According to Cointelegraph, Edward Snowden, a prominent privacy advocate and former contractor for the National Security Agency (NSA), recently spoke at Near’s Redacted conference in Bangkok, Thailand. During his address, Snowden delved into the topics of decentralization, cryptocurrencies, artificial intelligence, and blockchain technology. He particularly highlighted the influence of venture capital (VC) on blockchain projects, using Solana as a case study.
Snowden described Solana as "born in prison" due to its substantial VC funding, suggesting that such financial backing could hinder a blockchain network's ability to function independently. While acknowledging Solana's rapid growth, he expressed concerns about the significant ownership ceded to investors. However, he noted that Solana has the potential to "become something" in the future. Snowden emphasized the critical role of decentralization in safeguarding against the expansive surveillance capabilities enabled by AI. He warned that AI-driven surveillance could allow governments and corporations to process vast amounts of personal data in real-time, potentially leading to large-scale live data analysis.
In his critique of Solana's early VC investment, Snowden focused on how such funding could undermine the decentralization and autonomy of blockchain networks. He referenced a previous instance involving venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), which used its 15 million Uniswap (UNI) token holdings to vote against a proposal to deploy Uniswap v3 on the BNB Chain. This action outweighed the initial 20 million votes for "yes" against the 4.9 million votes for "no," highlighting the control that large, centralized stakeholders can exert over decentralized projects.
Snowden also advocated for open-source tools as a crucial means of countering centralized control, emphasizing their ability to empower individuals. He described open-source models as "incredibly empowering," enabling users to better understand and apply blockchain technologies. Snowden encouraged individuals to adopt open-source AI tools to maintain autonomy in a centralized space, urging listeners and users globally to embrace these technologies. He concluded by asserting that the potential of open-source tools is limitless, encouraging individuals to utilize them to their fullest extent.
