Privacy advocate and former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden spoke about decentralization while attending Near’s Redacted conference in Bangkok, Thailand.
While speaking on topics such as cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence, and blockchain technology, Snowden also spoke about the influence of venture capital (VC) on blockchain projects, citing Solana as an example.
He described Solana as “born out of prison” due to massive VC funding, suggesting that financial backing could hinder the blockchain network’s ability to operate independently.
While Snowden acknowledged Solana’s rapid growth, he expressed concern that too much ownership had been transferred to investors. But he did note that Solana could “be something” in the future.
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Decentralization as a safeguard against surveillance and AI
Throughout his speech, Snowden emphasized the importance of decentralization to counter widespread surveillance capabilities enabled by AI.
He warned that AI-based surveillance could allow governments and corporations to process large amounts of personal data in real time, potentially paving the way for large-scale, real-time data analytics.
“They want to train you on everything, and be able to tell who looks anomalous (…) look at everyone, look at the entire human body, and pick out the weird ones.”
Edward Snowden speaking about decentralization, Solana, and AI at Redacted on November 10th. Source: Cointelegraph
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VC funding impact
Snowden’s criticism of Solana’s initial VC investments focused on how such funds could undermine the decentralization and autonomy of blockchain networks.
He cited concerns previously reiterated in a vote by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) against a proposal to deploy Uniswap v3 on the BNB chain.
The venture firm used its 15 million Uniswap (UNI) token holder votes on February 5 to cast an initial 20 million votes (80.28%) for “yes” and 4.9 million votes (19.72%) for “no”. surpassed it.
This example, presented by Snowden, highlighted the control that large, centralized stakeholders can exert over decentralized projects.
Bubble infographic showing a16z’s share of votes against the proposal. Source: Tally
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open source FTW
Snowden also championed open source tools as an essential medium for countering the centralization of control and touted their ability to empower individuals.
He described the open source model as “incredibly empowering,” allowing users to understand and apply blockchain technology “much better.”
“The bottom line is you can do this yourself. (…) I’m telling you that you don’t understand. If you don’t use it, you have to use this (…) the sky is the limit.”
Snowden sees open source AI as an opportunity for individuals to maintain autonomy in centralized spaces, and encourages listeners at his talks and users around the world to adopt these tools.
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