Peter Diamandis interviews Edward Snowden at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, January 7, 2016.
Don Clark for The Wall Street Journal
Edward Snowden, at risk of arrest if he enters the United States, attended the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nev., anyway–thanks to the magic of telepresence.
The controversial former National Security Agency contractor and whistle-blower appeared virtually at the booth of Suitable Technologies Inc., maker of the Beam telepresence device, where he was interviewed by Peter Diamandis, founder of Xprize Foundation and executive of chairman of Silicon Valley’s Singularity University.
Mr. Snowden, whose location was not disclosed, discussed government surveillance as well as technology trends. He sounded both optimistic and pessimistic notes about prospects for privacy in the digital age.
“Technology is both a tool for oppression and a tool for liberation,” Mr. Snowden said.
Mr. Snowden, who fled to Russia and faces arrest if he returns to the U.S., spoke enthusiastically about technologies like virtual reality that allow people to experience the sensation of being in distant places or artificial environments.
But he also sounded alarms about the U.S. government’s policy of collecting telephone records in bulk rather than information about targeted subjects.
One outcome, Mr. Snowden said, was the possibility that innocent citizens would curb their speech out of fear that the government would someday use their statements against them. “It can create a chilling effect,” Mr. Snowden said.
Mr. Snowden expressed excitement about Beam and other technologies that allow him to virtually attend events in the U.S., noting that the U.S. government cancelled his passport when he went to Russia in 2013. “Yet here I am sitting here in Las Vegas at CES,” he said.
Beam, which has a video camera as well as a display, is designed to let people situated remotely move around and view company offices and other spaces. Mr. Diamandis said he had 28 Beams at Singularity University, a half-dozen at Xprize’s offices and one at his home.
Asked if he wanted to come home, Mr. Snowden said “absolutely.” But he said the U.S. government has not given him sufficient assurances about how he would be treated.
“So far, the U.S. government has only promised not to torture me,” Mr. Snowden said.
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