[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:07.55,0:00:14.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[Brewster Kahle] Welcome. And welcome to the\Ncelebration of the life and work of Aaron
Dialogue: 0,0:00:14.09,0:00:22.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Swartz, a man who was a spark for many of\Nus. I would like to thank the staff of the
Dialogue: 0,0:00:22.20,0:00:29.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Internet Archive, Lisa Ryan, the organizer,\NShannon Lee, Steve Walling, Karl Malamud and
Dialogue: 0,0:00:29.08,0:00:34.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Cindy Cohn for helping pull this together.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:34.08,0:00:37.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[applause]
Dialogue: 0,0:00:37.07,0:00:46.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[Brewster] As you probably know, there are\Nmemorials going on all over the world. Hackathons
Dialogue: 0,0:00:46.31,0:00:55.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,going on. There's an AaronSw IRC Chat for\Nthose that are following the hackathons. And
Dialogue: 0,0:00:55.09,0:01:05.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,these proceedings are in the public domain.\NThis isn't the type of event we imagined for
Dialogue: 0,0:01:05.03,0:01:10.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this space, but I can think of no better.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:10.02,0:01:20.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To the organizer and coordinated for this\Nevening is Shannon Lee, and he will start
Dialogue: 0,0:01:20.04,0:01:23.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,our program. Thank you very much.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:23.02,0:01:32.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[Shannon Lee] Thank you all for being here.\NAaron Swartz has left behind a challenging
Dialogue: 0,0:01:32.06,0:01:38.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,legacy. Tonight, we're going to talk about\NAaron and what he left behind, and what we
Dialogue: 0,0:01:38.02,0:01:43.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,can do to carry it forward. We're going to\Nhave an array of speakers, beginning with
Dialogue: 0,0:01:43.04,0:01:48.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Danny O'Brien and ending with Karl Malamud,\Nand after that we'll have an opportunity to
Dialogue: 0,0:01:48.03,0:01:56.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,share right here. I will see you at the end\Nof the speakers.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:56.03,0:02:04.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[Danny O'Brien] So I first met Aaron in 2001,\Nwhen Aaron was, I guess, 14, and was already
Dialogue: 0,0:02:04.07,0:02:12.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a leading light working with Tim Berners-Lee\Non the project that we know as the Semantic
Dialogue: 0,0:02:12.01,0:02:19.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Web, an incredibly ambitious idea to encode,\Nin machine-readable form, all of the world's
Dialogue: 0,0:02:19.06,0:02:19.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,knowledge.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:19.09,0:02:26.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And of course being a journalist at the time,\NI seized on this opportunity to sneak an explanation
Dialogue: 0,0:02:26.03,0:02:32.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the Semantic Web past my editor. It's almost\Nimpossible to get any editor to understand
Dialogue: 0,0:02:32.01,0:02:38.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the Semantic Web. But the idea of a 14-year-old\Nboy helping Tim Berners-Lee will always pass
Dialogue: 0,0:02:38.00,0:02:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,muster, even if they don't know who Tim Berners-Lee\Nis.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:43.00,0:02:49.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The editor, of course, is in charge of titling\Nthe article, and with that supreme lack of
Dialogue: 0,0:02:49.02,0:02:54.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,understand, he actually titled it, "A Teenager\Nin a Million," which of course was to miss
Dialogue: 0,0:02:54.04,0:03:01.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the point entirely. The point was that Aaron's\Nage wasn't a particularly unique thing and
Dialogue: 0,0:03:01.04,0:03:04.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Aaron himself wasn't the exceptional part\Nof this.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:04.01,0:03:09.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The exceptional part of this was an institution\Nthat allowed someone like Aaron to walk in
Dialogue: 0,0:03:09.08,0:03:15.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,through its door and, before anyone had noticed\Nwhere he came from or what age he was or what
Dialogue: 0,0:03:15.08,0:03:20.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,his background was, they allowed him to start\Ncontributing good work and learning from his
Dialogue: 0,0:03:20.09,0:03:22.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,peers.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:22.82,0:03:28.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,An institution is not truly open until somebody\Nyou could never even imagine exists walks
Dialogue: 0,0:03:28.71,0:03:35.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,through the door. When Tim Berners-Lee describes\Nthese moments at Aaron's funeral a week ago,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:35.03,0:03:40.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you could see, in a way that only Tim Berners-Lee\Ncan convey, the sort of glee he had that at
Dialogue: 0,0:03:40.04,0:03:45.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,last the system was working. These open mailing\Nlists, this open discussion, this exchange
Dialogue: 0,0:03:45.21,0:03:50.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of information was bringing new people into\Nbuilding the web.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:50.07,0:03:56.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He told me then, "I was worried about revealing\Nmy age and I did my best to keep it a secret.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:56.01,0:04:03.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, I let my words speak for themselves,"\Nand since then, so many words. Some written
Dialogue: 0,0:04:03.06,0:04:10.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in machine-readable form in Python, in computers.\NSome written in brimstone and sulfur for Congress-readable
Dialogue: 0,0:04:10.82,0:04:18.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,forms and all of it in plain text. All of\Nit in plain language for everyone to read.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:18.01,0:04:23.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And if he could not read enough words himself,\Nhis programs read and scraped and passed the
Dialogue: 0,0:04:23.01,0:04:29.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,rest. Aaron loved beautiful code. I think\Nthe only time I really ever pained him was
Dialogue: 0,0:04:29.06,0:04:34.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when I'd said some program that he'd written\Nand I'd looked at was unreadable. It turned
Dialogue: 0,0:04:34.38,0:04:40.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,out that it wasn't actually his code at all.\NHe'd written some code that had, in turn,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:40.35,0:04:42.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,written that code.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:42.03,0:04:43.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[laughter]
Dialogue: 0,0:04:43.79,0:04:50.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And yet I think it still hurt, that somehow\Nhis own child had not inherited his own delicate
Dialogue: 0,0:04:50.69,0:04:53.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sensitivities.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:53.98,0:04:57.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Words fail me now, even though I have them\Nwritten down here. I mean, try as hard as
Dialogue: 0,0:04:57.08,0:05:02.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Aaron did, I don't think you could ever encode\Nall of his experience in words, and I don't
Dialogue: 0,0:05:02.82,0:05:08.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,think that all of the relationships that he\Nbuilt between so many different peers and
Dialogue: 0,0:05:08.32,0:05:14.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so many new people coming in could be ever\Nexpressed in any number of RDF triplets.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:14.04,0:05:20.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I mean I can sort of try and convey the look\NAaron's face when he played with my daughter
Dialogue: 0,0:05:20.10,0:05:25.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Erin, nine. There were some pictures downstairs\Nthat you may have saw him. But you can't really
Dialogue: 0,0:05:25.54,0:05:30.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,convey that childish glee that most of us\Nlose long before we begin we begin work on
Dialogue: 0,0:05:30.03,0:05:33.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the semantic web at least.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:33.07,0:05:39.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I can't really describe to you the pain\Nand frustration when Aaron so effectively
Dialogue: 0,0:05:39.70,0:05:46.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,demolished a defense I had of John Searle's\NChinese room argument, that I actually threw
Dialogue: 0,0:05:46.57,0:05:52.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,down my knife and fork and stormed out of\Nmy own Christmas dinner.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:52.38,0:05:53.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[laughter]
Dialogue: 0,0:05:53.04,0:05:58.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Leaving, of course, the Turkey for Aaron to\Nfail to eat.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:58.70,0:06:00.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[laughter]
Dialogue: 0,0:06:00.89,0:06:05.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There was always a sort of pleasure and ease\Nin forgiving Aaron for those sort of arguments.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:05.98,0:06:12.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And also, to watch him so easily forgive the\Nrest of us. And I don't think any archive
Dialogue: 0,0:06:12.37,0:06:19.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,can hold those moments. But if I can share\Nwith you some code, if I can't share with
Dialogue: 0,0:06:19.06,0:06:26.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you the code that made up Aaron, I can, I\Nhope, share with you the code that Aaron believed
Dialogue: 0,0:06:26.38,0:06:28.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,could make more Aarons.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:28.91,0:06:34.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Aaron became Aaron because of his unfettered\Naccess to information and the knowledge and
Dialogue: 0,0:06:34.22,0:06:40.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sharing of his peers. He was very lucky in\Nthat respect. He had an incredibly loving
Dialogue: 0,0:06:40.47,0:06:47.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,family who supported him who would pay for\Nhim to fly out to meetings. He had a computer.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:47.47,0:06:51.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He had all the privileges and benefits that\Nbeing a young man in the United States of
Dialogue: 0,0:06:51.70,0:06:55.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,America in the end of the 20th century have.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:55.56,0:07:01.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But he also had something new. He had a new\Nadvantage, which was that the gates of the
Dialogue: 0,0:07:01.44,0:07:06.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,construction of this technology that was beginning\Nto share information, was beginning to open
Dialogue: 0,0:07:06.57,0:07:11.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,up, and he was one of the first, yes the youngest,\Nbut one of the first to take advantage of
Dialogue: 0,0:07:11.01,0:07:17.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that and use his curiosity and his drive,\Neven at that age, to nip into there and beginning
Dialogue: 0,0:07:17.75,0:07:20.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sharing almost immediately with his peers.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:20.48,0:07:25.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And if anything bound together all of Aaron's\Ncrusades, it was his belief that he was not
Dialogue: 0,0:07:25.85,0:07:31.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,alone in this. That he was not exceptional,\Nand he believed he was not unique, and that
Dialogue: 0,0:07:31.39,0:07:37.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there were more than him out there with his\Ncuriosity and talent.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:37.28,0:07:45.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,People say, when we talked about Aaron's work\Nof taking the content of academic papers or
Dialogue: 0,0:07:45.56,0:07:52.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the content of the US legal system and opening\Nit up for anyone to use and see and crunch
Dialogue: 0,0:07:52.35,0:07:57.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and peruse. You know, who really is this for?
Dialogue: 0,0:07:57.00,0:08:03.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Who wants to know about the legal system,\Ncan't in some way ask a friend or a contact
Dialogue: 0,0:08:03.18,0:08:11.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to get access to PACER? Who really has a craving\Nfor academic knowledge can't find somebody
Dialogue: 0,0:08:11.09,0:08:17.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and sneak their way in to MIT or another institution\Nand just get that information, or work to
Dialogue: 0,0:08:17.35,0:08:18.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,access it?
Dialogue: 0,0:08:18.42,0:08:25.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And those people forget, they forget that\Nif Aaron was a teenager in a million, that
Dialogue: 0,0:08:25.03,0:08:30.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,soon, very soon, as we continue the great\Nwork that we're indulged in here, that there
Dialogue: 0,0:08:30.81,0:08:35.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,will be six billion people that we will connect\Nto the world information networks. And out
Dialogue: 0,0:08:35.84,0:08:41.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of those six billion people there will 1.2\Nbillion teenagers.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:41.16,0:08:47.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And if my editors' statistics are correct-and\Nhe never understood statistics either, then
Dialogue: 0,0:08:47.08,0:08:53.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there will be 1,200 Aarons out there, there\Nare 1,200 Aarons out there right now who are
Dialogue: 0,0:08:53.08,0:08:59.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as smart and engaged and as curious and as\Ndriver as Aaron was. But they simply don't
Dialogue: 0,0:08:59.15,0:09:05.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have access to that information. There is\Nno closed archives, no carefully guarded Ivory
Dialogue: 0,0:09:05.02,0:09:10.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Tower, that can seat billions. But the open\Nsociety, the open and world wide web, the
Dialogue: 0,0:09:10.76,0:09:14.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,free culture that Aaron worked for, is for\Nall of those people.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:14.95,0:09:18.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And if give them what they need, if we give\Nthem the knowledge to feed their curiosity
Dialogue: 0,0:09:18.09,0:09:26.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the care we must never forget they, that\Namazing sort of resource of future Aarons
Dialogue: 0,0:09:26.03,0:09:31.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from Kabera, from Guangzhou or Asan. All of\Nthose people will come, and they will build
Dialogue: 0,0:09:31.52,0:09:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the kind of things that Aaron was dreaming\Nof.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:34.00,0:09:42.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so even though we've lost one Aaron, we\Ndo have a potential, by continuing his work,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:42.02,0:09:48.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to find so many more. Aaron told me back in\N2001 that one of the things that the web teaches
Dialogue: 0,0:09:48.58,0:09:53.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,us is that everything is connected, hyperlinks,\Nand that we should all work together, standards.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:53.10,0:09:58.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Too often school teaches us that everything\Nis separate, and that we should all work alone.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:58.78,0:10:05.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think one of the many, many tragedies of\Nthe situation that we find ourselves in now
Dialogue: 0,0:10:05.02,0:10:11.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is that, at least in some moment of Aaron's\Nlife, his belief that he was not alone failed
Dialogue: 0,0:10:11.07,0:10:15.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,him, and for a few moments he believed himself\Nto be alone.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:15.77,0:10:21.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I'm sure, out there, there are many, many\N14-year-old children who feel the same way.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:21.03,0:10:27.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That they have that binding curiosity, that\Nfascination and that urge to change the world.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:27.52,0:10:33.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And that worry for a moment that it's just\Nthem. And there are no tools and no capabilities
Dialogue: 0,0:10:33.04,0:10:37.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and no friends to help them continue in that\Npath.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:37.09,0:10:41.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I don't think it's ever too soon to begin\Nworking with the rest of the world, and I
Dialogue: 0,0:10:41.05,0:10:47.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,think we all need to stay together, and never,\Never again leave our friends too alone. A
Dialogue: 0,0:10:47.53,0:11:02.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,boy's will is the wind's will, and the thoughts\Nof youth are long, long thoughts.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:02.01,0:11:04.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[applause]
Dialogue: 0,0:11:04.57,0:11:07.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[silence]
Dialogue: 0,0:11:07.13,0:11:19.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman] The night before\NAaron died, he and I shared a grilled cheese
Dialogue: 0,0:11:19.07,0:11:24.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sandwich. This was one of his favorite foods.\NAs probably many of you know, there weren't
Dialogue: 0,0:11:24.52,0:11:28.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,many of those favorite foods. It was a really\Ngood grilled cheese sandwich. He was really
Dialogue: 0,0:11:28.28,0:11:28.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,happy about it.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:28.89,0:11:41.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A week before he died, we woke up one morning,\Nand he said, "We really need to talk about
Dialogue: 0,0:11:41.26,0:11:47.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Bayesian statistics." I said, "Right now?\NIt's Sunday morning. It's like 7: 00 AM. Can
Dialogue: 0,0:11:47.02,0:11:52.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it wait?" He said, "No, it's really important."\NWe spent the next couple of hours working
Dialogue: 0,0:11:52.28,0:11:58.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,through a naughty Bayesian statistics he'd\Nalready asked the Internet with no useful
Dialogue: 0,0:11:58.44,0:11:59.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,responses.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:59.04,0:12:04.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I have the notes. We ended up with a naughty\Ndouble integral that neither of us could solve,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:04.09,0:12:14.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but if anybody here wants to help me with\Nthe solution, let me know.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:14.09,0:12:21.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He was really excited the last couple of months.\NHe was working on a drug policy research with
Dialogue: 0,0:12:21.09,0:12:29.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a friend of his, Matt Stoller, for GiveWell,\Nand he would read these articles, all the
Dialogue: 0,0:12:29.51,0:12:33.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,academic literature, talk to the experts.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:33.02,0:12:39.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He got really into this one particular study\Nabout an intervention that had been tried
Dialogue: 0,0:12:39.69,0:12:48.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in Hawaii for alcoholism. Control tests indicated\Nthat it got 90 percent of alcoholics dry in
Dialogue: 0,0:12:48.02,0:12:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the first month, and he was so bubbling over\Nwith excitement about all of it.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:54.00,0:13:03.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We went to Burlington, Vermont over New Years.\NHe got the flu, but he came out and played
Dialogue: 0,0:13:03.06,0:13:08.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Mafia one evening with the friends that we\Nrented a house with. I was really surprised,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:08.02,0:13:13.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because he didn't like playing games at all,\Nbut Ada, Danny's daughter, was there with
Dialogue: 0,0:13:13.02,0:13:20.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,us, and he really wanted to see what would\Nhappen if Ada was the Mafia. [laughs] Unfortunately,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:20.07,0:13:28.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,nobody selected Ada as the Mafia, which Ada\Nwas really annoyed about. [laughs]
Dialogue: 0,0:13:28.08,0:13:34.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One of the things that I loved about Aaron\Nwas the sheer number, and variety, and multitude
Dialogue: 0,0:13:34.02,0:13:39.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of wonderful, fascinating people who animated\Nhis life. I had the great privilege of sharing
Dialogue: 0,0:13:39.08,0:13:45.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that life with him for the last 20 months,\Nbut I know that I only met a small fraction
Dialogue: 0,0:13:45.02,0:13:47.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the people whose lives he touched.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:47.07,0:13:53.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's why I came out here today, because\NI know that many of you were important to
Dialogue: 0,0:13:53.45,0:14:01.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,him, and I wanted to meet you, and I want\Nyou the stories like the stories I just told,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:01.15,0:14:05.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because I think it's really important that\Nhis friends, his family, his colleagues, his
Dialogue: 0,0:14:05.65,0:14:11.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,admirers know that he had a lot to live for,\Nand that he had a lot of happy moments in
Dialogue: 0,0:14:11.09,0:14:16.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,those last few weeks and months.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:16.75,0:14:26.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm also here with another message. Aaron's\Ndeath should radicalize us. The trial and
Dialogue: 0,0:14:26.07,0:14:30.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the case hung over our entire relationship.\NWe started dating a few weeks before he was
Dialogue: 0,0:14:30.08,0:14:40.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,indicted, a couple of months after he had\Nbeen arrested.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:40.09,0:14:45.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I met his parents for the first time at 12:\N30 AM the night before the indictment, and
Dialogue: 0,0:14:45.90,0:14:49.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,spent five hours with him in the courthouse\Nthe next day. They didn't know I existed before
Dialogue: 0,0:14:49.09,0:15:01.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that, so that was an interesting first meeting.\N[laughs] He hadn't told me what was going
Dialogue: 0,0:15:01.01,0:15:03.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on when we first started dating.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:03.25,0:15:06.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,All I knew was that there was something bad\Nhappening in his life, and that I was a good
Dialogue: 0,0:15:06.95,0:15:14.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,distraction from it. He called it the "bad\Nthing," and I had wild speculation about what
Dialogue: 0,0:15:14.08,0:15:18.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it might be. My leading candidate theory at\None point was that he was having an affair
Dialogue: 0,0:15:18.65,0:15:23.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with Elizabeth Warren and was going to ruin\Nher career.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:23.40,0:15:26.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[laughter]
Dialogue: 0,0:15:26.04,0:15:31.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He called me one night when I was at Frisbee\Npractice in DC, and he was in Boston. He said,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:31.01,0:15:34.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"The bad thing might be in the news tomorrow.\NDo you want to hear what it is from me, or
Dialogue: 0,0:15:34.38,0:15:38.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,do you want to read about it in the news?"\NI said, "I want to hear from you."
Dialogue: 0,0:15:38.33,0:15:44.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He said, "Well, I've been arrested for downloading\Ntoo many academic journal articles, and they're
Dialogue: 0,0:15:44.02,0:15:48.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,trying to make an example out of me," and\NI said, "Well, that doesn't actually sound
Dialogue: 0,0:15:48.59,0:15:55.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like a very big deal." [laughs] He paused\Nfor a second and he said, "Yeah, I guess it's
Dialogue: 0,0:15:55.04,0:16:02.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,not like anybody has cancer." In the end,\Nit kind of was like that.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:02.65,0:16:09.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The only time I was ever really worried about\Nhim, before the last week, was when he was
Dialogue: 0,0:16:09.56,0:16:23.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,trying to decide whether to accept the plea\Nbargain. The whole thing was so hard and so
Dialogue: 0,0:16:23.10,0:16:29.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,stressful, and he felt he carried so much\Nof the weight of it on his own. He didn't
Dialogue: 0,0:16:29.90,0:16:34.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,want to involve any of his friends. He wanted\Nto protect people, but he wasn't very good
Dialogue: 0,0:16:34.04,0:16:39.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at protecting himself.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:39.00,0:16:49.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I went to Boston with him last month in December\Nfor a hearing, and the judge granted another
Dialogue: 0,0:16:49.26,0:16:54.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,evidentiary hearing about whether evidence\Nshould be admitted, and the trial was delayed
Dialogue: 0,0:16:54.13,0:16:57.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for another couple of months.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:57.02,0:17:05.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He came out of the courtroom, and I tried\Nto give him a hug, and he pushed me away.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:05.05,0:17:09.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He said, "Not in front of Heymann. Not in\Nfront of Steve Heymann, the prosecutor." He
Dialogue: 0,0:17:09.06,0:17:17.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,said, "I don't want to show him that. I don't\Nwant to show him any vulnerability."
Dialogue: 0,0:17:17.05,0:17:22.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think Aaron made the wrong choice two weeks\Nago. I think the odds were decent at the trial,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:22.06,0:17:28.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I think, even if he hadn't won, that life\Nstill was worth living, but I think he woke
Dialogue: 0,0:17:28.08,0:17:33.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,up two years after this ordeal started, and\NI think he just couldn't face another day
Dialogue: 0,0:17:33.06,0:17:40.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the stress, the uncertainty, the lack of\Ncontrol over his own destiny.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:40.03,0:17:45.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Aaron's death should radicalize us, and I\Nmean that specifically about us, about you,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:45.00,0:17:50.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if you're here in this room or if you're watching\Nthis online. Aaron died because of deep injustice
Dialogue: 0,0:17:50.03,0:17:58.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in this world. Aaron loved to talk about the\N"5 Whys" of the Toyota management system,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:58.00,0:18:02.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so I'm going to ask why. Why did Aaron die?
Dialogue: 0,0:18:02.03,0:18:09.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Aaron died in part because we live in a system\Nwhere the constitutional rights we've all
Dialogue: 0,0:18:09.01,0:18:14.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,come to believe in, through civic classes\Nand through watching "Law & Order," don't
Dialogue: 0,0:18:14.03,0:18:18.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,actually apply in the real world. There's\Nno right to a speedy trial. It had been two
Dialogue: 0,0:18:18.07,0:18:22.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,years since Aaron was arrested. We still didn't\Nhave all the evidence that the government...the
Dialogue: 0,0:18:22.09,0:18:27.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,government still hadn't turned over all of\Nthe evidence to us, that they were constitutionally
Dialogue: 0,0:18:27.08,0:18:31.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,required to do so.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:31.06,0:18:35.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Why does that happen? In part, it's because\Nthe system is so clogged up with cases, and
Dialogue: 0,0:18:35.05,0:18:40.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,has so few human resources, it takes years\Nfor practically anybody who actually wants
Dialogue: 0,0:18:40.01,0:18:45.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to go to trial to find out whether they're\Nguilty from a jury of their peers.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:45.07,0:18:50.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It takes them years because the system is\Nso clogged up, and so under-resourced, with
Dialogue: 0,0:18:50.05,0:18:56.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,drug cases and with the senseless overcrowding\Nof our criminal justice system. Prosecutors
Dialogue: 0,0:18:56.04,0:19:01.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,aren't used to going to trial. Last year,\Nonly three percent of all federal charges
Dialogue: 0,0:19:01.01,0:19:06.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were taken to trial. Most of the rest were\Nresolved in plea bargaining.
Dialogue: 0,0:19:06.00,0:19:12.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Plea bargaining processes give prosecutors\Nenormous amounts of power. Imagine being totally
Dialogue: 0,0:19:12.06,0:19:16.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,innocent of any crime and not having the resources\Nthat Aaron had at his disposal, and the networks,
Dialogue: 0,0:19:16.08,0:19:21.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the support. Many people feel they have\Nno choice but to accept a plea bargain. They
Dialogue: 0,0:19:21.07,0:19:25.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,can't afford lawyers for two years.
Dialogue: 0,0:19:25.02,0:19:31.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You could say, in some sense, that Aaron's\Ndeath was caused by the war on drugs. He wasn't
Dialogue: 0,0:19:31.09,0:19:35.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a victim directly, but he was a casualty at\Nthat war, that's aimed, actually, at quite
Dialogue: 0,0:19:35.09,0:19:40.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,different people from Aaron.
Dialogue: 0,0:19:40.08,0:19:46.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Aaron's death should radicalize us. He died\Nbecause of a prosecutor and a US attorney
Dialogue: 0,0:19:46.01,0:19:50.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who had immense individual power over his\Nlife, and were more interested in making a
Dialogue: 0,0:19:50.06,0:19:55.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,high-profile example out of Aaron than in\Njustice or in mercy.
Dialogue: 0,0:19:55.06,0:20:01.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Why did they do it? In the case of the prosecutor,\NSteve Heymann, the best theory I can offer
Dialogue: 0,0:20:01.03,0:20:05.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is that he's simply a vindictive old man who\Nreally doesn't like young, upstart whippersnappers,
Dialogue: 0,0:20:05.07,0:20:11.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like Aaron, who are trying to save the world.\NHeymann's the kind of guy who wants to claim
Dialogue: 0,0:20:11.00,0:20:16.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a notch on his belt and high-five other prosecutors\Nat lunch, but we have to follow the "Whys."
Dialogue: 0,0:20:16.08,0:20:22.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Why does this man have the power to ruin the\Nlife of someone like Aaron? We can trace the
Dialogue: 0,0:20:22.03,0:20:26.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,problem to tough-on-crime initiatives that\Nhave systematically transferred power from
Dialogue: 0,0:20:26.10,0:20:29.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the hands of judges to prosecutors.
Dialogue: 0,0:20:29.02,0:20:33.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We can trace it to punitive sentencing guidelines\Nand ambiguous overreaching laws, like the
Dialogue: 0,0:20:33.07,0:20:40.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,CFAA, that give prosecutors the power to charge\Nsomeone with decades in prison for a victimless
Dialogue: 0,0:20:40.08,0:20:46.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,crime. In the case of Carmen Ortiz, the US\Nattorney who's Heymann's boss, Aaron's case
Dialogue: 0,0:20:46.01,0:20:49.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was a stepping stone to higher political ambitions.
Dialogue: 0,0:20:49.07,0:20:53.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Ortiz wanted to be a judge, or a governor,\Nor a senator someday. She probably still wants
Dialogue: 0,0:20:53.09,0:21:00.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to be. Unfortunately, in our society, one\Nof the well-trodden paths to elected office
Dialogue: 0,0:21:00.01,0:21:02.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is through the prosecutor's office.
Dialogue: 0,0:21:02.01,0:21:07.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That means that from mayors' offices to congress,\Nleaders are disproportionately people who've
Dialogue: 0,0:21:07.05,0:21:12.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,made their name in being tough on crime, the\Npeople who've spent the bulk of their career
Dialogue: 0,0:21:12.00,0:21:18.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,trying to lock people up. They're people whose\Njob it is to be punitive and not just or merciful.
Dialogue: 0,0:21:18.03,0:21:22.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's how we end up with these kinds of laws\Nto begin with.
Dialogue: 0,0:21:22.03,0:21:26.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They're people who embody a legal system that\Nlocks up more than 25 percent of the prisoners
Dialogue: 0,0:21:26.01,0:21:31.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the world, and we have only three percent\Nof the world's population. Why do we vote
Dialogue: 0,0:21:31.01,0:21:37.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for these people? Why do we provide them with\Nthe incentives we do? Why do we, as a country,
Dialogue: 0,0:21:37.01,0:21:41.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,applaud and reward them, and build structures\Naround them, as they lock up more than one-third
Dialogue: 0,0:21:41.04,0:21:46.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the black men in our country?
Dialogue: 0,0:21:46.10,0:21:50.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Aaron's death should radicalize us because\Nhe's probably the first person that most people
Dialogue: 0,0:21:50.09,0:21:56.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in this room have ever met who got swept up\Nby this system, but there are literally millions
Dialogue: 0,0:21:56.01,0:22:01.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of others whose lives are destroyed in this\Ncountry, and Aaron would've been the last
Dialogue: 0,0:22:01.04,0:22:07.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,person who would want us to fetishize his\Nexperiences or to treat him as exceptional.
Dialogue: 0,0:22:07.00,0:22:13.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In response to Aaron's death, I and his family\Nare calling for five things. First, Steve
Dialogue: 0,0:22:13.05,0:22:16.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Heymann and Carmen Ortiz must be held accountable.
Dialogue: 0,0:22:16.09,0:22:18.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[applause]
Dialogue: 0,0:22:18.04,0:22:26.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Second, MIT has lost its way, and it must\Nfind it again. MIT could've saved Aaron with
Dialogue: 0,0:22:26.03,0:22:31.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a single public statement, and it refused.
Dialogue: 0,0:22:31.04,0:22:32.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[applause]
Dialogue: 0,0:22:32.04,0:22:37.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Third, all academic research from all time\Nshould be made openly accessible to anyone
Dialogue: 0,0:22:37.04,0:22:40.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with an Internet connection.
Dialogue: 0,0:22:40.08,0:22:43.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[applause]
Dialogue: 0,0:22:43.06,0:22:50.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Fourth, we have to amend the Computer Fraud\Nand Abuse Act to prevent prosecutors from
Dialogue: 0,0:22:50.08,0:22:53.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,these kinds of overreaches.
Dialogue: 0,0:22:53.08,0:22:56.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[applause]
Dialogue: 0,0:22:56.01,0:23:02.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Fifth, we have to reform a criminal justice\Nsystem where we incarcerate millions of people,
Dialogue: 0,0:23:02.07,0:23:06.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and prosecutors through the book at someone\Nlike Aaron, but not a single banker has gone
Dialogue: 0,0:23:06.07,0:23:13.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to prison since the financial crisis.
Dialogue: 0,0:23:13.05,0:23:19.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[applause]
Dialogue: 0,0:23:19.01,0:23:24.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Aaron's death should radicalize us, but Aaron's\Nlife should also radicalize us in a very different
Dialogue: 0,0:23:24.04,0:23:32.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,way. One of Aaron's favorite shows was "Louie."\NThere's an episode, and I'm going to do my
Dialogue: 0,0:23:32.00,0:23:37.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,best Louie impression, which probably isn't\Nvery good, the episode where Louie gives a
Dialogue: 0,0:23:37.09,0:23:39.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,little stand-up routine.
Dialogue: 0,0:23:39.01,0:23:47.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"I drive an Infiniti. That's really evil.\NThere are people who just starved to death.
Dialogue: 0,0:23:47.03,0:23:52.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's all they ever did. There are people\Nwho are born and go, 'I'm hungry.' Then they
Dialogue: 0,0:23:52.05,0:23:57.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,die, and that's all they ever got to do. Meanwhile,\NI'm driving in my car having a great time,
Dialogue: 0,0:23:57.08,0:23:59.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I sleep like a baby."
Dialogue: 0,0:23:59.00,0:24:04.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"It's totally my fault, because I could trade\Nmy Infiniti in for any other car, and I'd
Dialogue: 0,0:24:04.01,0:24:09.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,get back like $20,000, and I could save hundreds\Nof people from dying of starvation with that
Dialogue: 0,0:24:09.04,0:24:18.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,money, and every day, I don't do it. Every\Nday, I make them die with my car."
Dialogue: 0,0:24:18.02,0:24:22.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Aaron loved that routine, and he realized\Nsomething when we watched it together. He
Dialogue: 0,0:24:22.06,0:24:27.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,realized that Louie copied this bit right\Nout of Peter Singer. This is a Peter Singer
Dialogue: 0,0:24:27.09,0:24:33.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,essay as a comedy routine. Peter Singer was\None of the Aaron's favorite philosophers,
Dialogue: 0,0:24:33.03,0:24:36.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and he's a really uncomfortable philosopher.\NA lot of people don't like thinking about
Dialogue: 0,0:24:36.06,0:24:39.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Peter Singer. Here's why.
Dialogue: 0,0:24:39.05,0:24:43.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Let's say you knew you had the power to change\Na law that would save innocent people's lives,
Dialogue: 0,0:24:43.01,0:24:48.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,maybe stopping a carcinogen from polluting\Nground water near a town. Let's say you knew
Dialogue: 0,0:24:48.01,0:24:53.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it would save 10 people's lives, and you chose\Nto do something else instead, something that
Dialogue: 0,0:24:53.00,0:24:59.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,didn't have much bearing or impact on the\Nworld. Are you culpable? Peter Singer would
Dialogue: 0,0:24:59.04,0:25:01.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,say yes.
Dialogue: 0,0:25:01.06,0:25:05.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Most of us studiously avoid answering that\Nquestion, because the truth is, we're faced
Dialogue: 0,0:25:05.05,0:25:09.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with questions like, "Should we trade in our\NInfiniti?" or, "Should we work on the carcinogen?"
Dialogue: 0,0:25:09.10,0:25:18.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,every day. It's really hard to live your life\Nthinking about that, but Aaron's life should
Dialogue: 0,0:25:18.05,0:25:19.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,radicalize us.
Dialogue: 0,0:25:19.08,0:25:26.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Aaron lived a Singerian life more than anyone\Nelse I've ever met. Aaron had money, we all
Dialogue: 0,0:25:26.07,0:25:31.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,know he could've had a lot more if he had\Ntried, but he lived out of backpacks and he
Dialogue: 0,0:25:31.04,0:25:32.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,stayed on people's couches.
Dialogue: 0,0:25:32.07,0:25:37.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Sometimes, I'll admit, it went a little too\Nfar, like the time we'd been dating for a
Dialogue: 0,0:25:37.02,0:25:41.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,few months, and we were meeting up in Boston,\Nand it was his responsibility to find us a
Dialogue: 0,0:25:41.02,0:25:46.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,place to stay. He thought that an air mattress\Non his brother Noah's bathroom floor was perfectly
Dialogue: 0,0:25:46.08,0:25:51.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sufficient, [laughs] but I respected him for\Nit.
Dialogue: 0,0:25:51.01,0:25:55.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He didn't buy an Infiniti. He didn't get a\Nnice apartment. When he died, he left his
Dialogue: 0,0:25:55.10,0:26:02.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,estate primarily to GiveWell, probably the\Nmost Singerian of all charities, but living
Dialogue: 0,0:26:02.04,0:26:07.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a life of personal austerity and charity isn't\Nenough. Aaron felt responsible not just for
Dialogue: 0,0:26:07.01,0:26:11.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the direct costs of his lifestyle, but for\Nthe opportunity costs. He felt responsible
Dialogue: 0,0:26:11.06,0:26:15.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for the carcinogens he wasn't stopping.
Dialogue: 0,0:26:15.06,0:26:20.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Here in Silicon Valley, the idea of changing\Nthe world is no mirage. You see examples all
Dialogue: 0,0:26:20.05,0:26:26.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,around you, every day, of people who changed\Nthe world, and Aaron was one of those people,
Dialogue: 0,0:26:26.03,0:26:28.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but the question is, how are they changing\Nthe world?
Dialogue: 0,0:26:28.10,0:26:34.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Facebook has changed the world, sure, but\Nis the world better off because of Facebook?
Dialogue: 0,0:26:34.09,0:26:38.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Even more importantly, if you're deciding\Nwhether to take a job at Facebook, is that
Dialogue: 0,0:26:38.08,0:26:41.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the place in the world where you can do the\Nmost good?
Dialogue: 0,0:26:41.04,0:26:48.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Aaron wanted to do the most good. He wanted\Nto apply the Lean Startup framework to impact.
Dialogue: 0,0:26:48.00,0:26:54.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He was learning and iterating. He thought\Nwe all needed to think both bigger and smaller.
Dialogue: 0,0:26:54.01,0:26:59.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He said to a few of my friends once, "The\Nrevolution will be A/B tested."
Dialogue: 0,0:26:59.04,0:27:00.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[laughter]
Dialogue: 0,0:27:00.04,0:27:07.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's what he was trying to do. I'm here\Nto ask the hard questions today. If you're
Dialogue: 0,0:27:07.09,0:27:12.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,not already working to change the criminal\Njustice system in the US, what are you working
Dialogue: 0,0:27:12.05,0:27:16.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on? Is it more important than that? It might\Nbe. There are more important things. There
Dialogue: 0,0:27:16.10,0:27:23.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are places where you can have more impact,\Nbut there are so many ways, so many things,
Dialogue: 0,0:27:23.06,0:27:30.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that need to be changed about this world.\NWhich one of them are you working on?
Dialogue: 0,0:27:30.04,0:27:34.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Aaron's death should radicalize us, and his\Nlife should radicalize us. The fact is, we
Dialogue: 0,0:27:34.08,0:27:39.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,live in a world in which very few people we\Nknow pay the ultimate price for their political
Dialogue: 0,0:27:39.02,0:27:44.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,beliefs. We live in a world in which very\Nfew people we know even suffer serious life-altering
Dialogue: 0,0:27:44.09,0:27:49.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,consequences for their political beliefs,\Nbut we live in a runaway global political
Dialogue: 0,0:27:49.06,0:27:52.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,economy that's taking people's lives every\Nday.
Dialogue: 0,0:27:52.07,0:27:58.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Aaron wasn't trying to become a martyr when\Nhe downloaded those JSTOR articles, but he
Dialogue: 0,0:27:58.04,0:28:02.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was taking a risk on behalf of the billions\Nof people around the world who grew up without
Dialogue: 0,0:28:02.09,0:28:07.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,his privilege. More of us need to do that.
Dialogue: 0,0:28:07.03,0:28:16.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There are so many ways to have impact, so\Nmany ways to help people. Aaron had an exchange
Dialogue: 0,0:28:16.07,0:28:21.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with David Segal, who runs Demand Progress,\Nthe group that he founded, that many of you
Dialogue: 0,0:28:21.07,0:28:24.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,know from the SOPA fight.
Dialogue: 0,0:28:24.00,0:28:29.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Aaron loved recounting this conversation.\NDavid called him one night, and said to Aaron,
Dialogue: 0,0:28:29.03,0:28:35.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Remember that year when we defeated SOPA,\Ngot indefinite detention ruled unconstitutional,
Dialogue: 0,0:28:35.05,0:28:41.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and got both political parties to incorporate\NInternet freedom into their platforms at the
Dialogue: 0,0:28:41.00,0:28:46.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,conventions?" That was Aaron, David Segal,\Nand a couple other people. They did all that
Dialogue: 0,0:28:46.04,0:28:48.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in one year.
Dialogue: 0,0:28:48.06,0:28:52.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Everybody here is capable of that kind of\Nchange. There are so many places in our world
Dialogue: 0,0:28:52.04,0:28:57.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where that kind of change can happen, just\Nfrom having somebody there, somebody paying
Dialogue: 0,0:28:57.05,0:29:01.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,attention, somebody pushing.
Dialogue: 0,0:29:01.00,0:29:06.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If you're a programmer or technologist, like\Nmany of you in the audience today, you have
Dialogue: 0,0:29:06.08,0:29:12.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,special powers and special responsibilities.\NI went to a talk once that Aaron gave, where
Dialogue: 0,0:29:12.01,0:29:17.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he spoke to maybe a couple dozen people, like\Nthe people in this room, to programmers who
Dialogue: 0,0:29:17.04,0:29:23.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he was trying to convince to work in politics.\NHe told them, "You can do magic."
Dialogue: 0,0:29:23.08,0:29:28.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Aaron really could do magic, and I'm dedicated\Nto making sure that his magic doesn't end
Dialogue: 0,0:29:28.08,0:29:44.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with his death. I hope you'll join me.
Dialogue: 0,0:29:44.02,0:29:46.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[applause]
Dialogue: 0,0:29:46.08,0:30:03.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[Lisa Rein] I first met Aaron online on various\NW3C mailing lists for XML and RDF. He kind
Dialogue: 0,0:30:03.05,0:30:11.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of came out of nowhere at the end of 2001,\Nas far as I could tell. Aaron's comments were
Dialogue: 0,0:30:11.04,0:30:15.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,thoughtful and informative, and it became\Nclear pretty quickly that he had a better
Dialogue: 0,0:30:15.07,0:30:20.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,understanding of markup languages and data\Nmodeling than a lot of others on the list,
Dialogue: 0,0:30:20.05,0:30:23.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,even some of the veterans.
Dialogue: 0,0:30:23.05,0:30:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Aaron had a talent for simplifying things\Nand getting to the heart of everyone's concerns.
Dialogue: 0,0:30:29.00,0:30:35.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He was also rather politically disarming because\Nhe was, well, a kid, a kid with no ulterior
Dialogue: 0,0:30:35.03,0:30:42.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,motives except wanting to be included and\Ntaken seriously, as seriously as others.
Dialogue: 0,0:30:42.02,0:30:48.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In April 2002, during the very early stages\Nof the Creative Commons, I let Aaron know
Dialogue: 0,0:30:48.02,0:30:53.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that we were having a technical meeting at\NHarvard that I wanted him to attend. That
Dialogue: 0,0:30:53.08,0:31:01.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was it. I really wanted to include him in\Nthe whole project almost as equally as I was
Dialogue: 0,0:31:01.05,0:31:09.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,involved in the project. I told him this was\Nhappening for real, and with him included.
Dialogue: 0,0:31:09.09,0:31:16.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was then that he let me know that he was\Nonly 14 years old, and that I needed to give
Dialogue: 0,0:31:16.06,0:31:20.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,his mother a call so he could figure things\Nout.
Dialogue: 0,0:31:20.08,0:31:22.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[laughter]
Dialogue: 0,0:31:22.01,0:31:28.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When I first insisted that Aaron attend this\Nmeeting, everybody, even Lawrence Lessig,
Dialogue: 0,0:31:28.10,0:31:35.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at first thought that was really weird. "Do\Nyou need Aaron to do your job?" was a pretty
Dialogue: 0,0:31:35.01,0:31:42.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,popular question, and the answer was clearly,\N"Yes." I needed Aaron to make sure that our
Dialogue: 0,0:31:42.05,0:31:48.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,licensing markup was the absolute best that\Nit could be.
Dialogue: 0,0:31:48.02,0:31:52.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,People were usually skeptical about Aaron\Nand his abilities when they first found out
Dialogue: 0,0:31:52.01,0:31:58.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he was only 14. But once they spoke to him\Nfor even a little while, he would always win
Dialogue: 0,0:31:58.00,0:32:06.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,them over. I knew if Lessig met him in person\Nthat that would be that, and it was. Aaron
Dialogue: 0,0:32:06.08,0:32:12.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was growing up to become quite the technological\Nstatesman.
Dialogue: 0,0:32:12.06,0:32:17.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So my strategy, in the spring of 2002, was\Nto introduce Aaron to as many people as I
Dialogue: 0,0:32:17.08,0:32:25.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,could, and to introduce him to the right people.\NThis included people from the EFF and the
Dialogue: 0,0:32:25.04,0:32:31.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Internet Archive, mainly, and also included\Ngoing to cool events like South By Southwest.
Dialogue: 0,0:32:31.09,0:32:38.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In 2003, when he tried to get his own room\Nin the cool hotel, right across from the venue,
Dialogue: 0,0:32:38.04,0:32:45.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but ended up getting a room in the janky hotel\Ndown the road with me, where I could be his
Dialogue: 0,0:32:45.00,0:32:47.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,official adult supervision.
Dialogue: 0,0:32:47.08,0:32:49.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[laughter]
Dialogue: 0,0:32:49.03,0:32:54.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In October 2002, Aaron flew out to Washington,\NDC, to camp out in front of the Supreme Court
Dialogue: 0,0:32:54.08,0:33:00.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with me and about eight other people. This\Nwas the night before Lawrence Lessig's oral
Dialogue: 0,0:33:00.01,0:33:10.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,argument in Eldred v. Ashcroft. This is the\NEldred shirt from that. We were rather surprised
Dialogue: 0,0:33:10.01,0:33:15.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that Aaron convinced his mother to let him\Ngo. But there he was, staying in the same
Dialogue: 0,0:33:15.01,0:33:17.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,bed and breakfast where I was staying.
Dialogue: 0,0:33:17.09,0:33:23.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I told them he was sort of like my little\Nbrother, and that wasn't very far from the
Dialogue: 0,0:33:23.00,0:33:32.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,truth. He was a little brother that I ended\Nup [crying] looking up to. EFF staff technologist
Dialogue: 0,0:33:32.06,0:33:39.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Seth Schoen took over as Aaron's chaperone\Npretty quickly during that trip to Washington,
Dialogue: 0,0:33:39.06,0:33:40.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,DC.
Dialogue: 0,0:33:40.01,0:33:46.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There was a moment at about one AM when Aaron\Nasked if he could walk around the block with
Dialogue: 0,0:33:46.00,0:33:53.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Seth. I thought they were kidding at first.\NWere they serious? Were they crazy? But then
Dialogue: 0,0:33:53.01,0:33:58.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I realized it was one of those right-of-passage\Nmoments. Plus I realized he wouldn't be by
Dialogue: 0,0:33:58.08,0:34:02.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,himself, he was with Seth.
Dialogue: 0,0:34:02.03,0:34:07.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think at that moment I passed on the torch\Nto Seth as Aaron's west coast guardian. But
Dialogue: 0,0:34:07.08,0:34:14.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we always stayed in touch. His birthday was\Ntwo days before mine, and he would remember
Dialogue: 0,0:34:14.00,0:34:19.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,my birthday almost every year, and would send\Nme a nice little email wishing me a good next
Dialogue: 0,0:34:19.08,0:34:30.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,year. Thank you.
Dialogue: 0,0:34:30.10,0:34:42.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[Seth Schoen] As Lisa was just recounting,\NI met Aaron at the Supreme Court in October
Dialogue: 0,0:34:42.05,0:34:49.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of 2002, and we had gone to hear the oral\Nargument in Eldred v. Ashcroft. Most of us
Dialogue: 0,0:34:49.01,0:34:53.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,non-lawyers had to spend the night sleeping\Nin the street in line in front of the court
Dialogue: 0,0:34:53.68,0:34:55.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in order to get a ticket.
Dialogue: 0,0:34:55.05,0:34:59.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The line for the oral argument starts the\Nnight before. But even though Aaron was a
Dialogue: 0,0:34:59.07,0:35:06.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,teenager, he was Larry Lessig's personal guest\Nat the argument. So since he had a ticket,
Dialogue: 0,0:35:06.00,0:35:10.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he had the luxury of spending the night in\Na hotel, which his parents apparently really
Dialogue: 0,0:35:10.02,0:35:12.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,appreciated.
Dialogue: 0,0:35:12.00,0:35:16.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But Aaron decided to spend most of the night\Nand most of the morning before the argument
Dialogue: 0,0:35:16.05,0:35:22.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,hanging out with us at the encampment in front\Nof the court. In part to show solidarity with
Dialogue: 0,0:35:22.05,0:35:28.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the people who hadn't received a ticket, and\Nin part for the thrill of meeting actual,
Dialogue: 0,0:35:28.05,0:35:31.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,grown-up copyright activists.
Dialogue: 0,0:35:31.00,0:35:32.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[laughter]
Dialogue: 0,0:35:32.08,0:35:37.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Aaron was truly star struck to meet people\Nhe thought of as legendary copyright reform
Dialogue: 0,0:35:37.09,0:35:43.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,activists. But within a decade, Aaron himself\Nwould be among the most effective grassroots
Dialogue: 0,0:35:43.05,0:35:47.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,copyright activists in the whole world.
Dialogue: 0,0:35:47.05,0:35:52.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,At that moment he was the little kid markup\Nand metadata expert that Larry Lessig admired
Dialogue: 0,0:35:52.09,0:35:58.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,enough to give him a front row Supreme Court\Nseat. And Aaron spent the evening with us
Dialogue: 0,0:35:58.10,0:36:03.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as we ordered pizza, which he could actually\Neat, for delivery to the sidewalk outside
Dialogue: 0,0:36:03.04,0:36:08.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the Supreme Court, which was apparently not\Na very unusual request for pizzerias in DC.
Dialogue: 0,0:36:08.00,0:36:09.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[laughter]
Dialogue: 0,0:36:09.05,0:36:15.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And all of us gossiped about copyright law\Nfor a couple of hours. I saw Aaron again in
Dialogue: 0,0:36:15.09,0:36:24.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,December. My friends Leonard and Sumana found\Na picture, he's visiting my house, and I come,
Dialogue: 0,0:36:24.08,0:36:29.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like some people here, from a book family\Nand I have a lot of books and we spent about
Dialogue: 0,0:36:29.01,0:36:35.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,three hours with Leonard and Sumana and Aaron\Nand I just sitting on my bed sort of manually
Dialogue: 0,0:36:35.01,0:36:38.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,following hyperlinks between books.
Dialogue: 0,0:36:38.01,0:36:38.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[laughter]
Dialogue: 0,0:36:38.06,0:36:45.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Oh, that book! Oh, well that's a reference\Nto that book." Aaron was there because Larry
Dialogue: 0,0:36:45.07,0:36:51.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Lessig was unveiling his Creative Commons\Nproject in San Francisco. And Lessig had invited
Dialogue: 0,0:36:51.03,0:36:57.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Aaron, clad in a T-shirt, probably the youngest\Nperson in the entire hall, up on stage to
Dialogue: 0,0:36:57.00,0:37:03.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,talk about metadata. It was very awkward.\NAaron was trying to describe why it was useful
Dialogue: 0,0:37:03.01,0:37:07.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to be able to represent bibliographic information\Nin a machine-readable format.
Dialogue: 0,0:37:07.05,0:37:11.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And in fact Aaron was always trying to describe\Nwhy it was useful to be able to represent
Dialogue: 0,0:37:11.00,0:37:14.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,bibliographic information in a machine-readable\Nformat.
Dialogue: 0,0:37:14.00,0:37:15.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[laughter]
Dialogue: 0,0:37:15.00,0:37:19.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The audience had had a few drinks, I think,\Nand wasn't as focused as it might have been,
Dialogue: 0,0:37:19.00,0:37:23.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and didn't really care to envision this beautiful\Nfeature in which search engines would make
Dialogue: 0,0:37:23.02,0:37:28.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it easy for everyone to find works they could\Nlegally reuse and build upon. Which they now
Dialogue: 0,0:37:28.03,0:37:31.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,can, thanks to Aaron's work.
Dialogue: 0,0:37:31.05,0:37:36.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But the audience didn't seem to get it. Lessig\Nwas very gracious and he basically said to
Dialogue: 0,0:37:36.06,0:37:42.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the crowd, "See, our project is going to succeed\Nand it's going to succeed because we have
Dialogue: 0,0:37:42.06,0:37:48.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this genius creating our infrastructure."\NAaron reminded me how frustrating it is to
Dialogue: 0,0:37:48.06,0:37:52.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,be curious about things that other people\Ndon't understand. Or that other people regard
Dialogue: 0,0:37:52.07,0:37:54.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as trivial or bizarre.
Dialogue: 0,0:37:54.10,0:38:00.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He wrote a blog post about a theory that one's\Ndegree of nearsightedness is affected by blood
Dialogue: 0,0:38:00.01,0:38:05.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,oxygen levels, and that it might be possible\Nto use eye exercise to systematically reduce
Dialogue: 0,0:38:05.05,0:38:06.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,nearsightedness.
Dialogue: 0,0:38:06.01,0:38:11.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Aaron," he wrote, "was already experimenting\Non himself to see if it would work, and he
Dialogue: 0,0:38:11.04,0:38:17.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,said he wished he could meet a girl who wouldn't\Nlaugh at this project." Later, Aaron met Seth
Dialogue: 0,0:38:17.05,0:38:23.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Roberts, a researcher who advocates self-experimentation\Nas a way of generating potentially-useful
Dialogue: 0,0:38:23.05,0:38:25.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,wild ideas about health.
Dialogue: 0,0:38:25.05,0:38:30.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Roberts and Aaron got along extremely well.\NI think that Roberts, like many other people,
Dialogue: 0,0:38:30.02,0:38:36.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,felt that Aaron naturally generated potentially\Nuseful wild ideas about absolutely everything.
Dialogue: 0,0:38:36.04,0:38:42.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I visited Aaron in his dorm at Stanford a\Nfew years later. I was thrilled that he had
Dialogue: 0,0:38:42.05,0:38:45.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the opportunity to study at such a great university.
Dialogue: 0,0:38:45.02,0:38:50.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But Aaron was alienated from Stanford. He\Nhad few friends, and the students around him
Dialogue: 0,0:38:50.07,0:38:56.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,weren't curious about the things he was curious\Nabout. This wasn't the way his Stanford adventure
Dialogue: 0,0:38:56.01,0:39:01.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was supposed to pan out. I helped him pack\Nfor his flight to Boston for his interview
Dialogue: 0,0:39:01.06,0:39:07.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with Paul Graham, who was starting a fund\Nto invest in young people just like Aaron.
Dialogue: 0,0:39:07.05,0:39:15.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It want well. Aaron dropped out of Stanford\Nand moved to Boston. In 2006, just after Condé
Dialogue: 0,0:39:15.01,0:39:19.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Nast acquired reddit and just before they\Nfired Aaron, Aaron and I were at a hacker
Dialogue: 0,0:39:19.01,0:39:26.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,conference together in Berlin. To Larry Lessig's\Nchagrin, Aaron and Lessig had, at that time,
Dialogue: 0,0:39:26.03,0:39:30.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,fallen out of touch. Perhaps neither of them\Nwere deeply involved in the day-to-day work
Dialogue: 0,0:39:30.08,0:39:34.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of Creative Commons, which had brought them\Ntogether.
Dialogue: 0,0:39:34.02,0:39:38.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Aaron had gone off to work in the startup\Nworld while simultaneously deepening his study
Dialogue: 0,0:39:38.01,0:39:44.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of left-wind politics, macroeconomics, and\Nsociology. Lessig and Aaron were both planning
Dialogue: 0,0:39:44.01,0:39:49.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to tell America, as matter of some urgency,\Nwhat had gone wrong with the American project,
Dialogue: 0,0:39:49.07,0:39:52.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but they had slightly different diagnoses.
Dialogue: 0,0:39:52.02,0:39:57.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Our friend and I took Aaron out to Wannsee,\Nwhere Lessig was spending a year at the American
Dialogue: 0,0:39:57.06,0:40:04.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Academy in Berlin. Lessig looked extraordinarily\Nproud to see Aaron. Their meeting had, for
Dialogue: 0,0:40:04.01,0:40:08.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,me, the sense of an extraordinarily poignant\Nreunion, as if they hadn't seen each other
Dialogue: 0,0:40:08.07,0:40:13.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in 20 years. Of course they had actually seen\Neach other a few months before.
Dialogue: 0,0:40:13.00,0:40:17.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But my friend and I left the two of them alone\Nfor an hour or so, and I remember as we walked
Dialogue: 0,0:40:17.08,0:40:24.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,away, seeing Lessig and Aaron leaning a wall\Nat the Wannsee train station, talking animatedly
Dialogue: 0,0:40:24.00,0:40:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to each other. It reminded me of the scene\Nat the climax of the German film "Goodbye
Dialogue: 0,0:40:29.00,0:40:34.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Lenin!" where we can see but not hear the\Nactors talking about incredibly urgent matters,
Dialogue: 0,0:40:34.08,0:40:39.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and we have to imagine for ourselves what\Nthey must be saying to each other.
Dialogue: 0,0:40:39.03,0:40:43.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I thought, Lessig is so proud-his protégé\Nis all grown up and he's come back to show
Dialogue: 0,0:40:43.04,0:40:51.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,his respect for his teacher. Aaron was a free\Nspeech absolutist's, free speech absolutist,
Dialogue: 0,0:40:51.04,0:40:57.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,an idealist's idealist, an activist's activist,\Nand, I must say, a libertarian socialist's
Dialogue: 0,0:40:57.02,0:40:59.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,libertarian socialist.
Dialogue: 0,0:40:59.02,0:41:00.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[laughter]
Dialogue: 0,0:41:00.62,0:41:07.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,His credo was that bits are not a bug, that\Ncome hell or high water we should celebrate,
Dialogue: 0,0:41:07.00,0:41:11.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and not fear, people's ability to communicate\Nto each other whatever they might choose to
Dialogue: 0,0:41:11.03,0:41:16.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,communicate, and the infrastructure that supports\Nthat ability.
Dialogue: 0,0:41:16.03,0:41:21.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Aaron came of age a long time after the end\Nof the cypherpunk movement. But he always
Dialogue: 0,0:41:21.06,0:41:23.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,seemed like a cypherpunk movement. But he\Nalways seemed like a cypherpunk and lived
Dialogue: 0,0:41:23.04,0:41:27.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,up to the notion that cypherpunks write code.
Dialogue: 0,0:41:27.02,0:41:32.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He channeled all sorts of different idealisms\Nof supposedly bygone eras. You would have
Dialogue: 0,0:41:32.01,0:41:37.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,thought he was too young to know about those\Nidealisms. And he did it in a way that mixed
Dialogue: 0,0:41:37.07,0:41:43.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,intelligence, creativity, and humor. In the\Nlong run, Aaron felt that he was going to
Dialogue: 0,0:41:43.04,0:41:47.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,fix the world, mainly by clearly explaining\Nit to people.
Dialogue: 0,0:41:47.01,0:41:48.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[laughter]
Dialogue: 0,0:41:48.08,0:41:54.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I believe Aaron grew up to be exactly the\Nperson that he would have been most astonished
Dialogue: 0,0:41:54.05,0:41:59.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and excited to meet in the line in front of\Nthe Supreme Court. I've never known anyone
Dialogue: 0,0:41:59.04,0:42:04.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,else like him.
Dialogue: 0,0:42:04.05,0:42:18.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[Peter Eckersley] So I know we have all been\Nspending a lot of time thinking about Aaron
Dialogue: 0,0:42:18.08,0:42:24.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and his life and what kind of person he was\Nand what he did. And I know many of you in
Dialogue: 0,0:42:24.05,0:42:30.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the room knew him, knew him well. Others probably\Nnever got to meet him in person, saw him on
Dialogue: 0,0:42:30.07,0:42:38.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a mailing list or read his blog posts. And\Nthen now, trying to figure out what we've
Dialogue: 0,0:42:38.04,0:42:40.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,lost, who we've lost.
Dialogue: 0,0:42:40.06,0:42:46.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And for me, you know I was lucky enough, I\Ngot to live with Aaron for a while, and we
Dialogue: 0,0:42:46.01,0:42:51.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,got to be good friends and work on things\Ntogether. But I found I was always trying
Dialogue: 0,0:42:51.01,0:42:57.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to figure out exactly who he was and what\Nhe was up to. Because he was such a complicated
Dialogue: 0,0:42:57.09,0:43:06.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and contradictory human being, and he'd get\Nyou in these ways that you weren't expecting.
Dialogue: 0,0:43:06.07,0:43:11.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Some of this was simple, obvious stuff. You\Nknow, I, look-he and I had met before, but
Dialogue: 0,0:43:11.08,0:43:17.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we moved to San Francisco at the same time.\NI came here to work for the EFF. He was just
Dialogue: 0,0:43:17.08,0:43:22.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the process of selling reddit and going\Nto Condé Nast and going through the messy
Dialogue: 0,0:43:22.07,0:43:28.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,divorce that he had with the other cofounders.\NAnd so I sent him an email and said, "Hey,
Dialogue: 0,0:43:28.08,0:43:35.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm setting up a sharehouse. Like, do you\Nwant a place to live?" And he said yes.
Dialogue: 0,0:43:35.00,0:43:39.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so we had this rambling Victorian in this\Napartment building. And I said, "Oh, we've
Dialogue: 0,0:43:39.09,0:43:43.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,got all these open rooms we need to fill."\NAnd he's like, "Oh, there's this tiny little
Dialogue: 0,0:43:43.08,0:43:51.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,one in the corner, I'll take that." This room\Nwas the size of a-you know, it was a closet,
Dialogue: 0,0:43:51.08,0:43:54.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,basically. We were pretty sure he was the\Nwealthiest person in the building. He'd just
Dialogue: 0,0:43:54.01,0:44:00.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sold reddit, but he wanted this tiny little\Nthing.
Dialogue: 0,0:44:00.06,0:44:08.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And getting to know him was weird, like...I'd,\NI knew him, I knew his blog, I had met him
Dialogue: 0,0:44:08.08,0:44:17.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,before. But living with him, the first experience,\Nhe was so shy. Like, he'd just be there, and
Dialogue: 0,0:44:17.00,0:44:24.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like, in his own little world, struggling\Nto talk to people, until the conversation
Dialogue: 0,0:44:24.08,0:44:31.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,took the right turn. You'd say the right thing\Nto him, and he would come alive, and he would
Dialogue: 0,0:44:31.01,0:44:33.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,come so alive.
Dialogue: 0,0:44:33.08,0:44:39.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I remember Danny mentioned the Chinese room\Nargument, but I remember the day that somehow
Dialogue: 0,0:44:39.00,0:44:45.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I prodded him about that. And then for the\Nnext week, you know, like we were going at
Dialogue: 0,0:44:45.00,0:44:49.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it. Like, I think he was totally wrong about\Nthe Chinese room argument, actually. I still
Dialogue: 0,0:44:49.10,0:44:50.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,do.
Dialogue: 0,0:44:50.06,0:44:51.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[laughter]
Dialogue: 0,0:44:51.02,0:44:57.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,His position was crazy. He defended a crazy\Nposition very well, and I had to argue him
Dialogue: 0,0:44:57.01,0:45:03.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,into so many weird corners to get anywhere.\NI remember another scene, we had a film crew
Dialogue: 0,0:45:03.10,0:45:07.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who showed up and stayed in our house and\Nfilmed this thing, "Steal This Film." You
Dialogue: 0,0:45:07.07,0:45:10.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,can go and see it on the Internet. You can\Nsee Aaron in it.
Dialogue: 0,0:45:10.03,0:45:15.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They were a documentary crew talking about\Ncopyright and trying to film these takes in
Dialogue: 0,0:45:15.06,0:45:18.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the middle of the night. You know, our cramped\Nlittle living room, and everyone was kind
Dialogue: 0,0:45:18.01,0:45:24.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of drunk and there was chaos and I remember\Nsome of us were struggling to say anything
Dialogue: 0,0:45:24.10,0:45:30.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,coherent to a camera. But someone pointed\Na camera at Aaron and he caught fire.
Dialogue: 0,0:45:30.05,0:45:39.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Like, he just...he taught me how to, like,\Nspeak to a room or speak to a television or
Dialogue: 0,0:45:39.12,0:45:45.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,whatever it was. He just had a message that\Nhe'd simplified out of the ether and could
Dialogue: 0,0:45:45.02,0:45:52.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,deliver. And that was the same skill he turned\Nto politics and to so much else that he did
Dialogue: 0,0:45:52.08,0:45:59.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in his intellectual life, and it was beautiful\Nto watch.
Dialogue: 0,0:45:59.02,0:46:05.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And he paired that with this...you know, honestly,\Nhe had a flare for self-promotion. There wouldn't
Dialogue: 0,0:46:05.04,0:46:10.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,be hundreds of people in this room and hundreds\Nof people in all the rooms for all the memorials
Dialogue: 0,0:46:10.12,0:46:14.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that he's had in different cities, and millions\Nof people reading about him, if he didn't
Dialogue: 0,0:46:14.07,0:46:20.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have some little talent at getting the things\Nhe was doing out to the world in a way that
Dialogue: 0,0:46:20.01,0:46:27.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,people would notice. People noticed his 16-year-old\Nself. His 14-year-old self.
Dialogue: 0,0:46:27.00,0:46:33.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But he wasn't just a giant ego who kind of\Nwas out there promoting himself because he
Dialogue: 0,0:46:33.00,0:46:40.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,thought he was awesome. He actually...The\None thing he failed to care about, often,
Dialogue: 0,0:46:40.03,0:46:48.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was taking care of himself. And I remember,\Nlike, living with him and trying to get him
Dialogue: 0,0:46:48.02,0:46:52.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to eat and...He wouldn't...
Dialogue: 0,0:46:52.01,0:46:57.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He had medical things that he was struggling\Nwith, and I said, "Aaron, you know, like,
Dialogue: 0,0:46:57.01,0:47:01.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,how does this work, like let's talk about\Nit. Surely you've read the research on this
Dialogue: 0,0:47:01.02,0:47:05.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,condition. Like, we can go through what's\Nbeen tried...And he said, "No, I haven't read
Dialogue: 0,0:47:05.06,0:47:06.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,any of it." Like, "I don't know anything about\Nit."
Dialogue: 0,0:47:06.08,0:47:11.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I said, "Aaron! You devour books! Like,\NI can see you devouring books, you've read
Dialogue: 0,0:47:11.04,0:47:19.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,five this week. Like, you have a stack of\Nacademic journal articles by your bed. We're
Dialogue: 0,0:47:19.04,0:47:23.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,talking about half of them. Why haven't you\Nread anything about this condition that is
Dialogue: 0,0:47:23.06,0:47:28.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,making your own life harder?" And he just\Nsaid, "Well, I don't think I'm that important.
Dialogue: 0,0:47:28.01,0:47:34.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The world's important," like...
Dialogue: 0,0:47:34.05,0:47:46.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Watching that happen was hard. You struggle\Nto take care of him. He also had these days
Dialogue: 0,0:47:46.09,0:47:51.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that were down. I mean, I guess it was a down\Nday in the end that got him. In between the
Dialogue: 0,0:47:51.02,0:47:54.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,days when he was doing amazing amounts of\Nstuff. You all know how much he did.
Dialogue: 0,0:47:54.05,0:48:00.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He was too young to possible have done a third\Nof the things he managed, and who knows what
Dialogue: 0,0:48:00.61,0:48:05.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he would have achieved with another 50 years.\NBut in-between those days, there'd be days
Dialogue: 0,0:48:05.06,0:48:12.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when he was just blue. I remember I caught\Nhim on one of those and said, "Aaron, this
Dialogue: 0,0:48:12.08,0:48:16.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is amazing stuff. We can go and do it right\Nnow."
Dialogue: 0,0:48:16.11,0:48:22.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And he just said, "No, the code, it's all\Nterrible, it's ugly, it's broken." I'm like,
Dialogue: 0,0:48:22.07,0:48:29.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"OK, let's do some science." And he'd say,\N"No, the data doesn't work, it sucks, it's
Dialogue: 0,0:48:29.06,0:48:37.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,too hard." And I said, "Surely, there must\Nbe something that you'd be doing. That really
Dialogue: 0,0:48:37.02,0:48:45.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,would feel right." And he stopped for a while\Nand said, "Yes, actually. Typography."
Dialogue: 0,0:48:45.07,0:48:47.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[laughter]
Dialogue: 0,0:48:47.00,0:49:00.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I could do typography. Anyway, so he was contradictory.\NYou never knew exactly what to make of him.
Dialogue: 0,0:49:00.00,0:49:04.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He was brilliant and sometimes and infuriating\Nand wrong. Like, the Chinese room argument.
Dialogue: 0,0:49:04.37,0:49:04.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[laughter]
Dialogue: 0,0:49:04.07,0:49:12.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But then sometimes...I guess I'm talking about\Nparadoxes in Aaron. Sometimes he was infuriating
Dialogue: 0,0:49:12.00,0:49:18.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and wrong and brilliant at the same time.\NAnd I have one story about a paradox. He and
Dialogue: 0,0:49:18.04,0:49:21.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I were talking about moral philosophy, ethical\Nphilosophy.
Dialogue: 0,0:49:21.02,0:49:26.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We were both interested in these ideas, the\N[inaudible 00: 49:23] ideas of...actually,
Dialogue: 0,0:49:26.01,0:49:31.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we have a responsibility to find the thing\Nthat we can do that makes the most difference
Dialogue: 0,0:49:31.00,0:49:35.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to the universe, to the world, and makes it\Nbetter, whatever that means.
Dialogue: 0,0:49:35.04,0:49:43.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But I had just read a paper about a paradox\Nshowing that actually, if you write down all
Dialogue: 0,0:49:43.04,0:49:48.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of our most compelling intuitions about what\Nit is for the world to be good, so that we
Dialogue: 0,0:49:48.07,0:49:52.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,can know how to make it better. You write\Nthem all down, you can actually mathematically
Dialogue: 0,0:49:52.07,0:49:59.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,prove it's a recent result, 10 years old by\Na Swedish philosopher. Our deepest intuitions
Dialogue: 0,0:49:59.09,0:50:04.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about this are flatly contradictory. It's\Na 'paradox. There is actually no completely
Dialogue: 0,0:50:04.04,0:50:10.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,coherent definition of what makes the world\Nbetter.
Dialogue: 0,0:50:10.05,0:50:13.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And Aaron just looked at me and said, "That's\Ncompletely wrong." Like, "Actually, no, it's
Dialogue: 0,0:50:13.07,0:50:18.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this, this and this." And I said, "Aaron,\Nyou're arguing with a mathematical theorem.
Dialogue: 0,0:50:18.10,0:50:24.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I have a proof of it right here. You're not\Npointing out any flaws in the logic in this
Dialogue: 0,0:50:24.10,0:50:26.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,paper."
Dialogue: 0,0:50:26.11,0:50:32.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And he said, "No, no, it's like..." Then I\Nstopped and I stared at him for a while and
Dialogue: 0,0:50:32.86,0:50:39.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I said, "I'm not sure you're right, but actually\Nmaybe we can find a way out of this theorem."
Dialogue: 0,0:50:39.07,0:50:44.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's not an impossibility theorem, it's not\Na paradox.
Dialogue: 0,0:50:44.02,0:50:49.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Actually, maybe it's more like an uncertainty\Ntheorem. We can rehabilitate it as a kind
Dialogue: 0,0:50:49.03,0:50:53.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of Heisenberg's uncertainty principle for\Nmorality. You can't be completely sure about
Dialogue: 0,0:50:53.05,0:50:58.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what's right. But you can actually pin the\Namount of uncertainty down to minimum and
Dialogue: 0,0:50:58.08,0:51:03.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,still get the right answers to obvious moral\Ndilemmas.
Dialogue: 0,0:51:03.02,0:51:07.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So he and I actually sat down and wrote a\Npaper about this which we still haven't published.
Dialogue: 0,0:51:07.04,0:51:12.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I now actually have a...this is a thing I\Npromised to Aaron's ghost. I'm going to finish
Dialogue: 0,0:51:12.06,0:51:20.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that paper and maybe people will read it.\NBut he was paradoxical and yet he got so much
Dialogue: 0,0:51:20.05,0:51:24.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,done, did so many amazing things at the same\Ntime.
Dialogue: 0,0:51:24.05,0:51:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There's a lot more I want to say and there\Nare a lot of things that we all need to do.
Dialogue: 0,0:51:34.00,0:51:40.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because Aaron's loss reminded us or pointed\Nout that they needed to be done. Some of them
Dialogue: 0,0:51:40.04,0:51:47.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are things that matter a lot to this community\Nhere in this room. We need to free the literature,
Dialogue: 0,0:51:47.05,0:51:50.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the scientific literature, that Aaron died\Ntrying to free.
Dialogue: 0,0:51:50.10,0:51:59.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And we also need to figure out what we can\Ndo to fix the insane criminal justice system
Dialogue: 0,0:51:59.07,0:52:03.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the United States.
Dialogue: 0,0:52:03.37,0:52:06.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[applause]
Dialogue: 0,0:52:06.06,0:52:17.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But I've said enough for tonight, and there\Nother people who will take up these threads.
Dialogue: 0,0:52:17.08,0:52:34.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[Tim O'Reilly] I've been asked how I as a\Npublisher who has an online service that puts
Dialogue: 0,0:52:34.08,0:52:43.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,content behind a paywall could possibly be\Na support of Aaron Schwartz, this guy who
Dialogue: 0,0:52:43.07,0:52:53.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,downloads content from services like that.\NAnd my answer is that we're trying to invent
Dialogue: 0,0:52:53.10,0:53:04.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the future, and the future does not look like\Nthe past. And the future is uncovered by struggle
Dialogue: 0,0:53:04.02,0:53:13.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to figure out what works and what doesn't\Nwork. And the people who figure that out are
Dialogue: 0,0:53:13.62,0:53:16.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,people to whom we owe an enormous debt.
Dialogue: 0,0:53:16.01,0:53:23.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was trying to think of, you know, past experiences\Nwith Aaron. When I first met him, he came
Dialogue: 0,0:53:23.05,0:53:31.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to our Foo Camp and our Etech Conferences.\NBut what I decided to share with you is a
Dialogue: 0,0:53:31.02,0:53:39.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,poem that I read as part of a talk that I\Ngave at our Etech Conference in 2008. And
Dialogue: 0,0:53:39.04,0:53:46.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I checked, and just to refresh memory, Aaron\Nwas there.
Dialogue: 0,0:53:46.01,0:53:52.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The poem was part of a talk entitled, "Why\NI Love Hackers." And I started out with a
Dialogue: 0,0:53:52.62,0:53:59.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,picture of some berries, some poisonous ones\Nand some ones that were good to eat. And I
Dialogue: 0,0:53:59.04,0:54:04.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,said, "Somewhere way back in time, somebody\Nhad the courage to figure out which of these
Dialogue: 0,0:54:04.08,0:54:14.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,things were good to eat." And I talked about\Npeople wanting to fly, and how it was this
Dialogue: 0,0:54:14.01,0:54:21.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,crazy dream, and eventually, we figured it\Nout, and lots of other stories from the history
Dialogue: 0,0:54:21.86,0:54:23.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of hacking.
Dialogue: 0,0:54:23.00,0:54:29.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And then I ended with a poem, which seems\Nsingularly appropriate for Aaron because it's
Dialogue: 0,0:54:29.04,0:54:36.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about both the courage to try to do what hasn't\Nbeen done, to change the world, but also how
Dialogue: 0,0:54:36.01,0:54:41.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,hard that is, and the challenge of it. It's\Na poem called "The Man Watching," by Rainer
Dialogue: 0,0:54:41.07,0:54:44.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Maria Rilke, in translation by Robert Bly.
Dialogue: 0,0:54:44.09,0:54:51.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He said, "I can tell by the way the trees\Nbeat, after so many dull days on my worried
Dialogue: 0,0:54:51.08,0:54:58.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,window panes, that a storm is coming, and\NI hear the far-off fields say things. I can't
Dialogue: 0,0:54:58.02,0:55:01.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,bear without a friend. I can't love without\Na sister."
Dialogue: 0,0:55:01.09,0:55:09.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"The storm, the shifter of shapes, drives\Non across the woods and across time, and the
Dialogue: 0,0:55:09.10,0:55:16.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,world looks as if it had no age. The landscape,\Nlike a line in the psalm book, is seriousness
Dialogue: 0,0:55:16.06,0:55:18.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and weight and eternity."
Dialogue: 0,0:55:18.01,0:55:27.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"What we choose to fight is so tiny. What\Nfights us is so great. If only we would let
Dialogue: 0,0:55:27.01,0:55:33.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,ourselves be dominated, as things do, by some\Nimmense storm. We would become strong too,
Dialogue: 0,0:55:33.07,0:55:35.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and not need names."
Dialogue: 0,0:55:35.00,0:55:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"When we win, it's with small things, and\Nthe triumph itself makes us small. What is
Dialogue: 0,0:55:43.00,0:55:50.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,extraordinary and eternal does not want to\Nbe bent by us. I mean, the angel who appeared
Dialogue: 0,0:55:50.00,0:55:55.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to the wrestlers of the Old Testament. When\Nthe wrestler's sinews grew long like metal
Dialogue: 0,0:55:55.06,0:55:59.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,strings, he felt them under his fingers like\Nchords of deep music."
Dialogue: 0,0:55:59.10,0:56:07.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Whoever was beaten by this angel, who often\Nsimply declined the fight, went away proud,
Dialogue: 0,0:56:07.04,0:56:13.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and strengthened, and great from that harsh\Nhand, that needed him as if to change his
Dialogue: 0,0:56:13.02,0:56:21.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,shape. Winning does not tempt that man. This\Nis how he grows, by being defeated, decisively,
Dialogue: 0,0:56:21.35,0:56:26.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by constantly greater beings."
Dialogue: 0,0:56:26.01,0:56:32.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I don't know whether Aaron was defeated or\Nvictorious, but we are certainly shaped by
Dialogue: 0,0:56:32.02,0:56:38.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the hand of the things that he wrestled with.
Dialogue: 0,0:56:38.03,0:56:41.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[applause]
Dialogue: 0,0:56:41.00,0:56:56.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[Molly Shaffer Van Houweling] I didn't know\NAaron quite as well as many who have been
Dialogue: 0,0:56:56.00,0:57:01.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so generous in sharing their memories. But\Nas a member of the board of directors of Creative
Dialogue: 0,0:57:01.02,0:57:08.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Commons, I am honored to be here to convey\NCC's grief, our gratitude, and our commitment
Dialogue: 0,0:57:08.07,0:57:13.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to continuing to work toward the world of\Nopenness and sharing that Aaron worked to
Dialogue: 0,0:57:13.05,0:57:16.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,architect for all of us.
Dialogue: 0,0:57:16.08,0:57:20.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Many of you recently helped us celebrate the\Ntenth birth of Creative Commons, commemorating
Dialogue: 0,0:57:20.09,0:57:27.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the launch in December, 2002 of our first\Nsuite of open content licenses at the party
Dialogue: 0,0:57:27.02,0:57:32.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that Seth described. But of course there was\Na gestation period before the birth of CC
Dialogue: 0,0:57:32.60,0:57:38.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that's when I met Aaron thanks to Lisa.\NI think he was 15 when I met him, but appeared
Dialogue: 0,0:57:38.00,0:57:42.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to be about 11.
Dialogue: 0,0:57:42.00,0:57:48.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As most of you know, Creative Commons is a\Nsteward of a set of public content licenses.
Dialogue: 0,0:57:48.00,0:57:54.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They have licensed deeds and legal code and\NRDF metadata that is designed to make the
Dialogue: 0,0:57:54.01,0:58:02.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,license human-readable and lawyer-readable\Nand machine-readable. That's the beauty of
Dialogue: 0,0:58:02.10,0:58:03.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the CC vision.
Dialogue: 0,0:58:03.08,0:58:08.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But it's also a challenge. It's a challenge\Nto find any one person who can really wrap
Dialogue: 0,0:58:08.07,0:58:16.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,their heads around and talk about this idea.\NA person who understands humans and lawyers
Dialogue: 0,0:58:16.04,0:58:24.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and machines. So when Lisa and I first described\NCC at the O'Reilly Emerging Technology Conference
Dialogue: 0,0:58:24.07,0:58:29.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in May, 2002, we needed some help.
Dialogue: 0,0:58:29.02,0:58:38.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Speaking for myself, I was human and I was\Na lawyer, but I didn't read or speak machine.
Dialogue: 0,0:58:38.00,0:58:45.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So the idea of explaining what CC would have\Nto do with HTML, XML, RDF, and the W3C terrified
Dialogue: 0,0:58:45.07,0:58:52.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,me. So I gave a presentation in which I said\Nsome boring things about law and some vague
Dialogue: 0,0:58:52.01,0:58:59.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,things about metadata. Lisa gave a demonstration\Nthat I think was more exciting. But when the
Dialogue: 0,0:58:59.02,0:59:05.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,complicated questions from the audience started,\Nwe handed the mic down to little Aaron.
Dialogue: 0,0:59:05.10,0:59:13.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,With some trepidation...I'd just met the kid-but\Nit was an act from me of pure desperation.
Dialogue: 0,0:59:13.04,0:59:22.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I couldn't answer those questions about RDF,\Nand I figured, well, at least he's adorable.
Dialogue: 0,0:59:22.00,0:59:25.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[laughter]
Dialogue: 0,0:59:25.06,0:59:32.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Of course, I found Aaron's notes on the presentation\Nstill online this afternoon. They read almost
Dialogue: 0,0:59:32.07,0:59:38.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like poetry. "We did the Creative Commons\Nintro in the morning. Lisa forgot the VGA
Dialogue: 0,0:59:38.08,0:59:44.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,dongle for her iBook, so I donated mine instead.\NWhole thing seemed to go over pretty well.
Dialogue: 0,0:59:44.03,0:59:47.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I answered a couple of questions at the end."
Dialogue: 0,0:59:47.02,0:59:53.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think Aaron answered all of the questions,\Nand I was wrong to be nervous about it. Of
Dialogue: 0,0:59:53.02,1:00:00.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,course he could answer the questions and delight\Nthe audience, not with his adorableness, not
Dialogue: 0,1:00:00.05,1:00:07.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,only that, with his vision and with his ability\Nto communicate it to all of us.
Dialogue: 0,1:00:07.87,1:00:13.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We were finally hearing from someone who could\Nexplain to humans, and even to lawyers, how
Dialogue: 0,1:00:13.09,1:00:22.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to harness the power of machines to overcome\Nunnecessary limits on sharing. Aaron's vision,
Dialogue: 0,1:00:22.08,1:00:29.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,more powerful than I could explain or even\Ncomprehend, how to harness the power of machines
Dialogue: 0,1:00:29.03,1:00:34.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to overcome unnecessary limits on sharing.
Dialogue: 0,1:00:34.02,1:00:39.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was a vision Aaron pursued for CC, but\Nfar beyond CC as well, as many of you can
Dialogue: 0,1:00:39.08,1:00:48.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,attest better than I, but Aaron was not a\Nmachine, and he was not a lawyer. He was a
Dialogue: 0,1:00:48.04,1:00:57.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,human, and tragically mortal, but his vision\Nwas not. The answers he gave to our questions
Dialogue: 0,1:00:57.00,1:00:59.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were not.
Dialogue: 0,1:00:59.02,1:01:05.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He shared them, and so we still have them,\Nand the people in this room are dedicated
Dialogue: 0,1:01:05.00,1:01:11.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to sharing them forward, and to making the\Nmachines for sharing them forward work better
Dialogue: 0,1:01:11.03,1:01:18.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and better, and to making the law for sharing\Nthem forward work better and better.
Dialogue: 0,1:01:18.08,1:01:24.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I want to end with something else that Aaron\Nshared. It's just a casual email to a W3C
Dialogue: 0,1:01:24.00,1:01:31.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,list from August 2002. To me, it captures\Nhis brilliance, his gift for communicating,
Dialogue: 0,1:01:31.03,1:01:35.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,his vision of sharing, and his generous spirit.
Dialogue: 0,1:01:35.05,1:01:43.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Hi there. If you haven't already heard, Creative\NCommons is a new nonprofit organization working
Dialogue: 0,1:01:43.11,1:01:47.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to make it easier for copyright holders to\Nshare their work by dedicating to the public
Dialogue: 0,1:01:47.05,1:01:52.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,domain, or licensing it to the public on generous\Nterms. As part of that effort, we've been
Dialogue: 0,1:01:52.61,1:01:57.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,working hard to develop our licenses and metadata\Nstrategy over the past few months."
Dialogue: 0,1:01:57.37,1:02:02.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"When we launch our site, we want to not only\Ngive our users licenses, but also a sample
Dialogue: 0,1:02:02.03,1:02:06.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of RDF that they can add to their web page.\NWe're hoping that by spreading these chunks
Dialogue: 0,1:02:06.10,1:02:11.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of RDF around the web, we'll provide a useful\Nbase that interesting projects and applications
Dialogue: 0,1:02:11.59,1:02:15.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,can exploit. For more information, please\Ncheck out our website."
Dialogue: 0,1:02:15.01,1:02:20.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"We'd appreciate your comments, thoughts,\Nand code. Please send them to the cc-metadata
Dialogue: 0,1:02:20.07,1:02:27.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,mailing list. We'll be monitoring the list\Nand responding to your questions. Thanks.
Dialogue: 0,1:02:27.04,1:02:28.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Aaron."
Dialogue: 0,1:02:28.02,1:02:35.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"We'll be monitoring the list and responding\Nto your questions." I hope that, somehow,
Dialogue: 0,1:02:35.07,1:02:40.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Aaron is monitoring this list.
Dialogue: 0,1:02:40.09,1:02:43.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[applause]
Dialogue: 0,1:02:43.03,1:02:49.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I hope we return to his words and his vision\Nto help answer our questions, and that we
Dialogue: 0,1:02:49.01,1:03:01.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,share those answers with our fellow humans.\NTo Aaron, thank you. Thank you for sharing.
Dialogue: 0,1:03:01.01,1:03:05.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[applause]
Dialogue: 0,1:03:05.10,1:03:17.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[Alex Stamos] Unlike a lot of the people here,\NI didn't know Aaron. I never met him, didn't
Dialogue: 0,1:03:17.87,1:03:22.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,speak to him on the phone, never even got\Nto exchange emails with him, which, ironically,
Dialogue: 0,1:03:22.09,1:03:25.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is why I'm here.
Dialogue: 0,1:03:25.01,1:03:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The fact that I didn't know him is the reason\Nwhy I was going to be the person that was
Dialogue: 0,1:03:29.00,1:03:36.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,put forth to objectively explain to the jury\Nof what Aaron did, and I think I was able
Dialogue: 0,1:03:36.00,1:03:41.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to hold onto that objectivity until the last\Nweek and a half, and per Teran's comments,
Dialogue: 0,1:03:41.06,1:03:45.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I've perhaps become much more radical than\NI was before, which you can tell, because
Dialogue: 0,1:03:45.07,1:03:49.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm wearing my radical tie today.
Dialogue: 0,1:03:49.05,1:03:52.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[laughter]
Dialogue: 0,1:03:52.07,1:03:57.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What we were going to do is...I was objectively\Ngoing to go in front of that jury, and explain
Dialogue: 0,1:03:57.06,1:04:02.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to them that these horrible hacking crimes\Nthat Aaron was accused of is functionally
Dialogue: 0,1:04:02.09,1:04:08.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the same as putting in the incorrect email\Naddress to an airport WiFi, or going down
Dialogue: 0,1:04:08.05,1:04:12.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the street to Starbucks to change your IP\Naddress.
Dialogue: 0,1:04:12.05,1:04:18.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dan Purcell was going to get up there and\Ngrill MIT and JSTOR witnesses, and talk to
Dialogue: 0,1:04:18.02,1:04:22.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,them about how this kind of thing happens\Ndozens and dozens of times a year at MIT,
Dialogue: 0,1:04:22.00,1:04:28.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and yet Aaron is the first person to ever\Nhave the Secret Service get involved. That
Dialogue: 0,1:04:28.12,1:04:31.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,JSTOR witness was going to talk about how,\N"Oh, there wasn't really any damage. We were
Dialogue: 0,1:04:31.07,1:04:36.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a little ticked off, but this isn't a big\Ndeal for us, and we don't want this to happen."
Dialogue: 0,1:04:36.02,1:04:41.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Then Elliot Peters was going to get up and\Ngive this fiery defense attorney speech, pounding
Dialogue: 0,1:04:41.10,1:04:47.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the table, and pointing to Boston Harbor,\Nand invoking the American Revolution, and
Dialogue: 0,1:04:47.08,1:04:53.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the spirit of freedom, and how Aaron lives\Nup to the greatest ideals in our founding
Dialogue: 0,1:04:53.00,1:04:54.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,documents.
Dialogue: 0,1:04:54.08,1:04:59.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Then Aaron's future was going to be in the\Nhands of 12 normal people, I mean, normal
Dialogue: 0,1:04:59.03,1:05:04.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,people who couldn't get out of jury duty,\Nbut hopefully people who, I think, would have
Dialogue: 0,1:05:04.04,1:05:12.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,had the sense to understand that there is\Na huge chasm between the way Aaron was being
Dialogue: 0,1:05:12.01,1:05:17.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,portrayed by the government and the young\Nman who was sitting there at that table.
Dialogue: 0,1:05:17.00,1:05:21.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I had faith in them, and we're not going to\Nget that chance to do all those things, and
Dialogue: 0,1:05:21.07,1:05:27.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we can't help Aaron anymore, but I think we,\Nand by "we," I mean everybody who is listening
Dialogue: 0,1:05:27.03,1:05:32.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to this, we can help the next Aaron, and we\Ndidn't have to wait very long for the next
Dialogue: 0,1:05:32.60,1:05:33.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Aaron.
Dialogue: 0,1:05:33.06,1:05:39.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The next Aaron is the Chinese-American man\Nwho is accused of stealing source code from
Dialogue: 0,1:05:39.07,1:05:45.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a hedge fund, and is being prosecuted under\Nthe Espionage Act. The next Aaron is the Canadian
Dialogue: 0,1:05:45.05,1:05:51.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,student who was expelled from his university\Nfor pointing out security flaws to the university
Dialogue: 0,1:05:51.02,1:05:54.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in their software that exposed his personal\Ninformation.
Dialogue: 0,1:05:54.04,1:05:59.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The next Aaron is going to be that young lady\Nwhose DEFCON speech is interrupted by the
Dialogue: 0,1:05:59.00,1:06:07.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,clink of handcuffs, or that grandfather who\Nis mystified by the demand for $50,000 to
Dialogue: 0,1:06:07.12,1:06:11.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,pay for copyright violations, because his\Nnext door neighbor uses open WiFi to do a
Dialogue: 0,1:06:11.08,1:06:16.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,little BitTorrent. Those are the next Aarons,\Nand those are the people we can help.
Dialogue: 0,1:06:16.07,1:06:20.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One of the reasons, I think we really to need\Nhelp them is, while I think all of us feel
Dialogue: 0,1:06:20.10,1:06:29.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,gratified about the outpouring of love and\Ncare, and the feeling of momentum that has
Dialogue: 0,1:06:29.04,1:06:31.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,come out of the last week and a half.
Dialogue: 0,1:06:31.87,1:06:38.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We also have to be really aware that we want,\Nthat when people face the same kind of odds
Dialogue: 0,1:06:38.00,1:06:44.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that Aaron faced, many of them without Aaron's\Nresources, that we want them not to think
Dialogue: 0,1:06:44.87,1:06:49.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Aaron's final moments of weakness and doubt\Nto be the kind of thing that they need to
Dialogue: 0,1:06:49.10,1:06:52.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,do to bring about change.
Dialogue: 0,1:06:52.09,1:06:54.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There are two things we need to do for that.\NOne...
Dialogue: 0,1:06:54.02,1:06:54.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[applause]
Dialogue: 0,1:06:54.02,1:07:04.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One, we need to give those people as much\Nas much support as Aaron was able to give.
Dialogue: 0,1:07:04.08,1:07:12.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Those people don't know Larry Lessig. They\Ndon't hang out with MIT professors, yet they
Dialogue: 0,1:07:12.10,1:07:16.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,need the kind of support that Aaron was able\Nto muster.
Dialogue: 0,1:07:16.00,1:07:20.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One of the things I realized through this\Nwhole thing is we never considered computer
Dialogue: 0,1:07:20.06,1:07:27.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,science to be the kind of thing that is a\Nprofession that changes lives, and something
Dialogue: 0,1:07:27.01,1:07:31.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this has demonstrated is that being able to\Nmake an argument of whether a MAC address
Dialogue: 0,1:07:31.10,1:07:37.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is just something that you use to keep collisions\Nfrom happening on a network, it is not equivalent
Dialogue: 0,1:07:37.03,1:07:39.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to the serial number on a gun.
Dialogue: 0,1:07:39.08,1:07:44.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Making that argument is the kind of thing\Nthat can mean spending decades in prison.
Dialogue: 0,1:07:44.09,1:07:49.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There are other professions that are life-changing,\Nmedicine and law, and in those professions,
Dialogue: 0,1:07:49.09,1:07:54.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,people have an idea about equal access and\Nhelping people, and that doesn't happen in
Dialogue: 0,1:07:54.05,1:07:56.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,reality, but at least they try.
Dialogue: 0,1:07:56.06,1:07:59.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There's an idea that everybody has a defense\Nlawyer. There's an idea that you can go and
Dialogue: 0,1:07:59.07,1:08:03.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,get treated by a doctor, and they have an\Nethical obligation to you. I think those of
Dialogue: 0,1:08:03.09,1:08:09.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,us in the computer world need to see, via\NAaron's tragedy, that we have the same kind
Dialogue: 0,1:08:09.02,1:08:11.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of obligation.
Dialogue: 0,1:08:11.03,1:08:13.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[applause]
Dialogue: 0,1:08:13.02,1:08:20.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The second thing we all need to do is when\Nwe are up here speaking, or we're commenting
Dialogue: 0,1:08:20.00,1:08:27.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on Reddit, or Hacker News, or talking to people\Nabout Aaron, while we talk about the positive
Dialogue: 0,1:08:27.37,1:08:33.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,change that is going to come out of his death,\Nwe have to make it clear that all of those
Dialogue: 0,1:08:33.68,1:08:38.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,positive things pale in comparison to what\Nhe would've done had he lived.
Dialogue: 0,1:08:38.28,1:08:39.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[applause]
Dialogue: 0,1:08:39.02,1:08:44.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's an important part of the message, because\Nwe don't want those young people to think
Dialogue: 0,1:08:44.62,1:08:51.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that their only way out is to sacrifice themselves,\Nthat they deserve to live too, and that they
Dialogue: 0,1:08:51.18,1:08:58.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have people who are standing behind them.\NThank you.
Dialogue: 0,1:08:58.31,1:09:00.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[applause]
Dialogue: 0,1:09:00.37,1:09:13.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[Cindy Cohn] Good evening. Thank you everybody.\NWe're all starting with how we met Aaron.
Dialogue: 0,1:09:13.61,1:09:18.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think I met Aaron before this, but my first\Nreal memory of him is on the steps of the
Dialogue: 0,1:09:18.12,1:09:24.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,United States Supreme Court on the night before\Nthe Eldred argument in 2002. I remember thinking,
Dialogue: 0,1:09:24.57,1:09:28.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Does your mother know you're here?"
Dialogue: 0,1:09:28.51,1:09:33.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I recently found his account of that night,\Nand it reminded me of how very young he was,
Dialogue: 0,1:09:33.76,1:09:39.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,how excited he was to be at the court, and\Nyet, his understanding of the nuances of the
Dialogue: 0,1:09:39.28,1:09:46.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Copyright Term Extension Act were better than\Nmine at that time. I also realized that by
Dialogue: 0,1:09:46.43,1:09:51.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,having our first...or least, the first I'd\Nmet, really, Fanboy, that we were building
Dialogue: 0,1:09:51.95,1:09:55.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a movement.
Dialogue: 0,1:09:55.08,1:10:01.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Since the early morning of January 12th, when\NI learned that Aaron had passed away, I feel
Dialogue: 0,1:10:01.00,1:10:07.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like I've had a little Aaron on my shoulder,\Nreminding me that we are still part of a movement,
Dialogue: 0,1:10:07.29,1:10:12.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and demanding that we push forward, push further,\Nand that the tragedy of his death be parts
Dialogue: 0,1:10:12.100,1:10:17.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the roots of something good and something\Nbetter.
Dialogue: 0,1:10:17.02,1:10:24.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I don't think Aaron named his organization\NDemand Progress by accident. At EFF, we feel
Dialogue: 0,1:10:24.24,1:10:28.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this intensely, and I think we feel it in\Ntwo directions. First, we feel the need to
Dialogue: 0,1:10:28.81,1:10:34.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,continue his work, opening access to publicly\Nfunded and public domain information for all
Dialogue: 0,1:10:34.06,1:10:38.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,people, so that you don't have to be in an\Nivory tower to learn.
Dialogue: 0,1:10:38.72,1:10:40.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[applause]
Dialogue: 0,1:10:40.24,1:10:48.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The second, though, is the one that I've spent\Nmost of my time on for the last few weeks,
Dialogue: 0,1:10:48.99,1:10:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that was number four on Taren's list,\Nwhich is trying to fix the Computer Fraud
Dialogue: 0,1:10:54.00,1:10:56.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and Abuse Act.
Dialogue: 0,1:10:56.09,1:11:00.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,EFF has a draft of some modest fixes that\Nwould reduce the ability of prosecutors to
Dialogue: 0,1:11:00.83,1:11:07.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,use the CFAA, and similar computer laws, to\Nratchet up threats on people like Aaron. It's
Dialogue: 0,1:11:07.04,1:11:10.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on our website. It's on Reddit.
Dialogue: 0,1:11:10.03,1:11:13.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Representative Zoe Lofgren, as many of you\Nknow, had led the way, and remains willing
Dialogue: 0,1:11:13.93,1:11:21.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to help, but we have to create the space for\Nreal change, not not-real change, and that
Dialogue: 0,1:11:21.60,1:11:26.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,remains to be done. Her initial proposals\Nare not sufficient.
Dialogue: 0,1:11:26.27,1:11:32.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We have a lot of work to do to get this where\Nit will be, but we need to ensure that what
Dialogue: 0,1:11:32.03,1:11:36.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,happened to Aaron never happens to another\Nbright, idealistic, geeky kid who wants to
Dialogue: 0,1:11:36.79,1:11:41.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,make the world a better place, and if we can't\Ndo it in Congress, then we need to do it in
Dialogue: 0,1:11:41.02,1:11:48.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the courts, but we need your help. In fact,\Nwe need the help of everyone you all know.
Dialogue: 0,1:11:48.71,1:11:52.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We need to marshal the same sort of support\Nfor this fight that we were able to marshal
Dialogue: 0,1:11:52.54,1:11:58.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with SOPA about SOPA and PIPA, and maybe even\Nmore, since this involves not just Hollywood,
Dialogue: 0,1:11:58.91,1:12:06.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but federal power, and we won't have Aaron.
Dialogue: 0,1:12:06.33,1:12:11.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was hesitant to make this bold pitch at\NAaron's memorial, but honestly, I don't think
Dialogue: 0,1:12:11.03,1:12:16.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Aaron would've forgiven me if I didn't. We\Ncan't help Aaron directly anymore, but we
Dialogue: 0,1:12:16.04,1:12:21.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,can help the next Aaron, and the one after\Nthat, and all of us who would be the beneficiaries
Dialogue: 0,1:12:21.45,1:12:26.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of what those next Aarons will create for\Nus, and the knowledge that they will make
Dialogue: 0,1:12:26.79,1:12:32.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,available to all the rest of us and all the\Npeople around the world.
Dialogue: 0,1:12:32.21,1:12:38.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think we built the movement that I first\Nsaw by seeing the little fanboy, Aaron Swartz,
Dialogue: 0,1:12:38.85,1:12:45.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in 2002, so now, let's use it.
Dialogue: 0,1:12:45.72,1:12:49.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[applause]
Dialogue: 0,1:12:49.62,1:13:06.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[Brewster Kahle] Wow. I learned from Aaron\Nwhat living an open source life was like.
Dialogue: 0,1:13:06.03,1:13:15.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think he really live that way. He floated\Nand helped others. He gave everything away.
Dialogue: 0,1:13:15.06,1:13:23.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He really wasn't tied to an institution. He\Nreally was not a company man in any sense.
Dialogue: 0,1:13:23.03,1:13:31.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He was really quite pure in his motivations,\Nand it made him incredibly effective of cutting
Dialogue: 0,1:13:31.39,1:13:39.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,through a lot of the stuff that most of us\Ndeal with, an open source life. He was able
Dialogue: 0,1:13:39.01,1:13:46.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to keep his self-interests at bay, which is\Nkind of remarkable for a lot of us, but he
Dialogue: 0,1:13:46.08,1:13:54.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was able to do it, and he was able to communicate\Nwell with an open smile and a kind heart.
Dialogue: 0,1:13:54.91,1:14:03.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He had a way of spending time, and his energy,\Non things that mattered, and he had a genius
Dialogue: 0,1:14:03.54,1:14:10.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at finding things that mattered to millions\Nof people. There are lots of things to work
Dialogue: 0,1:14:10.03,1:14:14.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on, but the things that he worked on were\Nincredibly effective.
Dialogue: 0,1:14:14.48,1:14:25.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We first met, I think, in 2002, at the Eldred\NSupreme Court case in Washington, DC, when
Dialogue: 0,1:14:25.24,1:14:29.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we drove a bookmobile across, celebrating\Nthe public domain by giving away books that
Dialogue: 0,1:14:29.85,1:14:36.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,kids made, and also, then, at the Creative\NCommons launch.
Dialogue: 0,1:14:36.00,1:14:41.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I really got to know Aaron when he said, "I'd\Nreally like to help make the Open Library
Dialogue: 0,1:14:41.04,1:14:49.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,website with the Internet Archive, to go and\Ngive books, and integrate books into the Internet
Dialogue: 0,1:14:49.00,1:14:56.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,itself." He said, "I've got this cool technology\Ncalled Infogami. It made possible to make
Dialogue: 0,1:14:56.35,1:15:00.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Reddit happen. Let's use it again for this\Nother thing."
Dialogue: 0,1:15:00.97,1:15:06.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was wonderful to work with him, but it\Nwas really unlike working with anybody else
Dialogue: 0,1:15:06.49,1:15:13.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I've ever met. You certainly couldn't tell\Nhim what to do. He just did what was the right
Dialogue: 0,1:15:13.04,1:15:19.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,thing to do, and he was right, certainly,\Na lot more often than I was.
Dialogue: 0,1:15:19.70,1:15:26.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We worked together in other areas when he\Nwas a champion of open access, especially
Dialogue: 0,1:15:26.03,1:15:32.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the public domain, bringing public access\Nto the public domain. Most people think that's
Dialogue: 0,1:15:32.04,1:15:37.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,kind of an obvious thing. "Isn't the public\Nthing mean that it's publicly accessible?"
Dialogue: 0,1:15:37.54,1:15:39.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Of course, all of us are like, "No."
Dialogue: 0,1:15:39.77,1:15:47.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's sort of like there are these national\Nparks with moats, and walls, and guns, and
Dialogue: 0,1:15:47.03,1:15:53.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,turrets pointing out in case somebody might\Nwant to come near the public domain, and Aaron
Dialogue: 0,1:15:53.06,1:15:59.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,didn't think this was right, and he spent\Na lot of time and effort freeing these materials.
Dialogue: 0,1:15:59.89,1:16:05.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One of the first ones that we were actively\Nworking together on was freeing government
Dialogue: 0,1:16:05.29,1:16:10.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,court cases, so that anybody could see this\Nwithout having to have special privilege or
Dialogue: 0,1:16:10.89,1:16:15.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,money, and also, to make it so you could data\Nmine it, and go and look at these things in
Dialogue: 0,1:16:15.45,1:16:17.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a very different way.
Dialogue: 0,1:16:17.75,1:16:26.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He freed and liberated a lot of court cases\Nfrom the PACER system, and uploaded them in-bulk
Dialogue: 0,1:16:26.08,1:16:31.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to the Internet Archive, so that people could\Nhave access to these. There are now four million
Dialogue: 0,1:16:31.43,1:16:37.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,documents from 800,000 cases that have been\Nused by six million people because of the
Dialogue: 0,1:16:37.66,1:16:43.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,project that Aaron Swartz and others helped\Nstart.
Dialogue: 0,1:16:43.01,1:16:46.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[applause]
Dialogue: 0,1:16:46.04,1:16:53.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was an interesting project because it went\Nover many different organizations, each playing
Dialogue: 0,1:16:53.43,1:17:02.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a role, and all cooperating in a very non-corporate\Nway. It was a very Aaron style way of making
Dialogue: 0,1:17:02.31,1:17:07.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,things happen, and the idea of making court\Ndocuments and legal documents available more
Dialogue: 0,1:17:07.09,1:17:14.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,easily struck a chord with me, because in\Ncollege, I was trying to figure out how I
Dialogue: 0,1:17:14.16,1:17:17.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was going to try to get out of the draft.
Dialogue: 0,1:17:17.20,1:17:26.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My college didn't have a legal collection,\Nand the only way I could try to get to legal
Dialogue: 0,1:17:26.45,1:17:35.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,court documents was to get an ID from my professor\Nand break into the Harvard Law Library to
Dialogue: 0,1:17:35.35,1:17:38.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,go and read court documents.
Dialogue: 0,1:17:38.08,1:17:40.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[applause]
Dialogue: 0,1:17:40.98,1:17:49.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That sucked. It really makes no sense, and\NAaron not only saw that it doesn't make sense,
Dialogue: 0,1:17:49.01,1:17:57.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he decided he was going to try to help solve\Nthis, not just for himself, but for everyone.
Dialogue: 0,1:17:57.52,1:18:01.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Then there were other public domain collections,\Nlike the Google Books collection.
Dialogue: 0,1:18:01.05,1:18:07.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Google Books was a library project to go and\Ndigitize lots and lots of books. A lot of
Dialogue: 0,1:18:07.79,1:18:14.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,them were public domain. Google would make\Nthem available from their website, but really,
Dialogue: 0,1:18:14.00,1:18:19.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,really painfully. It would make it so that\Nif you wanted one book, you could get one
Dialogue: 0,1:18:19.24,1:18:25.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,book. If you wanted 100 books, they'd turn\Noff your IP address forever.
Dialogue: 0,1:18:25.66,1:18:32.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is no way to have public access to the\Npublic domain. The Internet Archive started
Dialogue: 0,1:18:32.00,1:18:42.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,getting these uploads of Google Books, going\Nfaster, and faster, and faster. It was like,
Dialogue: 0,1:18:42.06,1:18:48.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Well, where are these coming from?" Well,\Nit turns out, it's Aaron.
Dialogue: 0,1:18:48.60,1:18:52.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He and a bunch of friends figured out that\Nthey could go and get a bunch of computers
Dialogue: 0,1:18:52.09,1:19:01.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to go slowly enough to just clock through\Ntons of Google Books and upload them to the
Dialogue: 0,1:19:01.12,1:19:05.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Internet Archive. Interestingly, Google never\Ngot upset about it. The libraries, on the
Dialogue: 0,1:19:05.58,1:19:11.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,other hand, grumbled. Anyway, they'll get\Nover it.
Dialogue: 0,1:19:11.18,1:19:12.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[laughter]
Dialogue: 0,1:19:12.05,1:19:19.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When this started happening, we said, "OK,\Nwhat's going on? Should we be concerned?"
Dialogue: 0,1:19:19.39,1:19:24.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"No, it's public domain. We just made sure\Nthat we got the cataloging data right, and
Dialogue: 0,1:19:24.72,1:19:28.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we linked back to Google, so that if you're\Non the book, you can go back to the original
Dialogue: 0,1:19:28.04,1:19:37.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,page and see..." It all worked well, but there\Nwas Aaron doing it again, bringing public
Dialogue: 0,1:19:37.48,1:19:39.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,access to the public domain.
Dialogue: 0,1:19:39.62,1:19:48.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What is crushing to me is that Aaron got ensnared\Nby the Federal Government for doing something
Dialogue: 0,1:19:48.64,1:19:56.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that the Internet Archive actively encourages\Nothers to do for our collections, and we think
Dialogue: 0,1:19:56.08,1:20:04.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all libraries should encourage, which is bulk\Ndownloading to support data mining and other
Dialogue: 0,1:20:04.20,1:20:12.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,research using computers. This is just the\Nway the world works.
Dialogue: 0,1:20:12.71,1:20:16.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[applause]
Dialogue: 0,1:20:16.03,1:20:22.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The first step is, for a computer to read\Nand analyze materials, to download a set of
Dialogue: 0,1:20:22.43,1:20:32.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,documents. When Aaron did this from one library,\NJSTOR, they strongly objected, and demanded
Dialogue: 0,1:20:32.00,1:20:39.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that MIT find and stop that user, which then\Nled US prosecutors to pull out their worst
Dialogue: 0,1:20:39.04,1:20:40.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,techniques.
Dialogue: 0,1:20:40.71,1:20:50.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Did anybody stop to ask if bulk downloading\Nis a crime? I say, "No." Bulk downloading
Dialogue: 0,1:20:50.31,1:21:01.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is not in itself a crime. Let's stop this\Npractice of discouraging bulk downloading
Dialogue: 0,1:21:01.06,1:21:06.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because there are encouraging projects that\Nare learning amazing new things by having
Dialogue: 0,1:21:06.95,1:21:14.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,computers be part of the research process.\NLet's not stop this, and discourage young
Dialogue: 0,1:21:14.08,1:21:22.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,people from coming up with new and different\Nways to make access, to learn things from
Dialogue: 0,1:21:22.06,1:21:25.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,our libraries.
Dialogue: 0,1:21:25.08,1:21:34.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What resulted, in this case, was tragic and\Nnot necessary. Really, what we want is computers
Dialogue: 0,1:21:34.71,1:21:43.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to be able to read. Aaron knew this, we were\Nall building this, and he got ensnared anyway.
Dialogue: 0,1:21:43.48,1:21:47.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Let's let our computers read.
Dialogue: 0,1:21:47.08,1:21:53.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because of this tragedy, JSTOR, I talked to\Nthis morning, and the Internet Archive have
Dialogue: 0,1:21:53.66,1:22:00.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,agreed to meet to discuss the broad issue\Nof data mining and web crawling. I hope that
Dialogue: 0,1:22:00.46,1:22:06.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we really make progress. At least there are\Nreasons to be positive.
Dialogue: 0,1:22:06.69,1:22:16.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This assault on Aaron would disillusion, discourage,\Nand depress a principled young man, and if
Dialogue: 0,1:22:16.01,1:22:24.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there ever was a principled young man, it\Nwas Aaron Swartz. We miss you, and we will
Dialogue: 0,1:22:24.24,1:22:29.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,carry on your important work.
Dialogue: 0,1:22:29.71,1:22:33.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[applause]
Dialogue: 0,1:22:33.39,1:22:46.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[Carl Malamud] Do not. Do not think for a\Nmoment. Do not think for a moment, that Aaron's
Dialogue: 0,1:22:46.60,1:22:52.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,work on JSTOR was a random act of a lone hacker,\Nsome kind of crazy, spur-of-the-moment bulk
Dialogue: 0,1:22:52.06,1:22:59.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,download. JSTOR had long come in for withering\Ncriticism from the net.
Dialogue: 0,1:22:59.04,1:23:04.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Larry Lessig called JSTOR a moral outrage\Nin a talk, and I suppose I have to confess
Dialogue: 0,1:23:04.08,1:23:12.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he was quoting me, and we weren't the only\Nones fanning those flames. Sequestering knowledge
Dialogue: 0,1:23:12.22,1:23:18.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,behind pay walls, making scientific journals,\Nonly available to a few kids fortunate enough
Dialogue: 0,1:23:18.72,1:23:25.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to be at fancy universities, and charging\N$20 an article for the remaining 99 percent
Dialogue: 0,1:23:25.33,1:23:28.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of us, was a festering wound.
Dialogue: 0,1:23:28.01,1:23:34.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It offended many people. It embarrassed many\Nwho wrote those articles, that their work
Dialogue: 0,1:23:34.05,1:23:42.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,had become somebody's profit margin, a members-only\Ncountry club of knowledge. Many of us helped
Dialogue: 0,1:23:42.00,1:23:49.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,fan those flames, and many of us feel guilty\Ntoday for fanning those flames, but JSTOR
Dialogue: 0,1:23:49.01,1:23:51.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was just one of many battles.
Dialogue: 0,1:23:51.06,1:23:56.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They tried to paint Aaron as some kind of\Nlone wolf hacker, a young terrorist who went
Dialogue: 0,1:23:56.00,1:24:05.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on a crazy IP killing spree that caused $92\Nmillion in damages, but Aaron wasn't a lone
Dialogue: 0,1:24:05.48,1:24:11.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,wolf. He was part of an army, and I had the\Nhonor of serving with him for a decade. You've
Dialogue: 0,1:24:11.49,1:24:19.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,heard many things about his remarkable life,\Nbut I want to focus tonight on just one.
Dialogue: 0,1:24:19.18,1:24:25.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Aaron was part of an army of citizens that\Nbelieves democracy only works when a citizenry
Dialogue: 0,1:24:25.00,1:24:30.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are informed, and we know about our rights\Nand our obligations, an army that believes
Dialogue: 0,1:24:30.06,1:24:36.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we must make justice and knowledge available\Nto all, not just the well-born, or those that
Dialogue: 0,1:24:36.83,1:24:42.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have grabbed the reins of power, so that we\Nmay govern ourselves more wisely.
Dialogue: 0,1:24:42.06,1:24:49.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He was part of an army of citizens that rejects\Nkings and generals and believes in rough consensus
Dialogue: 0,1:24:49.01,1:24:54.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and running code.
Dialogue: 0,1:24:54.06,1:24:58.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[applause]
Dialogue: 0,1:24:58.06,1:25:05.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We worked together on a dozen government databases.\NWhen we worked o something, the decisions
Dialogue: 0,1:25:05.35,1:25:11.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,weren't rash. Our work often took months,\Nsometimes years, sometimes a decade, and Aaron
Dialogue: 0,1:25:11.09,1:25:19.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Swartz did not get his proper serving of decades.\NWe looked at and poked at the US copyright
Dialogue: 0,1:25:19.08,1:25:27.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,database for a long time. It was a system\Nso old it was still running [inaudible 01:
Dialogue: 0,1:25:27.02,1:25:28.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,25:25] .
Dialogue: 0,1:25:28.14,1:25:29.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[laughter]
Dialogue: 0,1:25:29.14,1:25:35.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The government had, believe it or not, asserted\Ncopyright on the copyright database. Now how
Dialogue: 0,1:25:35.08,1:25:42.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you copyright a database that is specifically\Ncalled out in the United States Constitution
Dialogue: 0,1:25:42.70,1:25:49.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is beyond me. But we knew we were playing\Nwith fire by violating their terms of use.
Dialogue: 0,1:25:49.27,1:25:55.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So we were careful. We grabbed that data and\Nit was used to feed the Open Library here
Dialogue: 0,1:25:55.01,1:26:00.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at the Internet Archive, and it was used to\Nfeed Google Books, and we got a letter from
Dialogue: 0,1:26:00.06,1:26:06.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the Copyright Office waving copyright on that\Ncopyright database.
Dialogue: 0,1:26:06.27,1:26:11.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But before we did that, we had to talk to\Nmany lawyers and worry about the government
Dialogue: 0,1:26:11.21,1:26:16.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,hauling us in for malicious, pre-meditated\Nbulk downloading.
Dialogue: 0,1:26:16.02,1:26:17.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[laughter]
Dialogue: 0,1:26:17.01,1:26:22.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These were not random acts of aggression.\NWe worked on databases to make them better,
Dialogue: 0,1:26:22.70,1:26:29.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to make our democracy work better, to help\Nour government. We were not criminals. When
Dialogue: 0,1:26:29.21,1:26:36.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we brought in 20 million pages of US District\NCourt documents from behind their eight-cent-per-page
Dialogue: 0,1:26:36.50,1:26:43.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,PACER paywall, we found those public filings\Ninfested with privacy violations.
Dialogue: 0,1:26:43.29,1:26:49.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Names of minor children, names of informants,\Nmedical records, mental health records, financial
Dialogue: 0,1:26:49.74,1:26:56.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,records, and tens of thousands of Social Security\Nnumbers. We were whistleblowers, and we sent
Dialogue: 0,1:26:56.75,1:27:03.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,our results to the chief judges of 31 District\NCourts. And those judges were shocked and
Dialogue: 0,1:27:03.01,1:27:07.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,dismayed, and then redacted those documents,\Nand they yelled at the lawyers that filed
Dialogue: 0,1:27:07.73,1:27:12.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,them, and the Judicial Conference changed\Ntheir privacy rules.
Dialogue: 0,1:27:12.04,1:27:12.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[applause]
Dialogue: 0,1:27:12.09,1:27:19.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But you know what the bureaucrats did? You\Nknow what the bureaucrats did who ran the
Dialogue: 0,1:27:19.03,1:27:24.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Administrative Office of the United States\NCourts? To them, weren't citizens that made
Dialogue: 0,1:27:24.05,1:27:32.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,public data better. We were thieves that took\N$1.6 million of their property. So they called
Dialogue: 0,1:27:32.00,1:27:38.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the FBI. They said they were hacked by criminals,\Nan organized gang that was imperiling their
Dialogue: 0,1:27:38.08,1:27:47.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,$120 million per year revenue stream selling\Npublic government documents.
Dialogue: 0,1:27:47.02,1:27:53.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The FBI sat outside Aaron's house. They called\Nhim up, and tried to sucker him into meeting
Dialogue: 0,1:27:53.27,1:27:59.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,them without his lawyer. The FBI sat two armed\Nagents down in an interrogation room with
Dialogue: 0,1:27:59.47,1:28:03.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,me to get to the bottom of this alleged conspiracy.
Dialogue: 0,1:28:03.29,1:28:10.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But we weren't criminals! We were only citizens.\NWe did nothing wrong. They found nothing wrong.
Dialogue: 0,1:28:10.03,1:28:16.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We did our duty as citizens and the government\Ninvestigation had nothing to show for it but
Dialogue: 0,1:28:16.01,1:28:19.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a waste of a whole lot of time and money.
Dialogue: 0,1:28:19.50,1:28:26.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If you want a chilling effect, sit somebody\Ndown with a couple FBI agents for a while
Dialogue: 0,1:28:26.85,1:28:33.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and see how quickly their blood runs cold.\NThere are people who face danger every day
Dialogue: 0,1:28:33.31,1:28:39.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to protect us, police officers, and firefighters,\Nand emergency workers, and I am grateful and
Dialogue: 0,1:28:39.06,1:28:45.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,amazed by what they do, but the work that\Npeople like Aaron and I did, slinging DVDs
Dialogue: 0,1:28:45.03,1:28:51.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and running shell scripts on public materials,\Nshould not be a dangerous profession.
Dialogue: 0,1:28:51.09,1:28:59.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We weren't criminals, but there were crimes\Ncommitted, crimes against the very idea of
Dialogue: 0,1:28:59.08,1:29:06.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,justice. When the US attorney told Aaron he\Nhad to plead guilty to 13 felonies for attempting
Dialogue: 0,1:29:06.21,1:29:13.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to propagate knowledge before she'd even consider\Na deal, that was an abuse of power, a misuse
Dialogue: 0,1:29:13.33,1:29:15.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the criminal justice system.
Dialogue: 0,1:29:15.20,1:29:15.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[applause]
Dialogue: 0,1:29:15.99,1:29:25.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That was a crime against justice, and that\NUS attorney does not act alone. She is part
Dialogue: 0,1:29:25.37,1:29:32.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of a posse intent on protecting property,\Nnot people. All over the United States, those
Dialogue: 0,1:29:32.66,1:29:38.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,without access to means don't have access\Nto justice, and face these abuses of power
Dialogue: 0,1:29:38.85,1:29:40.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,every day.
Dialogue: 0,1:29:40.00,1:29:47.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was a crime against learning when a nonprofit\Ncorporation like JSTOR charged with advancing
Dialogue: 0,1:29:47.03,1:29:54.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,knowledge, turned a download, that caused\Nno harm and no damage, into a $92 million
Dialogue: 0,1:29:54.93,1:30:00.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,federal case, and the JSTOR corporate monopoly\Non knowledge is not alone.
Dialogue: 0,1:30:00.85,1:30:07.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,All over the United States, corporations have\Nstaked their fences on the field of education,
Dialogue: 0,1:30:07.54,1:30:13.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for-profited colleges that steal from our\Nveterans, nonprofit standard bodies that ration
Dialogue: 0,1:30:13.70,1:30:20.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,public safety codes while paying million dollar\Nsalaries, multinational conglomerates that
Dialogue: 0,1:30:20.00,1:30:26.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,measure the work of scientific papers and\Nlegal materials by their gross margins.
Dialogue: 0,1:30:26.05,1:30:27.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[applause]
Dialogue: 0,1:30:27.77,1:30:35.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In the JSTOR case, was the overly aggressive\Nposture of the department of justice, prosecutors,
Dialogue: 0,1:30:35.54,1:30:41.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and law enforcement officials revenge, because\Nthey were embarrassed that, in their view
Dialogue: 0,1:30:41.03,1:30:45.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at least, we somehow got away with something\Nin the PACER incident?
Dialogue: 0,1:30:45.44,1:30:51.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Was the merciless JSTOR prosecution the revenge\Nof embarrassed bureaucrats because they looked
Dialogue: 0,1:30:51.46,1:30:57.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,stupid in the "New York Times," because the\NUnited States Senate called them on the carpet?
Dialogue: 0,1:30:57.49,1:31:02.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We will probably never know the answer to\Nthat question, but it sure looks like they
Dialogue: 0,1:31:02.71,1:31:09.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,destroyed a young man's life in a petty abuse\Nof power. This was not a criminal matter.
Dialogue: 0,1:31:09.87,1:31:12.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Aaron was not a criminal.
Dialogue: 0,1:31:12.04,1:31:17.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If you think you own something, and I think\Nthat thing is public, I'm more than happy
Dialogue: 0,1:31:17.71,1:31:22.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to meet you in a court of law, and if you're\Nright, I'll take my lumps if I've wronged
Dialogue: 0,1:31:22.35,1:31:28.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you, but when we turn armed agents of the\Nlaw on citizens trying to increase access
Dialogue: 0,1:31:28.56,1:31:34.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to knowledge, we've broken the rule of law.\NWe've desecrated the temple of justice. Aaron
Dialogue: 0,1:31:34.73,1:31:37.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Swartz was not a criminal.
Dialogue: 0,1:31:37.05,1:31:38.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[applause]
Dialogue: 0,1:31:38.91,1:31:50.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Aaron Swartz was a citizen, and he was a brave\Nsoldier in a war which continues today, a
Dialogue: 0,1:31:50.01,1:31:56.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,war in which corrupt and venal profiteers\Ntry to steal, and horde, and starve our public
Dialogue: 0,1:31:56.33,1:31:59.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,domain for their own private gain.
Dialogue: 0,1:31:59.01,1:32:04.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When people try to restrict access to the\Nlaw, or they try to collect tolls on the road
Dialogue: 0,1:32:04.31,1:32:10.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to knowledge, or deny education to those without\Nmeans, those people are the ones who should
Dialogue: 0,1:32:10.62,1:32:19.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,not face a stern gaze of an outraged public\Nprosecutor. What the Department of Justice
Dialogue: 0,1:32:19.72,1:32:24.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,put Aaron through for trying to make our world\Nbetter is the same thing they can put you
Dialogue: 0,1:32:24.58,1:32:25.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,through.
Dialogue: 0,1:32:25.48,1:32:31.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Our army isn't one lone wolf. It is thousands\Nof citizens, many of you in this room, who
Dialogue: 0,1:32:31.00,1:32:37.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are fighting for justice and knowledge. I\Nsay we are an army, and I use the word with
Dialogue: 0,1:32:37.19,1:32:42.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,cause, because we face people who want to\Nimprison us for downloading a database to
Dialogue: 0,1:32:42.79,1:32:48.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,take a closer look. We face people who believe\Nthey can tell us what we can read and what
Dialogue: 0,1:32:48.03,1:32:49.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we can say.
Dialogue: 0,1:32:49.74,1:32:57.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But when I see our army, I see an army that\Ncreates instead of destroys. I see the army
Dialogue: 0,1:32:57.19,1:33:02.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of Mahatma Gandhi walking peacefully to the\Nsea to make salt for the people. I see the
Dialogue: 0,1:33:02.94,1:33:09.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,army of Martin Luther King walking peacefully\Nbut with determination to Washington to demand
Dialogue: 0,1:33:09.06,1:33:15.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,their rights. Because change does not roll\Nin on the wheels of inevitability, it comes
Dialogue: 0,1:33:15.24,1:33:20.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,through continuous struggle.
Dialogue: 0,1:33:20.31,1:33:23.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[applause]
Dialogue: 0,1:33:23.79,1:33:31.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When I see our army, I see an army that creates\Nnew opportunities for the poor. An army that
Dialogue: 0,1:33:31.21,1:33:36.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,makes our society more just and more fair.\NAn army that makes knowledge universal. When
Dialogue: 0,1:33:36.89,1:33:43.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I see our army, I see the people who have\Ncreated the Wikipedia and the Internet Archive,
Dialogue: 0,1:33:43.89,1:33:49.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the people who coded GNU and Apache and BIND\Nand Linux, I see the people who made the EFF
Dialogue: 0,1:33:49.83,1:33:55.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the Creative Commons. I see the people\Nwho created our Internet as a gift to the
Dialogue: 0,1:33:55.06,1:33:57.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,world.
Dialogue: 0,1:33:57.12,1:34:03.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When I see our army, I see Aaron Schwartz,\Nand my heart is broken. We've truly lost one
Dialogue: 0,1:34:03.41,1:34:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of our better angels. I wish we could change\Nthe past, but we cannot. But we can change
Dialogue: 0,1:34:10.00,1:34:16.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the future and we must. We must do so for\NAaron. We must do so for ourselves. We must
Dialogue: 0,1:34:16.29,1:34:22.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,do so to make our world a better place, a\Nmore humane place, a place where justice works
Dialogue: 0,1:34:22.37,1:34:26.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and access to knowledge becomes a human right.\NThank you.
Dialogue: 0,1:34:26.05,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[applause]