Internet of Humans, with Jillian York and Konstantinos Komaitis. Edited by Javier Pallero.

S03E03: Meredith Whittaker

Sep 18, 2023

In this engaging discussion, Meredith Whittaker, President of the Signal Foundation and former Faculty Director of the AI Now Institute, dives into the urgent need for privacy and encryption in our digital age. She emphasizes Signal's commitment to secure communications amid increasing surveillance pressures. The conversation also tackles the intricate balance between child safety legislation and privacy rights, as well as the pressing call for robust AI governance amid public concerns over corporate data control. Whittaker's insights spark a lively debate on ethics and user empowerment.

42:28

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Meredith Whittaker

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Meredith Whittaker emphasizes Signal's role in safeguarding privacy through secure communications while facing legislative pressures threatening encryption.

The podcast highlights the urgent need for effective governance of AI technologies that prioritizes human rights over corporate profit and surveillance.

Deep dives

The Evolution and Impact of Signal

Signal has emerged as a leading platform for private messaging, providing a stark contrast to traditional surveillance-based communication apps. Its development, starting from early encryption discussions, has led to its status as the most widely used truly private messaging app globally. The integration of Signal’s encryption protocol into apps like WhatsApp has marked a significant advancement in protecting user privacy against commercial surveillance. This evolution is crucial in a landscape where the threat of unregulated surveillance has only increased over the years.

Intro

5min

The Rise of Secure Messaging

5min

Child Safety vs. Privacy Rights

14min

Navigating Privacy in Nonprofits

7min

Rethinking AI Governance

9min

Nostalgia for Google Reader: A Lost Internet Era

3min

In this episode, Konstantinos Komaitis and Jillian York talk with Meredith Whittaker,the President of the Signal Foundation. Meredith is also the current Chief Advisor, and the former Faculty Director and Co-Founder of the AI Now Institute.

Meredith shares with us the role of Signal in ensuring the privacy and security of communications and her plans for the messaging service. We also discuss the fight for encryption, as pressure to undermine it in jurisdictions across the world is increasing. Finally, we also discuss about AI, its governance and the concerns that have recently manifested by policy makers.

This podcast is edited by Javier Pallero.

The music in this episode is Nightlapse by Arthur Vyncke | https://soundcloud.com/arthurvost
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Creative Commons / Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en_US

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