The archive

Research

Long-form histories of the firms where software meets power. One subject at a time, written to last.

The founding, the funding, and the long road from classified contracts to a public listing. Updated through 2026.

An “Amazon for Big Data” — open, regulated data markets as a way out of the privacy trap. Revisited for 2026.

How the networks we joined to share photos became contested terrain for propaganda, recruitment, and influence.

The same data that let activists organize can let a regime find them first. A 2014 warning that largely came true.

Six machines built to earn genuine human affection — and what our readiness to bond with them foretold.

The displacement of marketing as a preview of what automation does to any job built on judgment.