John Lisle

At least you wouldn't be able to do anything bad because there would be a policeman in every bedroom basically.

Right.

On the opposite side, you know, if the pendulum swings too far the opposite way, complete liberty, well, you have no security because anyone could do anything.

So there's this constant tension between security and liberty that swings throughout American history.

And an important thing to keep in mind is that I don't think you want that pendulum to stop.

You actually want a little bit of tension between that.

You want...

In other words, you want the press and Congress to be exposing abuses because human nature is not going to change.

People are going to try to abuse the system in whatever it is.

That's not going to stop.

However, if the press and Congress aren't exposing these abuses, you might think that there are no abuses happening, but they're going to be happening.

So I

I think it's actually good, the fact that this pendulum is swinging a little bit, the fact that there is a little bit of tension, and the fact that there are abuses being exposed.

I wish the abuses didn't happen, but at the same time, the abuses are going to happen no matter what.

Therefore, the exposure of the abuses is a good sign.

It's a sign that the system is actually working as intended because the abuses are being exposed.

One of the points I make in this book is, dread the day when the press sings nothing but the praises of those in power, and Congress says that there are no abuses to investigate.

It might seem like that's utopia, but that's the day that you have lost all of your liberties.

That's the other side of it because the algorithm can push something, but it doesn't necessarily push truth.

It might just push engagement.