Human behavior can be considered instinctual and “hard-wired” on many levels – the need for food when hungry, connection when lonely, safety when threatened. But sometimes the speed of technological change makes it hard to predict how our biology – and our culture-driven impulses – will respond. Online privacy is one such area. How do our stone-age minds determine how much privacy we really need? And more important, what happens when those boundaries are crossed? Anthropology and Evolutionary Psychology offer clues as to where we draw the line between privacy and disclosure. By focusing on our hard-wired instincts, we’ll be better able to address the current moment, and understand how expectations of privacy may evolve to fit our online lives, the digital world, and technology.

Programming descriptions are generated by participants and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SXSW.