the future is now

Julian Assange Appeared in Nantucket Via Hologram

Julian Assange followed in the footsteps of Ronald Reagan and Tupac on Sunday, appearing as a hologram at the Nantucket Project. Thanks to recent advancements in science magic, the WikiLeaks founder was sort-of present for an interview at the TED Talk-like conference, though he’s still holed up in the Ecuadorean embassy. Assange took the opportunity to discuss his new book When Google Met WikiLeaks, and continue his public feud with the company’s CEO, Eric Schmidt. 

Assange said the cover of Schmidt’s new book How Google Works is “remarkably similar” to his book’s cover, and argued that while Google wants to be seen as “not even a company at all, but something that gives free services,” by collecting and indexing troves of personal information, it’s doing “basically what the National Security Agency is doing.”

The interview ended with an awkward and only somewhat-successful attempt at a high five, making hologram Michael Jackson’s posthumous Billboard Music Awards performance seem more impressive (but still creepy as hell).

Julian Assange Appears in Nantucket Via Hologram