Numerous messages are streaming in asking me to write about and put out more content related to the notorious camp I just spent a week at. And while it is true I saw amazing things and met wonderful people, I refuse to do any further cheering as the internet has plenty of material about the inventions, parties, achievements, and so on.
At some point during the last days of the CCC the film crew asked me to stand in front of the camera and talk about how I saw the camp and the talk I was going to give. While I did say kind words about the things going on at this former soviet military base, I also took the opportunity to share my concern and disappointment about the level of social and global consciousness at such events.
While they love to discuss and worry about such societal topics as privacy and ownership, over the past year I have observed that hackers are not so in tune to other issues that involve human rights or global poverty.
They have a wealth of knowledge and access to amazing power as a result of their skills and equipment, yet focusing them on issues related to human rights is not often enough a priority… if ever. Lectures or discussions on related topics go significantly under attended compared to the full house you get if you talk about hacking something or how to build your own drone.
While this correlation might be seen as only natural to many, as someone who has witnessed first hand what such a group is capable of, I still get disappointed. Bringing various cultures together in the spirit of cooperation and knowledge sharing, that they have and it is great. Attempting to connect what you can do with a computer or technology with the needs of a world that is plagued by poverty, corruption, and indifference…(not including a minority working on very important social issues like voting computers and sustainability) there the hacking community could use a nice motivating kick in the ass.