The Machine Gaze: How Trevor Paglen Maps the Erosion of Visual Reality
Artist Trevor Paglen examines how computer vision and generative media have transformed images into operational tools of power and control.

In the ever-evolving landscape of digital security, the year 2025 has proven to be a pivotal point for technology and privacy.
As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to mature, it has unfortunately found a new calling in the realm of cyber threats.
These AI-driven attacks are not just a figment of science fiction; they are a very real, emerging threat that demands immediate action from all of us.
Google’s Gmail and Microsoft’s recent announcements underscore the urgency of this situation, highlighting the need for users to bolster their digital defenses.
A quiet but significant shift has been suggested by Microsoft, urging users to add a secondary email or recovery phone number to prevent losing access to their accounts.
This may seem like a simple step, but it is an essential precaution against the rising tide of AI-enabled cyberattacks.
The reality we face is stark: email, once a marvel of digital communication, is now a vulnerable relic in our interconnected lives.
It remains a critical hub for personal and professional exchanges, yet its security mechanisms are increasingly outdated.
The thought of relying on recovery emails to reset passwords in 2025 is, frankly, absurd.
We need a security overhaul, and the solution lies in passkeys.
For those unfamiliar, passkeys are a modern, sophisticated approach to digital security.
They blend hardware with biometrics, creating a robust barrier against unauthorized access.
While not without their initial hiccups, passkeys represent the best defense we currently have against the relentless advancement of cyber threats.
This is the future of security, and the transition needs to happen now.
The urgency of adopting passkeys cannot be overstated.
As AI becomes more adept at bypassing traditional two-factor authentication (2FA) and exploiting compromised passwords, the call to abandon these outdated methods grows louder.
The FIDO Alliance, a consortium advocating for the adoption of passkeys, reports that nearly 68% of enterprises prioritize their deployment.
This proactive stance is crucial, and it’s time for all tech giants—Google, Apple, Meta—to follow suit and lead the charge in this digital arms race.
But let’s not wait for corporate giants to catch up.
The onus is on us, the users, to take immediate action.
Setting up a passkey today could be the difference between falling victim to an AI-driven attack or thwarting it.
If a password remains necessary as a backup, ensure it’s coupled with the most secure form of 2FA available—an authenticator app, not SMS.
In this digital age, where the threat landscape is rapidly evolving, complacency is not an option.
The time to secure our digital lives is now.
Let’s act decisively, embracing passkeys and stronger security measures to protect our valuable data against the growing menace of AI-powered cyber threats.
The future of our online safety depends on it.
Artist Trevor Paglen examines how computer vision and generative media have transformed images into operational tools of power and control.
Abhishek Saxena’s work at Sentient targets the gap where open-source AI keeps losing: not capability, but economics—and his answer is infrastructure that automatically pays builders, maintainers, and evaluators every time their artifact is used, enforced by smart contracts rather than legal goodwill. By combining cryptographic fingerprinting, on-chain attribution, and grant funding with no equity attached, Sentient is building the coordination layer that would make open-source development financially rational enough to compete with a corporate salary.
As AI-generated content floods the digital landscape, Substack is empowering readers to verify the human origins of the newsletters they consume.