Thread by @Keira_Havens

I want to tweet every single line of this article by @Jetjocko in @wired but I’ll start with this one: “The idea that should run freon through your cortex is that Jeffrey Epstein likely helped plant some thoughts there” wired.com/story/jeffrey-… 1/x

@jetjocko @WIRED It is the most concise, well written article I’ve seen yet on the damage that willful blindness and continued engagement with Epstein has wrought. What ideas did he help shape? What other ideas got ignored? wired.com/story/jeffrey-… 2/x

@jetjocko @WIRED The magnitude of those two questions should cause every single scientist working at the intersection of humankind and technology to pause, from biotechnologists to AI developers. 3/x

@jetjocko @WIRED Scientists, is the thing you’re working on contributing to this legacy? How do you know it is or isn’t? What is your own personal litmus test for whether you are supporting Epstein’s vision of the world or not? 4/x

@jetjocko @WIRED Part of the reason I am continuously horrified by these revelations is that Epstein lives in my brain, somewhere, in the narratives he funded and helped shape. The scientific discipline that I thought could change the world is rooted in those stories. 5/x

@jetjocko @WIRED It’s not hypothetical. Epstein was engaged in #scicomm as part of Seed Media Group, crafting our understanding of how technology shapes and is shaped by us, claiming authority over questions like “The Meaning of Life” 6/x

@jetjocko @WIRED Who else served in this capacity? What other vision informed the magazine that looked at the intersection of science and society? Unrepentant racist and sexist James Watson, alongside Epstein confederate Maxwell. 7/x

@jetjocko @WIRED Receipts. WayBack Machine showing Watson/Maxwell web.archive.org/web/2007081901…
Original complaint alleging Epstein’s involvement: cases.justia.com/federal/distri…, )

@jetjocko @WIRED Watson did not hide who he was. There is no way to have worked with the man and known him for anything other than a bigot. And this, this is who was responsible for directing and award winning #scicomm magazine. 8/x

@jetjocko @WIRED It is completely disturbing to watch these connections emerge from the dark. 9/x

@jetjocko @WIRED @jetjocko writes the beating heart of it in his article: “These men—it’s almost entirely men—have defined the way culture has thought about, absorbed, and acted on technological change. And their inner circle included a monster.” 10/x

@jetjocko @WIRED It sickens me to say it, but entire fields have been shaped by the influence of Jeffrey Epstein, both financial and philosophical. The institutions and leaders who continued to work with Epstein are responsible for this. 11/x

@jetjocko @WIRED This is why the letter of support for Joi Ito is so wrenching. Because it does not acknowledge that Ito is responsible unknowingly or otherwise for the propagation of Epstein’s interests. He failed his institution.

https://twitter.com/dearsarah/status/1166284339937570816?s=19

12/x

@jetjocko @WIRED After his own apology, @geochurch signed this letter to support Ito. By his own admission, George had “nerd tunnel vision” when it came to Epstein. That same tunnel vision is keeping him locked into institutions and leadership that have failed him. It is disappointing. 13/x

@jetjocko @WIRED @geochurch After I left the military, I watched one of the best commanders I know take responsibility for a systemic problem that came to a head on his watch. It cost him a star and his career. It was the right thing to do. 14/x

@jetjocko @WIRED @geochurch True leadership lies in public acknowledgement of your failure to protect your people and the willingness to bear the consequences of that failure. There are more leaders out there. There are more visions. We do not need to keep the same people in charge. 15/x

@jetjocko @WIRED @geochurch It is not vindictive to hold people to account. It is not a betrayal to acknowledge harm. It is essential. Without that, the wound festers. @dearsarah talks about this complicated relationship in great detail.

https://twitter.com/dearsarah/status/1166443450750787584

16/x

@jetjocko @WIRED @geochurch @dearsarah Science & scientists, let’s have some courage. Lets, as @jetjocko says “bust open the doors, fling wide the windows”. Let’s expose the rot. 17/17 wired.com/story/jeffrey-…