Protecting Privacy in the Digital Age with Dr. Leslie Gruis

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Today we sit down with Dr. Leslie Gruis — mathematician, NSA veteran, and author of The Privacy Pirates — to talk about the urgent importance of protecting personal information in our tech-driven world.

From children’s online privacy to the rise of corporate data exploitation, Dr. Gruis shares both her insider experience from decades in national security and her practical advice for safeguarding our digital lives.

📚 About our guest:

• First president of the NSA’s Women in Mathematics Society
• Contributor to U.S. Cyber Command & National Intelligence Council
• Author of The Privacy Pirates: Pirates of Personal Data
• Mentor and advocate for STEM students

🔑 In this episode you’ll learn:

• Why privacy is essential to democracy
• The risks kids face with school-issued laptops & smartphones
• How corporations collect and exploit our personal data
• What parents and educators can do today to protect children
• The ethical questions surrounding AI, surveillance, and data use

🎙️  Show Notes & Topics we cover:

• Defining informational privacy in the 21st century
• Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (and why it’s outdated)
• School-issued laptops and surveillance concerns
• Corporate data collection, sentiment analysis, and manipulation
• The asymmetric power between consumers and corporations
• Why protecting privacy is vital for democracy

🔗  Links

• Buy The Privacy Pirates
• Follow Dr. Leslie Gruis 
• Follow Women Talking About AI:
  • 📺 YouTube
  • 📰 Substack

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• Jessica's LinkedIn
• Kimberly's LinkedIn