CYBERSPACE

Many projects are dedicated to identifying the threats to human existence but very few offer paths for what to aim for instead. In light of humanity’s countless challenges, pessimism, negativity, and fatalism about the future are likely traps. Instead of lowering our expectations to fit reality, we need to keep in mind that nothing is stopping us from changing reality to meet our hopes and dreams. Here we want to explore what it means to act from a place of existential hope about the future, rather than a place of existential angst.

Cryptocommerce

A Tour of Recent Cryptographic Technologies- Ben Garfinkel. Introduction to major cryptographic techniques, their history, and potential long-term future applications.
Intelligent Cooperation Group - Foresight Institute. Recordings of an application-based seminar group on long-term progress in cryptocommerce, security, and AI.

Agoric Open System Papers - Eric Drexler, Mark S. Miller. Classic papers on software agents participating in computational markets for digital assets and resources.
Bitcoin: A Peer to Peer Electronic Cash System - Satoshi Nakamoto. Classic paper that introduced bitcoin.
Smart Contracts - Nick Szabo. Classic paper that introduced the concept of smart contracts.
Crypto: An Oral Essay - A16z Podcast. Introductory essay on crypto basics.
What is a Blockchain? - MIT. Explainer on history, mechanisms, and applications of blockchains.
The Bitcoin Standard - Saifedean Ammous. On the rise of Bitcoin, focusing on the economic properties that have allowed it to grow, and its economic, political, and social implications.
Check Your Financial Privilege - Alex Gladstein. On how Bitcoin helps support human rights, and fight financial repression inside authoritarian regimes around the world.
Vitalik.ca- Website. Vitalik Buterin’s personal website with regular posts on crytpoeconomics.
FredEhrsam - Website. Fred Ehrsam’s personal website on how crypto will create new money, institutions, and the internet.
Cypherpunks, The Cypherpunk Mailing List - Archive. FAQ and mailing list from the cypherpunk community that was instrumental in building much of the cryptocommerce of today.
Bitcoin and the End of History - Reason. Documentary about a few cypherpunks and their contributions to building today’s cryptographic infrastructure.
If I Hardforked: A Doxxing of Satoshi Nakamoto - Andrew Miller. Poem about forking.

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Computing

The Arrival of Quantum Computing - Will Zeng. Introductory post on quantum computing and its future implications.
The Stack - Benjamin Bratton. On planetary-scale computing and its implications for sovereignty.
Quantum Computing Q&A: Scott Aaronson, Constructor Theory | Chiara Marletto - Foresight Institute. Seminar recordings on quantum computing and beyond.

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Surveillance

The Transparent Society - David Brin. On “reciprocal transparency” in the face of surveillance that seems unavoidable given the future costs of sensors and economic and political incentives. Also as recording: Defend Against Physical allisonThreats | David Brin - Foresight Institute.
Nanarchy - Mark S. Miller. On surveillance and defenses against it.
The Age of Surveillance Capitalism - Shoshana Zubock. On the rise of tech giants’ surveillance power that enable extreme concentrations of knowledge and are free from democratic oversight.
Rekt - DeFi investigative journalism, mostly exposing hacks.
DarkNet Diaries - Podcast about hacktivism, exploits, and cybercrime.

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Energy

Bitcoin Energy Consumption Index - Digiconomist. Provides the latest estimate of the total energy consumption of the Bitcoin network.
A Proof of Stake Design Philosophy - Vitalik Buterin, critique by Tuur Demeester and follow up article. On Proof of Stake as an alternative to the energy-intensive Proof of Work in blockchain technology.
Nothing is Cheaper than Proof of Work - Paul Sztorc. On how alternatives to Proof of Work may not be more energy-efficient than proof of work.

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Security

A Computer Will Destroy Humanity but it Won’t be Artificially Intelligent - George Hosu.
Cyber, Nano, and AGI Risk - and Decentralized Approaches to Reduce Risk - Christine Peterson, Mark S. Miller, Allison Duettmann.
The Malicious Use Of Artificial Intelligence: Forecasting, Prevention, and Mitigation - Miles Brundage et al. with a section on cybersecurity.
Cyberwar - Richard Clarke.
Ethereum is a Dark Forest - Dan Robinson, Georgios Kontantopolus.
Simulation Inferences - Gwern.

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Tools

Computersecurity As The Future of Law - Mark Miller.
Network State - Balaji Srinivasan.
What Do I Think About Network States? - Vitalik Buterin. Replies to Balaji’s book with a few suggestions for modifications around externalities and inclusivity.
Gaming the Future - Mark Miller, Christine Peterson, Allison Duettmann. On cryptocommerce’s potential to help humans cooperate and defend against existential risks.
Crypto Tools for Paretotopia - Juan Benet. On how economic growth and cryptography-tools can help advance civilization toward pareto preferred worlds.
AI DAOs and Three Paths to get There - Trent McConaghy. Also: Nature 2.0. Combines and extends AI and blockchain into a symbiosis of biology and machine, for a future of abundance.
Impact DAOs - Kevin Owocki, Alejandra Borda. Book mapping out ImpactDAOs in the web3 space.
DeSci - Vincent Weisser. Explainer on Decentralized Science with link list.
DeSci: Tech Trees to Fund Ambitious Science & Tech - Allison Duettmann. On decentralized technology trees to find and fund undervalued scientific areas to advance crucial scientific domains.
Radical Markets - Eric Posner, Glen Weyl. Also: Decentralized Society: Finding Web3’s Soul - Glen Weyl, Puja Olhaver, Vitalik Buterin.On how quadratic funding, soul-bound tokens, and other crypto-innovations can reinvent much of our existing economy in crypto and enables the creation of entirely novel institutions.
Endgame - Vitalik Buterin. On making large blockchains trustless and censorship resistant.
Why Cryptoeconomics and X-Risk Researchers Should Listen to Each Other More - Vitalik Buterin. On fruitful intersections between Crypto and X-risks.
Crypto-Economic Approaches to X-risks - Allison Duettmann. Talk on various X-risks and which crypto tools could be useful in addressing them.
A View of the Future of Our Data - Matt Prewitt. On how data coalitions can help provide humans with self-sovereign data ownership.
SeL4: Formal Proofs of Real-World Cybersecurity | Gernot Heiser - Foresight Institute. On the SeL4 microkernel as a promising component of a viable computer security approach.
Dominant Assurance Contracts | Alex Tabarrok, Tools for Openness | Audrey Tang, Zero-knowledge Cooperation | Zooko, Cryptocommerce Tree, Crypto, Computing & AI Tree, Split Contracts - Foresight Institute. Seminar recordings on novel cryptographic tools to experiment with solutions for cooperation challenges across individuals or collective action problems.
How the Extropians Quest for Digital Cash Secured our Trips to the Stars - Aaron van Wirdum. Article on how extropians were crucial in advancing early crypto, space, and other futurist developments.

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Manifestos

A Cypherpunk’s Manifesto - Anon. Introducing the mission and goals of the cypherpunks.
Crypto Anarchist Manifesto - Tim May. Introducing the mission and goals of crypto anarchism.
Declaration of Independence of Cyberspace - John Perry Barlow. Classic speech delivered at Davos in favor of an independent cyberspace realm.

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Fiction

Neuromancer - William Gibson. Early defining cyberpunk, not always positive.
Snow Crash - Neal Stephenson. Introducing the concept of the metaverse.
Islands In The Net - Bruce Sterling. On the decreasing relevance of nation states to individual human lives and geopolitics.
True Names - Vernor Vinge. Early sci-fi story on cyberspace, shaping the cyberpunk genre.‍

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Staying Up to Date: Conferences, News, Podcasts

Financial Cryptography Conference with Bitcoin Workshop Track - A major international forum for research, advanced development, education, exploration, and debate regarding information assurance, with a specific focus on commercial contexts.
Ethereum Conferences - Events to meet people in the global Ethereum community, learn about employment opportunities, and develop new skills.
DWeb Conference. Internet Archive’s Decentralized Web conference.
DefCon - Hacker and security conference.

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Gearing into Action: Projects and Organizations

Satoshi Nakamoto Institute - has early Email lists, protocols, background resources on Bitcoin.
Electronic Frontier Foundation - An international non-profit digital rights group.
Internet Archive - A non-profit library of millions of free books, movies, software, music, websites, and more.
Center for Long-term Cybersecurity - Is developing and shaping cybersecurity research and practice based on a long-term vision of the internet and its future.
OpenMined - We are on a mission to help each member of society to answer their most important questions by empowering them to learn from data owned and governed by others.
Ethereum Foundation - Dedicated to supporting the Ethereum blockchain and related technologies.
Protocol Labs - We build protocols, tools, and services to radically improve the internet.
Gitcoin - A platform where you get paid to work on open source software.
RMIT - A blockchain innovation hub.
SeL4 Foundation - Sel4-focused computer security foundation.
Plurality Research Network - Convenes researchers from computer science, political ethics, sociology, and government, who are experimenting with plural technologies.

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