UAE Tech is an exploration on how technology is merging with government in the United Arab Emirates.

In this promo edition we’re really lucky to have the inimitable John McAfee help us launch the series. In America, the UK and CommonWealth John is a household name.

For our listeners in the Middle East, John is the mind behind the first ever commercial antivirus software. McAffee antivirus sold to Intel in 2011 in a deal valued at $7.68 billion dollars.

In the intervening years, John McAfee has become known for a libertarian political position in part driven by the possibilities of technology. His interests in cybersecurity, freedom from government interference and network science have drawn him towards Bitcoin, the blockchain and Satoshi Nakamoto’s famous white paper on a peer to peer electronic cash system.

This conversation with McAffee is not UAE specific, but it does highlight two themes at the center of this series. The first is how emerging technologies like cryptocurrency are breaking down national borders and established financial and political systems.

The second is how governments themselves are responding to co-opt or merge with these very same technologies.

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