Forgotten Memories. T. Kohno. IEEE Security & Privacy Magazine, January-February 2026.
[ AI companions, AI digital twins, and terms of service ]
To the Stars, Dead or Alive. T. Kohno. IEEE Security & Privacy Magazine, November-December 2025.
[ Neural implants and the Ship of Theseus ]
{In Earth} Until (Ready). T. Kohno. IEEE Security & Privacy Magazine, March-April 2023.
[ "If only there were a way to program a being to be ethical from the start. Then, Hudson and every other AI would not need to suffer through life after life after life in the simulation until they learned, through experience, how to live an ethical life"]
[ A jury must judge whether an artificial intelligence led a good life ]
The Our Reality Privacy Policy. T. Kohno. IEEE Security & Privacy Magazine, November-December 2022.
[ "In 2040, Our Reality, Inc. asked one of its junior lawyers to rewrite its privacy policy. Unfortunately, it was late on a Friday evening, and the lawyer wanted to be elsewhere…"]
[ A satire on privacy policies and mixed reality devices ]
The David and the Fig Leaf. T. Kohno. HyphenPunk, September 2022.
[ Misinformation in the metaverse ] [ Simulation Hypothesis (philosophy) ] [ Experience Machine (philosophy) ]
[ "Sofia blinks twice on [Aiden’s] avatar and sees the 'Certified accurate representation' indicator. Strange. ... His hair could not have grown that much in just a few weeks." ]
[ Twitter thread about this story and the background research ]
The Schuhmacher. T. Kohno. IEEE Security & Privacy Magazine, September-October 2022.
[ "Still, he trusted his magical connection with his shoes. So, he kindled a fire and set to work. ... Now, if a customer handled a pair of shoes but did not buy them, the shoes would follow them — day and night — until they chose to buy them or five days passed."]
[ A medieval shopkeeper uses magic to create targeted, persistent ads ]
The Buffet Overflow Café. T. Kohno, C. Cobb, A. Lerner, M. Lin, and A. Shostack. IEEE Security & Privacy Magazine, July-August 2022.
[ The Buffet Overflow Café is a restaurant for dining cryptographers and cybersecurity professionals ]
Mx. President Has a Brain. T. Kohno. IEEE Security & Privacy Magazine, May-June 2022.
[ A short story featuring brain-machine interfaces, targeted advertising, customer loyalty programs, parent-child monitoring systems, software updates, computer security, and more ]
Excerpts From the New Dictionary of Cybersecurity, 2036. T. Kohno. IEEE Security & Privacy Magazine, May-June 2022.
[ Computer security and privacy definitions from the year 2036 ]
The Glowing Bonsai And The Kintsugi Pot. T. Kohno. After Dinner Conversation, March 2022.
[ Infrared-activated bioluminescent plants manipulate computer vision algorithms in autonomous vehicles ]
[ Twitter thread about this story and the background research ]
[ Also appearing in the After Dinner Conversation - Season Six anthology ]
Civilizations. T. Kohno. Little Blue Marble, May 2021.
[ A NASA scientist hears the Earth think ]
[ Also appearing in the Little Blue Marble 2021: Tipping Points anthology. ]
Our Reality: A Novella. T. Kohno. 2021. [ PDF ]
[ This story explores the relationship between society and technology, including racism and other isms and technology. This story also builds on UW Security Lab research exploring the future of augmented reality technologies and other Lab research (see the companion document) ]