"Architecture is Politics." This phrase has been repeated so often it has become a mantra. But why is it true? Why have ordinary engineering decisions become so politically charged?
Lawrence Lessig, a lawyer who has observed our culture carefully, repeats this mantra to us in an accusatory tone. Last spring he gave a talk at MIT in which he said directly: "I accuse you technologists of not using the credibility of your position to tell a better story to the world." I got the impression from him that this accusation was meant for us in Tech Square in particular.
Why? Is there something special about the work done in this lab that gives us a particular political responsibility? Are we failing in that responsibility? Why is this happening to us? In this talk I will present a framework of ideas to help answer these questions, and deliver my own interpretation of Lessig's accusation.