Hacker News Reader

There is something oddly nostalgic about foreign policy pre-smartphone.

People could hide in the shadows, spies didn't sit in offices all day, deals were made in cigar smoke without the fear of out-of-context leaks to twitter.

People from that era are still giving interviews though: https://youtu.be/r4wLXNydzeY?si=j_-Njj2c7h6V30QA

View on HN

All matters of importance in foreign policy are still universally conducted face to face, not over telecommunications.

Multiple generations of intelligence agents have hidden electronic surveillance in every nook and cranny that might be graced by a foreign dignitary. In the 70s, only a few nation-states had the resources to pull this off, but the commercialization of computer technology has brought about a world where 4K cameras and microphones are ubiquitous.

Face to face interaction is still undeniably powerful, especially if persuasion is necessary. Even phone calls are more powerful than most people might realize. I wouldn't expect face to face meetings to ever really go away.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com