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USENIX Security '18-Q: Why Do Keynote Speakers Keep Suggesting That Improving Security Is Possible?

USENIX · talk · Watch on YouTube

Security & hackingSatire & parodyMachine learning & deep learning

What it is

James Mickens's humorous USENIX Security keynote argues that improving security and trusting opaque technology like machine learning is far harder than the industry admits.

Why Hacker News recommends it

HN considers it a classic, hilarious and sobering talk on ML inscrutability and tech hubris, often rewatched.

  • 10 people recommended it
  • 10 different months
  • 4 strong recommendations
  • first 2018, last 2026

What HN commenters said

  1. “His keynote at USENIX Security 2018 is by far the best summation of the dangers of ML that I've ever seen.”

    Hilarious summation of the dangers of ML

    _wldu, 2019-10 · Strong recommendation · in “James Mickens’ Tenure Announcement”

  2. “Nearly all talks by James Mickens are a laugh a minute.”

    Classic funny and technically excellent talk

    jamesblonde, 2024-01 · Strong recommendation · in “Ask HN: What talks do you consider real gems?”

  3. “well worth the watch, even if you already agree it's brilliant cathartic humour”

    Brilliant cathartic humor about inscrutable ML

    tomxor, 2024-07 · Strong recommendation · in “Explainability is not a game”

  4. “I re-watch it fairly often”

    Decade-old talk still applies to current tech trends

    vizzier, 2026-01 · Strong recommendation · in “Was Vibe Coding a Ruse?”

  5. “You might be interested in this keynote by James Mickens”

    James Mickens humorous security keynote

    tempodox, 2018-10 · Recommendation · in “Google Home (in)Security”

  6. “This is long, but worth watching”

    Long talk arguing ML is inscrutable black magic

    w8rbt, 2019-08 · Recommendation · in “How to Start with Machine Learning”

  7. “James Mickens, using logic and humor, makes this point in a way that even geeks might understand.”

    Humorous, logical argument that impact matters more than intent

    specialist, 2020-06 · Recommendation · in “Police have been spying on black reporters and activists for years”

  8. “one of my faves”

    A favorite conference talk among good technical video content

    bawolff, 2021-09 · Recommendation · in “Ask HN: Have you found it difficult to get quality technical content on YouTube?”

Excerpts from Hacker News comments, linked to the originals. Summaries and labels were written by a language model from those comments.

Topics: james mickens, security, machine learning, humor, keynote

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