Hacker ethic term "hack" arose from MIT lingo, as the word had long been used to describe college pranks that MIT students would regularly devise. However, Levy's hacker ethic also has often been quoted out of context and misunderstood to refer to hacking as in breaking into computers, and so many sources incorrectly imply that it is describing the ideals of white-hat hackers. However, what Levy is talking about does not necessarily have anything particular to do with computer security, but addresses broader issues. The hacker ethic was described as a "new way of life, with a philosophy, an ethic and a
Severin Hacker that that it would be accessible for non-English speakers. They felt that automated translation software wasn't as effective as using the skills and knowledge of bilingual speakers. During Hacker's doctoral studies, Duolingo became a by-product of this idea, or "happy mistake." Hacker's goal for Duolingo was to make it "100% free" so the most disadvantaged person with an internet connection would still have access to it. Hacker and his team of PhD students used machine learning to personalize Duolingo to each user. Specifically, they wanted to predict what language concepts the user was on the verge of forgetting. In 2012,