This post is going to discuss blockchain technology, but not in a technical way. In a philosophical way. So even if you’re not into crypto, stick around. What we’re really talking about is trust.
The Network
Balaji Srinivasan, deep thinker and one of the most important human beings alive, always talks about the new network features of our lives. He looks at everything through a lens of techno-philosophy, if that’s even a thing. He sees our lives as being, from here on out, permanently linked with technology. Not in a “we are cyborgs” kind of way, but in a “the Network is the natural next step in governance and social organization” kind of way.
He did an interview in August of last year with Sotonye. Here’s the link to the write-up of that interview:
And here’s a quote regarding The Network:
By the Network I mean the computer network, the social network, the internet, and now the crypto network. In the 1800s you wouldn’t steal because God would smite you, in the 1900s you didn’t steal because the State would punish you, but in the 2000s you can’t steal because the Network won’t let you. Either the social network will mob you, or the cryptocurrency network won’t let you steal because you lack the private key, or both. (emphasis mine)
But I fear that what we are creating here is artificial morality. That to me seems just as dangerous and unsustainable as the artificial (and violently enforced) state-imposed morality of the 20th century's nightmare nations. When you take people's ability (and incentive) to trust each other away, and make it so The State is now doing it for them, you are undermining one of the basic social structures of human existence. Now of course if you ask any 20th century historian, they’ll point out that this was obviously done on purpose. To undermine the public’s ability to function without The State. But I’m not looking at this as a historian per se - I’m looking at this through the lens of what is good for people as individuals.
When we outsource an emotional or spiritual human function to The State or The Network, I fear we are trading what is meaningful for what is expedient. What is human for what is scientifically efficacious. What is Good for what is “good.”
I mean sure it's a good thing that you don't have to worry about someone stealing from you if they literally cannot. That’s pretty cool.
But what happens to human beings' ability to trust each other? What happens to our offline interactions, if we even have those anymore? Are we going to walk around asking people for ID before we make small talk with them? Are we going to check people's social credit scores before we'll cooperate with them on a work project? Are we going to default to distrust, because we have let technology once again replace something that we as humans should be doing for ourselves?
Is our artificial bubble of safety going to pop when we are actually faced with the mystery and uncertainty that come with strangers and new social situations?
Are we willingly de-socializing ourselves?
I dislike it when people allow technology to take over portions of their lives that are vitally human. I mean of course it's cool to have a machine do a physical task for you. Or to automate your morning cup of coffee. (Even those are risky as far as I'm concerned, because these little experiences have such potential to brighten our lives and touch our senses. But that's beside the point.)
I dislike when automation and technology venture into territory that is emotional, spiritual, personal. It doesn't make any sense to me for what is fundamentally human to be driven (or replaced) by technology. Trust isn't something you can legislate, and it doesn't seem to me that it's something that can be written in computer code either. Such superimpositions actually tend to lead to a culture of distrust.
I suppose you can accomplish "trust,” with a lower-case "t," as in "we can rely on each other not to be fraudulent." But what about Trust, with a capital T? What about the mutual exchange of risk for benefit between two people, on a foundation of assumed cooperation? What about the human willingness to engage with other people out of simple goodness and a desire to connect? What about the followers of Christ letting strangers into their homes just because Christ said it was the right thing to do?
I’m not religious, but Christ said some pretty god damn smart things. He taught people to assume the best and be spiritually open to the worst.
The Human
So having said all that, what do we do about our Network State? Clearly we know that technology is moving forward whether we like it or not. The blockchain from here on out is going to run more and more of our lives whether we are emotionally prepared for that or not; whether we philosophically agree with it or not.
But does that mean that the Network is replacing something in us that we need to survive? Does that mean that we will forget how to use it? Will we forget how to engage with people financially, personally, in business, without a contract and an intermediary?
Does that mean we will be unwilling to befriend people unless they have lots of points or upvotes or internet-karma on whatever social media site we are arbitrarily using that decade?
Does that mean we will be reduced to nodes on a blockchain, and have all of our value as humans calculated mathematically?
I mean… we think having a credit score is arbitrary and suffocating now - imagine if everything in your life has a score and a permanently visible history attached to it.
And if our entire lives are programmed into the internet “for safety’s sake,” does that mean that people’s bad choices will ruin their lives permanently? If we make one mistake that can be quantified and put into computer code, will we be forever beyond redemption? And no one will ever want to be friends or colleagues with us again?
The blockchain can store our banking information. And it can allow us to make secure financial transactions. And it can allow us to adopt a verifiable identity and live in a trustless, forcibly-fair-and-just world. Theoretically, anyway.
But can the blockchain save us when we find ourselves unable to perform a basic function of human living?
I know this all sounds very Brave New World, very technocalypse. And forgive me for being such a grumpy, technology-fearing asshole.
When it comes to technology, I’m that old guy who sees the bad in everything. And it’s not because I’m a pessimist on advancement - it’s because I’m a radical optimist on what makes humans humans. Such as the conscious decision to trust. And the magic that comes from such spiritual strength. The wonderful relationships that can be built upon the risk of one’s own security for the chance at something better than oneself. I hate seeing us lose those things.
It seems to me like we must find ways to maintain our own health as technology pulls us forward. As more and more of who and what we are gets outsourced to machines, we must find activities and lifestyle choices that still allow us to harness and enjoy what it is to be abstract and complicated and human. Perhaps we can both embrace the tech and also maintain ourselves.
I am very, very open to opinions and feedback on this. I don’t have any answers right now. All I have are questions.
Drink some water if The State okays it,
JDR
“But I don't want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want sin.” - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World