John Threat

BIO

Portrait of John Threat - Renowned hacker, futurist, and digital artist

John Lee is a computer hacker, creative futurist, writer/director, artist, and professor.

Co-founder of RIP SPACE, an AI-native culture lab whose current export is Vibe Code Jam — live collaborative coding events with AI. The recent NYC event with Anthropic and Rhizome drew 1,400 attendees.

Strategic Foresight & Futures Thinking
Working with think tanks on long-term technological and social trends. Association of Professional Futurists member. Currently exploring democratic intelligence systems and AI governance, and previewing Atlas 11, a private global OSINT tool.

Cybersecurity & Hacker Culture
Historical perspective on the evolution of hacking, current threat landscape, and ethical implications of emerging technologies.

AI & Creative Technology
Practical applications of AI in creative fields, including machine learning for content generation and human-AI collaboration.

Short List

Animated media graphic representing John Threat's digital presence and influence

Kennedy Center AI Expert
Hauser Wirth Ursula Mag 2025
Vibe Code Jam Creator
Artist
Director
Writer
Visiting Professor
RIP SPACE [Riot in Process]
Association of Professional Futurists
Solarpunk
Hacker
Cyber Warfare
Cover of Wired Magazine
60 Minutes
PS1/MOMA
Wikipedia

Press

Wired Magazine cover featuring John Threat - iconic cybersecurity magazine appearance

Selected Press

Hauser Wirth - Ursula Magazine


Wired Magazine
60 Minutes
Village Voice
Japanese TV NHK Interview
Aliya S. King: interview
Eagle TV: Zukunft Garten
Cover of Washington Post Style Section
Inside Magazine
The Industry Standard
SHIFT Magazine
MASS APPEAL

Director

Selected Works:

INFINITICA 2025 film project poster - John Threat's latest directorial work
INFINITICA_ 2025
Memory Thieves Teaser Music Video: Allen Farben
Music Video: MNDR
DEAD Prez Doc for Starz
OIL: AI Generated Conspiracy Doc
ORCA: AI Generated Conspiracy Doc

Writer

Selected Work:

Narrative:

The Drone Thief
The Undefeatable Hacking Agency
Emily Makes the World Go Round: Space DJ
The Memory Thieves original treatment

Articles:
The WaterGee Speculative Fiction For Compass Mag

Music Video Treatments:
Young The Giant - Mind Over Matter
Little Mix: Move
Bruno Mars - Young Girls
Cailin Russo - Pink Sand

Documentary:
There Is No Tomorrow
The Dark Side Of Gaming

Artist

Selected Works:
Zukunft Garten Installation 2023 - John Threat's interactive digital art installation Zukunft Garten Installation 2023 Winzig Zukunft Garten 2025 - Live performance piece at LACMA featuring interactive technology Winzig Zukunft Garten 2025 [live at LACMA]
Gen Zeit installation - Multi-user climate change futures interactive experience Gen Zeit: Multi-user climate change futures

Geil Zeit
Denniston Hill artist in residence
PS1/MOMA artist in residence

Futurist

Selected Public Associations:

Association of Professional Futurists
VISIONS 2030

Speaker

John Threat delivering keynote speech at DEFCON - cybersecurity conference presentation
Keynote At DEFCON
DEFCON CDC PANEL
University of Chicago Lecture
Kennedy Center AI Lecture

Professor

John Threat teaching in classroom - Hacktivism and Rebellion 101 course
Hacktivism//Rebellion 101 2024
Solarpunk/Hacktivism 2023
Vibe Coding for Futuring 2025

Products

Hacker's Brew coffee product - Specialty coffee brand for hackers
Hacker's Brew
A coffee for hackers
Vibe Code Jam
Vibe Code Jam
A livecode event using AI

Atlas Eleven
A private OSINT tool.

Zip Clothing
A release of Iomega/Zip products as lifestyle brand.

MVGEN.COM
A programmatic GIF video generator

Urban Expose
A journalistic experiment [sold]