&gt; But at the same time, we technologists as a class knew academically that these capabilities could be abused, but nobody actually believed they would be abused. Because why would you do that? It seemed so antisocial as a basic concept.<p>I guess so? Not me though. Snowden literally only proved what I had learned on my own.<p>&gt; But we were confronted with documented evidence in 2013 that even what most people would consider to be a fairly forthright upstanding government was abusing these capabilities in the most indiscriminate way.<p>Um. Who thought this? Ever? Since the 90s.