30s Summary

At a conference in Bangkok, whistleblower Edward Snowden criticised blockchain project Solana, suggesting an overdependence on venture capital threatens its independence. Snowden emphasised the importance of self-governance for such projects, given the increasing surveillance capacities of governments and corporations, aided by AI technology. He also raised concerns about large initial venture capital investments threatening the independence of blockchain networks, relating this to an instance when venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz used its voting power to reject a proposal. Snowden advocated for the use of open-source tools to enhance understanding of blockchain technology and challenge centralized control.

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At a conference in Bangkok, Edward Snowden, known for his advocacy for privacy and his past work with the National Security Agency (NSA), chatted about a variety of topics. These included digital currencies, artificial intelligence (AI), and the tech behind digital currencies, known as blockchain.

Solana, one of these digital currency projects, was called out by Snowden for being too tied to venture capital, or big-time investor cash. He suggested that this could stop its ability to act on its own. Despite its quick growth, Snowden worries that Solana has given too much power to its big funders, but he did mention that Solana might end up doing something cool in the future.

Throughout his speech, Snowden emphasized how important it is for projects like these to act independently. This comes as a counter to the growing ability of governments and big businesses to keep tabs on every single thing we do, especially with the help of AI. With AI, these bodies can process heaps of personal data all at once, which could let them observe live data from a ton of people:

“They want to train it on everything and be able to spot who looks out of the ordinary… Look at everybody and pick out anybody who is weird.”

Snowden questioned how large initial investments from venture capital could threaten the independence and self-governance of blockchain networks, like Solana. It was similar to an issue raised when venture capital firm, Andreessen Horowitz, used their voting power derived from their huge fund, to strike down a new proposal.

Snowden signaled that this situation displays how large outfits can control projects meant to be decentralized, or independent from central authorities.

Snowden also rooted for ‘open-source’ tools, or software that anyone can modify or share, to challenge this concentration of control. In Snowden’s view, open-source is empowering and lets people grasp and use blockchain tech way better.

“The bottom line is, you guys can do this on your own… I’m telling you guys you don’t know, that if you’re not using it, you need to use this… The possibilities are endless.”

Snowden sees open-source AI as a chance for regular people to stay independent in a centralized space. He encouraged everyone at the speech and users globally to adopt these tools.