I've felt for a long time that the issue of ID is critical to the internet infrastructure.
It can go one of two ways: IDs that can map to humans. And IDs that are impossible to trace.
If we build the ID system of the future, we can have untraceable IDs. This would mean humanity would be impossible to control. Imagine 4chan, everywhere, running for office, voting, etc...
If the government has its way, then privacy will be an unthinkable concept.
It all comes down to blockchain technology. Its impact will be bigger than the internet. The biggest factor: does a decentralized platform, like Ethereum, win out? Or does a centralized system developed by the likes of Gates or Cuckerberg win? If we have a true, decentralized blockchain platform backing basically internet 3.0, then I believe we'll have a true golden age. And if a centralized system? Basically roll 1984, blade runner, terminator, total recall, brave new world, minority report, and every dystopian novel, all into one
I am not one of those who puts much trust into blockchain technology. They way it works, there are no secrets. Everyone knows everything about everyone.
I think it all comes down to trust. Who are people willing to trust for ID? If it's the government, then we are screwed. If it's each other, then we'll do fine.
One "dream" I had is what would happen if everyone ran their own bank? And not just one bank, but thousands? Each bank would issue its own currency, and rate the value of other bank's currencies. In order for two banks to arrange a transfer of funds, they would have to either trade currencies with each other or find a third party willing to trade in currencies they trust.
I remember back in the day, in the early 2000s, when people used PGP to encrypt their messages and sign them. You put your trust not in people but in their public keys. No government could control that sort of arrangement. No government can take a key, and if they did, it would be milliseconds until that key would lose all trust.
Your dream is essentially what decentralized blockchain accomplishes, just as decentralized blockchain would be a system in which we "trust each other," as opposed to the government. And even that isn't so much true, as it's trusting an immutable, permanent ledger where the data/info can not be changed or altered. As for "there are no secrets," it depends on the blockchain we're talking about. True, bitcoin isn't anonymous as they originally claimed, but plenty others are completely anonymous. But anonymity isn't the biggest issue here, anyway. The use cases are almost infinite, too, some of them already occuring (Brave Browser is a great example of a primitive use of blockchain tech and how it could influence how we consume information and interact with the internet)
I'm going to be a pedantic hardass right now, not because I don't like you, but because I WANT something to be true, but I don't want to fool myself.
Trust each other: We're really not trusting each other. If I know you, and you know me, and we trust each other, blockchain does nothing. Blockchain is about putting your trust in a large group of people -- a large group that CAN be manipulated by someone with practically infinite resources -- governments, large corps, etc...
I think the question of "trust" is key here. If Internet 3.0 is not trustworthy, it's dead on arrival. People need trust. They need privacy. They need security. And they need freedom. These things all contradict each other, but we want it all.
I've felt for a long time that the issue of ID is critical to the internet infrastructure.
It can go one of two ways: IDs that can map to humans. And IDs that are impossible to trace.
If we build the ID system of the future, we can have untraceable IDs. This would mean humanity would be impossible to control. Imagine 4chan, everywhere, running for office, voting, etc...
If the government has its way, then privacy will be an unthinkable concept.
It all comes down to blockchain technology. Its impact will be bigger than the internet. The biggest factor: does a decentralized platform, like Ethereum, win out? Or does a centralized system developed by the likes of Gates or Cuckerberg win? If we have a true, decentralized blockchain platform backing basically internet 3.0, then I believe we'll have a true golden age. And if a centralized system? Basically roll 1984, blade runner, terminator, total recall, brave new world, minority report, and every dystopian novel, all into one
I am not one of those who puts much trust into blockchain technology. They way it works, there are no secrets. Everyone knows everything about everyone.
I think it all comes down to trust. Who are people willing to trust for ID? If it's the government, then we are screwed. If it's each other, then we'll do fine.
One "dream" I had is what would happen if everyone ran their own bank? And not just one bank, but thousands? Each bank would issue its own currency, and rate the value of other bank's currencies. In order for two banks to arrange a transfer of funds, they would have to either trade currencies with each other or find a third party willing to trade in currencies they trust.
I remember back in the day, in the early 2000s, when people used PGP to encrypt their messages and sign them. You put your trust not in people but in their public keys. No government could control that sort of arrangement. No government can take a key, and if they did, it would be milliseconds until that key would lose all trust.
Your dream is essentially what decentralized blockchain accomplishes, just as decentralized blockchain would be a system in which we "trust each other," as opposed to the government. And even that isn't so much true, as it's trusting an immutable, permanent ledger where the data/info can not be changed or altered. As for "there are no secrets," it depends on the blockchain we're talking about. True, bitcoin isn't anonymous as they originally claimed, but plenty others are completely anonymous. But anonymity isn't the biggest issue here, anyway. The use cases are almost infinite, too, some of them already occuring (Brave Browser is a great example of a primitive use of blockchain tech and how it could influence how we consume information and interact with the internet)
I'm going to be a pedantic hardass right now, not because I don't like you, but because I WANT something to be true, but I don't want to fool myself.
Trust each other: We're really not trusting each other. If I know you, and you know me, and we trust each other, blockchain does nothing. Blockchain is about putting your trust in a large group of people -- a large group that CAN be manipulated by someone with practically infinite resources -- governments, large corps, etc...
I think the question of "trust" is key here. If Internet 3.0 is not trustworthy, it's dead on arrival. People need trust. They need privacy. They need security. And they need freedom. These things all contradict each other, but we want it all.