We live in a world where data rules. Or so it seems. We stream, upload, video chat, game, track, message, and code—on a scale that was unimaginable even a decade ago. By some estimates, humans and our machines now create over six petabytes of new data every second, though much of it is transient or never stored. Meanwhile, our algorithms get smarter, sharper, and creepier by the byte. And quietly—underneath the flashy AI demos and 5G ads—a problem has been forming. A small, stubborn problem i...

We live in a world where data rules. Or so it seems. We stream, upload, video chat, game, track, message, and code—on a scale that was unimaginable even a decade ago. By some estimates, humans and our machines now create over six petabytes of new data every second, though much of it is transient or never stored. Meanwhile, our algorithms get smarter, sharper, and creepier by the byte. And quietly—underneath the flashy AI demos and 5G ads—a problem has been forming. A small, stubborn problem i...