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Intercepted Transmissions

The real science behind the fiction. Research notes, threat analysis, and the technology you should probably know about.

March 15, 2026

● Featured

Predictive Policing Is Real. Here's How It Actually Works.

The AI surveillance technology behind Seventeen Seconds isn't fiction. Cities across America already use predictive policing algorithms to forecast crime and score citizens. The results are about what you'd expect.

real-science seventeen-seconds AI surveillance predictive-policing law-enforcement-technology

March 10, 2026

● Featured

AlphaFold Changed Biology Forever. What Happens When Someone Misuses It?

Google DeepMind's AlphaFold protein structure prediction AI solved a 50-year-old biology problem. The Fold explores the terrifying flip side: what if someone used protein folding AI to design a weapon instead of a cure?

real-science the-fold biology AI AlphaFold protein-folding biosecurity

March 5, 2026

Your Social Media Feed Is Not Random. It's a Radicalization Pipeline.

Social media recommendation algorithms don't show you what's true. They show you what keeps you scrolling. Research proves they push users toward extreme content. The Mirror explores what happens when someone weaponizes that on purpose.

real-science the-mirror social-media radicalization algorithmic-radicalization recommendation-algorithms YouTube-algorithm

February 28, 2026

Data Brokers Are Selling Your Identity for Less Than a Pizza

The $250 billion data broker industry sells your home address, phone number, workplace, and daily routines to anyone with a credit card. No background check required. Here's how it works and why SOLD is the most personal series I'll ever write.

real-science sold data-brokers privacy digital-surveillance personal-data identity-theft

February 20, 2026

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A Real Algorithm Is Deciding Which Families Get Investigated by CPS

The Allegheny Family Screening Tool uses predictive AI to score families for child welfare investigations. It's running right now in Pennsylvania. FLAGGED asks what happens when the algorithm gets it wrong.

real-science flagged child-welfare predictive-algorithm CPS Allegheny-Family-Screening-Tool AI-bias

February 12, 2026

What Happens When a Deepfake Hits a Small Town?

Deepfake detection technology can't keep up with deepfake generation. In small communities where everyone knows everyone, a convincing fake video can destroy lives before anyone proves it's not real. The Quiet explores what happens next.

real-science the-quiet deepfakes AI-generated-video misinformation small-town social-trust

February 5, 2026

Prior Authorization Delays Kill People. The Numbers Prove It.

Health insurance prior authorization denies or delays treatment for millions of Americans every year. Exposed internal documents show some insurers use AI to auto-deny claims. DENIED is a thriller about what happens when the algorithm optimizes for the wrong thing.

real-science denied health-insurance prior-authorization AI-healthcare insurance-denial healthcare-system

January 25, 2026

● Featured

Why I Write Systems Horror (And Why You Should Be Paying Attention)

Systems Horror is a new genre of thriller fiction where the villain isn't a person. It's the system itself. Predictive policing, insurance algorithms, data brokers, social media radicalization. These systems are already running. I just write about what happens when they break.

systems-horror thriller-genre author-blog R-O-Walters techno-thriller Michael-Crichton Blake-Crouch

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