections to drowsiness warnings, vehicle safety systems are getting better than ever. Yet drivers seem to bristle at handing over control to their cars. Michael Manser explains how we need to rethink, and in some cases redesign, the car-driver partnership to pave the way for safer roads.
  • 300-drone salute: Though Intel’s synchronized “spaxels” seemed all show on Sunday as they lit the sky behind Lady Gaga’s Super Bowl halftime performance, Jacob Brogan writes there’s more to the story. The gleaming quad-copters also performed some serious public-relations aerobatics.
  • Killer robots: Heather Roff details a surprising new public opinion survey that gauges what people around the world think of autonomous weapons—and what that may mean for regulating them on a global stage.

Events:

You may not be high on Putin’s to-hack list, but there are still good reasons to protect yourself online. And there is no better place to start than a Future Tense happy hour. Bring your devices and join us for drinks and demos on Feb. 16 in Washington, D.C., for a Cybersecurity Self-Defense Class where experts will teach you how to use a virtual private network, cover your digital tracks, use secure communications platforms, and more. RSVP to attend in person or watch online here.

Unable to look away from the terradorable otter robot spy,
Kirsten Berg
for Future Tense

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University.