Kwyjibo: From Pronounceable To Parody

John Aycock, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Stevenson Hall 1300
12:00 PM - 12:50 PM

his is the story of an algorithm. A former student and I developed this algorithm, Kwyjibo, as a key part of a system to simulate the Internet for a computer security course. Kwyjibo held a secret, however, one that we kept quiet about for two years until other researchers revealed it. Then it was open season: I could finally study how far this algorithm could be pushed for nefarious purposes. But not all applications of Kwyjibo were bad, and an attempt to re-apply the algorithm for education led me serendipitously to parodying Mitt Romney with the help of the computer. Kwyjibo's story touches on computer science education, computer security, ethical issues in research, algorithm engineering, and ultimately art and politics.