Steven Levy
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Steven Levy (born 1951) is an American journalist and Editor at Large for ''
Wired ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San ...
'' who has written extensively for publications on computers, technology, cryptography, the internet,
cybersecurity Computer security, cybersecurity (cyber security), or information technology security (IT security) is the protection of computer systems and networks from attack by malicious actors that may result in unauthorized information disclosure, t ...
, and
privacy Privacy (, ) is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves, and thereby express themselves selectively. The domain of privacy partially overlaps with security, which can include the concepts of ...
. He is the author of the 1984 book '' Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution'', which chronicles the early days of the computer underground. Levy published eight books covering computer hacker culture,
artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech ...
,
cryptography Cryptography, or cryptology (from grc, , translit=kryptós "hidden, secret"; and ''graphein'', "to write", or '' -logia'', "study", respectively), is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of adv ...
, and multi-year exposés of
Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus '' Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancest ...
,
Google Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...
, and
Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dust ...
. His most recent book, '' Facebook: The Inside Story'', recounts the history and rise of Facebook from three years of interviews with employees, including
Chamath Palihapitiya Chamath Palihapitiya (born 3 September 1976) is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian and American venture capitalist, engineer, SPAC sponsor, founder and CEO of Social Capital. Palihapitiya was an early senior executive at Facebook, working at the compan ...
,
Sheryl Sandberg Sheryl Kara Sandberg (born August 28, 1969) is an American business executive, billionaire, and philanthropist. Sandberg served as chief operating officer (COO) of Meta Platforms, a position from which she stepped down in August 2022. She is al ...
, and
Mark Zuckerberg Mark Elliot Zuckerberg (; born ) is an American business magnate, internet entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He is known for co-founding the social media website Facebook and its parent company Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook, Inc.), of ...
.


Career

In 1978, Steven Levy rediscovered
Albert Einstein's brain The brain of Albert Einstein has been a subject of much research and speculation. Albert Einstein's brain was removed within seven and a half hours of his death. His apparent regularities or irregularities in the brain have been used to support v ...
in the office of the pathologist who removed and preserved it. In 1984, his book '' Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution'' was published. He described a " hacker ethic", which became a guideline to understanding how computers have advanced into the machines that we know and use today. He identified this hacker ethic to consist of key points such as that all information is free, and that this information should be used to "change life for the better". Levy was a contributing editor to '' Popular Computing'' and wrote a monthly column in the magazine, initially called "Telecomputing" and later named "Micro Journal" and "Computer Journal", from April 1983 to the magazine's closure in December 1985. Levy was a contributor to
Stewart Brand Stewart Brand (born December 14, 1938) is an American writer, best known as editor of the ''Whole Earth Catalog''. He founded a number of organizations, including The WELL, the Global Business Network, and the Long Now Foundation. He is the auth ...
's '' Whole Earth Software Catalog'', first published in 1984. Levy won the "Computer Press Association Award" for a report he co-wrote in 1998 on the
Year 2000 problem The year 2000 problem, also known as the Y2K problem, Y2K scare, millennium bug, Y2K bug, Y2K glitch, Y2K error, or simply Y2K refers to potential computer errors related to the formatting and storage of calendar data for dates in and after ...
. Levy is writer and Editor at Large for ''
Wired ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San ...
''. He was previously chief technology writer and a senior editor for ''
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
''. Levy has had articles published in '' Harper's'', ''
Macworld ''Macworld'' is a website dedicated to products and software of Apple Inc., published by Foundry, a subsidiary of IDG Inc. It started life as a print magazine in 1984 and had the largest audited circulation (both total and newsstand) of Macin ...
'', ''
The New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine supplement included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. ...
'', ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'', ''
Premiere A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition. A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its fi ...
'', and ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
''. In December 1986, Levy founded the ''Macworld'' Game Hall of Fame, which ''Macworld'' published annually until 2009. He is regarded as a prominent and respected critic of Apple Inc. In July 2004, Levy wrote a cover story for ''Newsweek'' (which also featured an interview with Apple CEO
Steve Jobs Steven Paul Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American entrepreneur, industrial designer, media proprietor, and investor. He was the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Apple; the chairman and majority shareholder of Pixar; ...
) which unveiled the 4th generation of the
iPod The iPod is a discontinued series of portable media players and multi-purpose mobile devices designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The first version was released on October 23, 2001, about months after the Macintosh version of iTunes wa ...
to the world before Apple had officially done so.


Education and personal life

Levy received his
bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to si ...
from
Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then calle ...
and earned a master's degree in literature from
Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State becam ...
. He lives in New York City with his wife,
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made ...
winner Teresa Carpenter, and son.


Bibliography


Books

* '' Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution'' (1984) * ''The Unicorn's Secret: Murder in the Age of Aquarius'' (1988) * ''Artificial Life: The Quest for a New Creation'' (1992) * ''Insanely Great: The Life and Times of Macintosh, the Computer That Changed Everything'' (1994) * '' Crypto: How the Code Rebels Beat the Government Saving Privacy in the Digital Age'' (2001) * '' The Perfect Thing: How the iPod Shuffles Commerce, Culture, and Coolness'' (2006) * '' In The Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives'' (2011) * ''Facebook: The Inside Story'' (2020)


Essays and reporting

* * ''Wired'' often changes the title of a print article when it is published online. This article is titled "Bill Gates and President Bill Clinton on the NSA, Safe Sex, and American Exceptionalism" online.


References


External links


Steven Levy's website
* * *

Interview with Steven Levy about The Big Lebowski and his interview with the Coen Brothers.

Chalupa and Steven Levy talk about blogging, Twitter, internet security, etc. * *
C-SPAN ''Q&A'' interview with Levy on ''The Perfect Thing'', December 24, 2006
{{DEFAULTSORT:Levy, Steven 1951 births Living people Jewish American journalists American male journalists American bloggers American technology writers Science journalists Pennsylvania State University alumni Newsweek people Wired (magazine) people 21st-century American non-fiction writers American male bloggers 21st-century American Jews