J. Bradley Chen
Abstract: Are internet technologies inherently safe? Are they predisposed to honesty and integrity? Some may have thought so when the Internet was new, but our accumulated experience with issues like ransomware, misinformation, and harassment suggests problems that merit more thoughtful consideration. This talk will share a vision for a safer internet based on excellent privacy, excellent safety, and a balanced approach to enforcement and prevention. We will explore the structure of abusive online behavior, how pre-existing offline systems use reputation and accountability to manage abuse, and how these approaches could apply to online media. Sound implementations of enforcement and prevention can enable a virtuous cycle that creates a bias towards honesty and integrity, making online media a net positive force for society.
Bio: J. Bradley Chen is the area tech lead for Prevention in Google’s Privacy, Safety, and Security organization. Previously he led Prevention and Revenue Engineering efforts at YouTube. Before YouTube, Dr. Chen started and managed the Native Client project in Google Chrome, bringing safe native code to millions of users. Chen served on the faculty of Harvard University from 1994-1998 and has published widely on the subjects of computer systems security, performance, and computer architecture. Dr. Chen has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Stanford University and a Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University.