Here’s a riddle for you: when does something you paid good money not actually belong to you? Answer: when that device is part of the Internet of Things. Why? Because without the express permission and continued support of the company that sold you that device, it becomes a worthless piece of junk. All of our modern “smart” devices are inextricably tied to their cloud-based services and automatic software updates. In part 1 of my interview with Cory Doctorow, we’ll talk about how we got into this situation, including several shocking examples.

Cory Doctorow is a science fiction author, activist, journalist and blogger. He’s the author of several novels including HOMELAND, LITTLE BROTHER and WALKAWAY. He is the former European director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and co-founded the UK Open Rights Group.