SXSW 2019

A Crypto Anarchist or Crypto Authoritarian Future?

Description:

Blockchain emerged from libertarian roots, promising to reshape world by decentralizing power & returning it to individuals. Historically such technologies can fare poorly, hijacked by the very institutions they meant to disempower. Blockchains & cryptocurrency platforms born from cypherpunk & crypto anarchist idealism could also be corrupted to support more dystopian agendas. I’ll explore how crypto anarchy inspired blockchain & the promise it holds for a decentralized future. I’ll contrast that future with the possibility these technologies could be subverted into new infrastructures of state & corporate dominance. I’ll draw on illustrative case studies of other liberating technologies gone awry, discuss the threats blockchain technologies face, & explore strategies for avoiding failure.


Related Media


Takeaways

  1. How did blockchains and cryptocurrencies emerge from a libertarian-minded, crypto anarchist idealism promising to give power back to individuals?
  2. How have other technologies promising decentralization and democratization been subverted and hijacked to create infrastructures of centralized power?
  3. What strategies should we adopt to avoid past mistakes and ensure that blockchain technologies live up to the ideals of their original visionaries?

Speakers


Organizer

Lance Hayden, Assistant Professor, University of Texas School of Information


Meta Information:

  • Event: SXSW
  • Format: Solo
  • Track: Blockchain & Cryptocurrency
  • Track 2
  • Level: Intermediate


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