Hey, my name is Denton, and welcome to Trial By Wire.
So, episode 0 is a great place to lay down some expectations. This is a podcast to talk about computers and how we think about using them - the ethics, in other words. But here’s the fun part: you don’t have to know anything about computers beforehand to listen. This podcast is targeted at people like my grandfather, a retired contractor who just recently got his first Wi-Fi endpoint in his house, and my grandmother, an economics teacher who just figured out last year how to text GIFs (unfortunately). I’m not saying that you have to be 60 years old to get my references; I’m saying there’s no barrier to entry. We’re going to dive into the basics of what computers are, why they are, and how we can use them well. Even if you’re already out there pumping out AI art using ChatGPT or designing a quantum computer in your basement, my hope is that you can get something out of coming back to the basics and thinking about them in a new light.
At this point, you’re probably wondering who I am, so I should introduce myself. I am a late-twenties software engineer from Texas currently working at a defense company. I have a master’s in computer science from Baylor University (Sic' em Bears!), and I specialize in something called “DevOps” which we’ll unpack later on. But most importantly, I’m passionate about user privacy and safety on the Internet. For example, I spent a good portion of my undergrad working on a thesis unpacking privacy policies and how we can make them better that was inspired in part by the Facebook/Cambridge Analytica scandal (which you should Google if you don't know what that is). When there's a difference between what people agree to and what people understand, companies and developers gain an inordinate amount of control and power. We’ve seen this power abused frequently, and it leads to injustice.
My hope as a developer is to help change that equation. When you as a user (because even if you’re a developer, you’re still a user to other developers) understand what you’re signing up for when you enter into these contracts with companies (because that's what Terms and Conditions are), you can make more informed decisions. You might still make the same decision, and that’s ok. But you know what you’re getting yourself into, and you can get some control back over your data. We’re gonna tackle this by diving into some of the buzzwords you see every day; things like AI, blockchain, VR, AR, smart devices, Web 3.0, and so on. I don’t have all the answers, so I’m hoping to bring on some guests who know a lot more than me and can give us some good context. As we journey together, I hope you’ll learn even just a little bit more about this world of 1s and 0s we live in and how to live well in it.
Hope to see you next time for episode 1: what is a computer?
Hey, thanks for listening! If you want to keep up with the show, you can subscribe to our biweekly uploads on your favorite podcast feed or on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@TrialByWireShow. You can also find us on X (formerly known as Twitter) or on Instagram at @trialbywireshow or on Facebook at https://facebook.com/trialbywirepodcast. If you have comments or questions, I'd love to hear them. Send me an email at trialbywireshow@gmail.com. See you soon!