Ethan Mollick Revisits His 2005 Hacking History Paper to Draw a Parallel With AI
emollick · x · 2026-10-09
Ethan Mollick recalls a paper he wrote at the start of grad school in 2005 about the original computer hacking, phreaking, and BBS scene. Its key finding: hackers were often driven by curiosity, but the tools they built were widely exploited by "Script Kiddies," who caused most of the damage and chaos.
He invokes this history to frame today's discussion of AI-enabled hacking — suggesting that when powerful tools become easy to use, the greatest harm comes from mass misuse rather than elite technical actors.
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