(2016-04-08) Wenger Against Technological Determinism Blockchains And Encryption

Albert Wenger: Against Technological Determinism: Blockchains and Encryption. When the web first emerged I remember vividly the excitement that I and many others felt about the potential for decentralized and permissionless publishing...A massive shift of power to the people.

Fast forward to 2016 and we have an internet where much of the activity is dominated by a few super large (BigTech) players with centralized platforms, most notably Facebook and Google.

And because production functions based on information are supermodular these network effects are now leveraged into adjacent spaces (which is made easier by massive profitability).

The key takeaway though: technology by itself doesn’t want anything. It makes things possible.

it comes down to what we as humans want our society and economy to be like

I am pointing this out because we are making a similar mistake in the pursuit of blockchains and encryption

Blockchains and encryption once again broaden the space of the possible. But in and of themselves again this technology does not want anything.

There are still plenty of centralizing forces in the world, in particular the existing and growing concentration of capital and information. Let me give two concrete examples.

The first are offshore entities for hiding capital

The second are medical records

If we want to reap the benefits that blockchain and encryption technologies can have for increasing individual freedom then it is not enough to build them. We must also want to change ourselves and society accordingly. And that requires a critical dialog about what regulatory and belief changes are necessary so that we can accomplish these through democratic processes.