Extend engineer Bo Lau has created a detailed website that simulates the desktop environment of Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes using public documents from the United States v. Elizabeth Holmes trial. Released to promote her company Extend and an upcoming documentary watch party, the interactive site lets users browse through thousands of emails, slides, texts, and documents from 2016.
The simulation allows visitors to click around the environment to inspect court case documents displayed on simulated iPhone and laptop screens. Users can even interact with a simulation of the ill-fated Theranos Edison machine, which was originally designed to extract health data from a single drop of blood. This web-based project offers an alternative way to navigate evidence from the trial compared to sorting through thousands of PDFs on court websites.
The project serves as a promotional tool for both Extend and a watch party for Nathan Fielder's upcoming documentary about Elizabeth Holmes titled You Can See Everything. Through the interactive experience, Lau showcases Extend and its document-parsing capabilities. This application highlights an inventive approach to exploring historical tech industry documents.
Why it matters: This interactive simulation provides an accessible, engaging new way for the public to explore thousands of pages of court evidence from one of the most high-profile trials in technology history.