Cryptocurrencies have achieved decentralization on a global scale, and this trend has been accelerating since 2021.
Author: Deep Tide TechFlow
Balaji is an American entrepreneur, investor, and a highly creative philosopher and thinker. He was a co-founder of Earn.com (later acquired by Coinbase) and Counsyl, the former CTO of Coinbase, a partner at a16z, and the author of the book "Network State".
Yesterday, he participated in an AMA with the community, delving into a wide range of topics related to politics, economics, and technology. Deep Tide has selected some of his answers, including interesting questions about network states, the process of decentralization, longevity/immortality, and current bioscience.
Moreover, among the questioners were heavyweight figures, such as the following 6 questions posed by Vitalik:
- It seems that since 2021, the momentum of "finding alternatives to old San Francisco" has weakened, with demands for artificial intelligence and "returning to the office" leading to a resurgence of centralization. In the current context, what are your new thoughts on how to break this network effect and create more practical geographical freedom?
Balaji: I believe we are still moving towards at least three technological poles (which I call NYT, CCP, BTC) and a decentralized center that cleverly combines them.
Why? Because: (a) cryptocurrencies have achieved decentralization on a global scale, and this trend has been accelerating since 2021, while (b) the execution of artificial intelligence encourages decentralization (because people may ask questions from different perspectives).
(c) I think there are more variables in U.S. regulations/economy. For example: the ban on autonomous vehicles in San Francisco/California indicates that they will hinder the adoption of more new technologies. We will see if a small group of technologists in this most technologically advanced city can earn billions of dollars by disrupting many blue-collar jobs through artificial intelligence…
Basically, my point of view is: San Francisco is important but not absolutely necessary. Yes, we can recapture the city through the "Gray Tribe" strategy. But it may also be swallowed by a more powerful blue (tech) political force, which opposes the disruption of artificial intelligence. (Gray = "decentralized center")
- What is the best example you have seen of "blockchain as a ledger"?
Balaji: I think wijuwiju.eth's interface.social has an excellent Twitter-style interface on the Ethereum blockchain. This is exactly what we want—a very familiar user interface displaying events with verifiable encryption.
- On which issues do you most disagree with the "Indian middle-class elite"? Or on which issues do you most disagree with the "Silicon Valley middle-class tech venture capitalists"?
Balaji: The "Indian middle-class elite" has not yet realized that the living standards of tech professionals in India are gradually surpassing those in the West. This is why seemingly irrelevant discussions about Bangalore and San Francisco spread widely on Twitter. Refer to this tweet.
A more interesting answer may involve the role of Indian expatriates. Expatriates are part of the Indian nation and network, but not the Indian state. My thoughts on this are different, but I think they are starting to be accepted, refer to this article.
- What is the greatest value that a network state can provide to the host country (or should try to provide)?
Balaji: The obvious value is economic. Providing more capital to the locals than they currently have. I think this is necessary. But it's not enough. You also want many locals to become "dual citizens," such as Bitcoin Americans or Ethereum Japanese.
- In the short term, what are the most reasonable and practical autonomy/legal concessions that a network state should seek from the host country government?
Balaji: The minimum autonomy required to live the way you want within the community's consensus social agreements allows you to do many things.
- What types of people did you not anticipate would be interested in the idea of a network state?
Balaji: I am surprised that people from many different regions around the world can understand this concept so quickly, even without translation. Two examples:
There are also some people I completely did not anticipate would be interested, who do not prioritize the same things as me, but do want to build a community together. For example, among those eager to change the current world situation, supporters of network states come more from the progressive left than the center-left.
The following questions are derived from other Q&A compilations in Balaji's AMA.
- What does "home" mean to you? Which cities, places, etc., make you feel most at home, and why?
Balaji: "Home" is the main screen of my phone.
Just kidding, seriously, I like a stable physical environment, but I don't particularly care where it is. I just want a place where I can drink coffee, take a walk in the sun, and think quietly. It doesn't have to be luxurious.
- Should network states be formed as DAOs (decentralized autonomous organizations)? If so, which platform should be used (e.g., Ethereum, Bitcoin, or others)?
Balaji: From a technical perspective, the platform is not important; the community is crucial. Whether you can attract 10 paying members and keep them engaged regularly sounds both easy and difficult.
- Have you read Vitalik's new post "d/acc"? (tldr, his view on technological optimism) If so, how compatible is it with the Gray/Network State movement?
Balaji: It's a good post. I might write something with more evolutionary/biological perspectives soon, as I think this may be the best precedent for us to think about the evolution of silicon-based intelligence.
- What is your opinion on the possibility that network state governance may be more susceptible to social media influence than more traditional existing governance?
Balaji: My answer is, please think about Trump.
More broadly, all governance is influenced by social media. Just as traditional finance is becoming as unstable as decentralized finance.
The only solution is to face it head-on. We need to establish internet-first institutions that can deal with the instability of the internet.
- What is the most compelling argument you have encountered against Bitcoin (i.e., one that you think is reasonable)?
Balaji: Apple, Google, and Microsoft pose systemic risks to the entire cryptocurrency system (including Bitcoin) because they can implant backdoors into private keys through software updates. You can check out this tweet.
- When do you expect the first country similar to a network state to appear?
Balaji: It took 13 years from the whitepaper to El Salvador recognizing Bitcoin. So we'll see…
- How do you view online organizations with distributed property?
Balaji: In the foreseeable future, it will "just be" a multinational corporation. There are many known entities with global real estate, from Hilton and Starbucks to construction and tech companies. It depends on what you want to do.
- Can network states be combined? Will there be networks of network states (cities, countries, alliances)?
Balaji: Yes, network states can be combined. I have elaborated on this in the book. In short, you can imagine it as Starbucks acquiring part or all of Peet's Coffee and changing the brand to make your Starbucks card usable. This is the case of two network parts or complete mergers.
- What is your opinion of Poland?
Balaji: Eastern Europe could become the new Western Europe. If the U.S. leaves Ukraine to decide for itself, Poland will need to address its relationship with Russia. Apart from that, there are many things to like about Poland's positioning.
- What are the most exciting recent developments in the field of biomedicine today?
Balaji: I am most looking forward to the field of longevity research. Please refer to:
- What is currently in a low position (industry, concept, internet subculture) that you think will be in a high position in 5 to 8 years?
Balaji: Bro science (fitness and diet-related). It will become the basis for self-experimentation, leading us towards longevity and human 2.0.
- Much of the discussion focuses on creating increasingly smaller tribes, with relatively little discussion about increasing global cooperation. How do you balance the need for larger bonds and narratives in the formation of civilizations with the fact that innovation mainly occurs in small groups with fast iteration speed?
Balaji: I think we are seeing a centralized East and a decentralized West. In the East, large-scale entities still exist, while in the West, small-scale entities are increasing, and this is also the case in regions that were previously stable in the West.
- What was your early life like, between the ages of 5 and 16? And what do you think contributed the most to shaping who you are today?
Balaji: K-12 was like a prison for me. But it eventually gave me a knowledge of physics and self-learning abilities, back when the internet was not yet widespread.
How would I describe myself more accurately? I'm really not a computer guy, but I've always been a math enthusiast.
- When governments begin to notice that people are more inclined to align with their network state rather than the physical nation, does this lay the groundwork for some kind of conflict? If so, how should network states respond? Should they become a political party?
Balaji: Yes, this may lay the groundwork for a conflict. When people identify more with the network state than the physical nation, it may trigger a struggle for power and control.
I think political movements are an intermediate stage between network communities and network states. Whether to become a political party in a specific country is yet to be determined, but it is indeed an option.
- Based on the information you currently have, how far are humans from achieving "immortality"?
Balaji: Much closer than we imagine. Impressive results have already been achieved in animals like mice.
- What is the next short-term goal?
Balaji: To complete the final version of the book "Network State"—including the paperback, hardcover, audiobook, translations, and open-source code repository.
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