Computer security is no longer about data; it’s about life and property. This change makes an enormous difference, and will inevitably disrupt technology industries. Firstly - data authentication and integrity will become more important than confidentiality. Secondly - our largely regulation-free Internet will become a thing of the past. Soon we will no longer have a choice between government regulation and no government regulation. Our choice is between smart government regulation and stupid government regulation.

Given this future, Bruce Schneier makes a case for why it is vital that we look back at what we’ve learned from past attempts to secure these systems, and forward at what technologies, laws, regulations, economic incentives, and social norms we need to secure them in the future. Bruce will also discuss how AI could be used to benefit cybersecurity, and how government regulation in the cybersecurity realm could suggest ways forward for government regulation for AI.

Bruce Schneier is one of the world's most influential and respected experts on computer security. He is the author of thirteen books, most recently a book on risks associated with the internet of things (Click Here to Kill Everybody) and a book on privacy and surveillance policy (Data and Goliath). He is also the author of the seminal textbook Applied Cryptography. His "Schneier on Security" and newsletter "Crypto-Gram" are read by over 250,000 people and cover a broad range of topics in computer security. He is a fellow at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, a Lecturer in Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, and a board member of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, AccessNow, and the Tor Project. He has also served on several government committees and testified before congress.

Allan Dafoe will be joining Bruce on stage as discussant and host. Allan Dafoe is the Associate Professor and Senior Research Fellow in the International Politics of Artificial Intelligence at the University of Oxford. He is also Director of the Center for the Governance of AI (GovAI), at University of Oxford’s Future of Humanity Institute, which is a leading site for governance thinking about AI. Allan’s research focuses on characterizing and building the field of AI governance, and on great power cooperation and conflict around AI. For more information see: allandafoe.com

This event is part of the Center for the Governance of AI Trinity Term Seminar Series. The Center for the Governance of AI, housed at the Future of Humanity Institute, strives to help humanity capture the benefits and mitigate the risks of artificial intelligence. Our main focus is on the political challenges arising from transformative AI: advanced AI systems whose long-term impacts may be as profound as the industrial revolution. The Center seeks to guide the development of AI for the common good by conducting research on important and neglected issues of AI governance, and advising decision makers on this research through policy engagement. For further events, register at tinyurl.com/govai-events