Evgeny Morozov

“I used to work for an NGO called Transitions Online, and I was their Director of New Media. I was a very idealistic fellow who thought that he could use blogs, social networks and new media to help promote democracy, human rights and freedom of expression.”

“It is true that authoritarian governments increasingly see the Internet as a threat in part because they see the U.S. government behind the Internet.”

“Truly smart technologies will remind us that we are not mere automatons who assist big data in asking and answering questions.”

“Technological defeatism - a belief that, since a given technology is here to stay, there's nothing we can do about it other than get on with it and simply adjust our norms - is a persistent feature of social thought about technology. We'll come to pay for it very dearly.”

“Technology changes all the time; human nature, hardly ever.”

“Whether greater cybersecurity requires a greater sacrifice of our digital freedoms is an important debate that we should be having, preferably with all the facts in front of us.”

“In business, standards establish the rules of the game, creating path dependencies as investments are made and corresponding designs are set in stone and plastic. Inferior standards can prevail due to smart marketing or industry collusion.”

“A vibrant civil society can challenge those in power by documenting corruption or uncovering activities like the murder of political enemies. In democracies, this function is mostly performed by the media, NGOs or opposition parties.”

“The global triumph of American technology has been predicated on the implicit separation between the business interests of Silicon Valley and the political interests of Washington.”

“Apple has an opening to say, 'The tools we are selling to you will enable you to do things rather than do things for you.' Google's vision is tools that will do things for you.”

“However revolutionary it may be, the Internet still hasn't altered the basic law of human communication: Being nice to your interlocutors is a good way to start any negotiations, particularly, when being hostile is an open invitation for a cyber-fight.”

“If you use your smart toothbrush, the data can be immediately sent to your dentist and your insurance company, but it also allows someone from the NSA to know what was in your mouth three weeks ago.”

“Why does crime happen? Well, you might say that it's because youths don't have jobs. Or you might say that's because the doors of our buildings are not fortified enough. Given some limited funds to spend, you can either create yet another national employment program or you can equip houses with even better cameras, sensors, and locks.”

“As befits Silicon Valley, 'big data' is mostly big hype, but there is one possibility with genuine potential: that it might one day bring loans - and credit histories - to millions of people who currently lack access to them.”

“Most other documents leaked to WikiLeaks do not carry the same explosive potential as candid cables written by American diplomats.”

“Revolution may not be pro-Western or democratic.”

“Free open-source software, by its nature, is unlikely to feature secret back doors that lead directly to Langley, Va.”

“I'm rarely invited to start-up parties, but who cares about their trinkets and apps anyway?”

“Military commanders do not want to be tried for war crimes, even if those crimes are committed online.”

“There is this group of people who love innovation. Those people want to innovate, and they think the Internet is a wonderful tool for innovation, which is true. But you also have to remember that much of that innovation is constrained within the realities of the foreign policy.”