blockchain – Looks Like New

How do you give a technology to its community?

MEDLab — Thu, 23 May 2024 18:00:00 +0000

Online technologies have often taken on a life of their own when a community forms around them. Users put their tools to use in ways the designers never expected. What would it mean to truly hand ownership and control of tools to the people who rely on them most? This month, we turn to Anjali and James Young, the founders of Collab.Land, a piece of software used by thousands of online communities. In 2023, they distributed control of their product to their users, thanks to a blockchain-based token and a cooperative company. But this was not a straightforward process. They explain their hopes and their challenges in attempting this “exit to community.”

What exactly are tokens, anyway?

MEDLab — Thu, 22 Feb 2024 18:00:00 +0000

Rachel O’Dwyer is a writer and researcher whose work looks at digital economies and culture. Her writing touches on online transactions, art markets, programmable money, and alternative currencies. Rachel’s work probes the social and political landscapes that these technologies bring into being.

She serves as a lecturer in digital cultures at the National College of Art and Design in Dublin, Ireland. Her first book, Tokens: The Future of Money in the Age of the Platform, was published in 2023.

Rachel’s work digs into the complexity of financial exchange. How especially in the digital era, payment and the platforms and tools that we use to do it bring different social relations into being. Her work offers an ethnography of sorts, drawing on real-life research she’s conducted into money burners and Bitcoin fanatics.

She’s a bracing critic of the connection between big tech and big finance yet offers frameworks for a hopeful future.

In this month’s episode, we dive into what tokens are, what makes them different from regular money, and how they matter today.

Can blockchain offer artists and galleries a way to work together?

MEDLab — Fri, 15 Dec 2023 18:41:10 +0000

With the rise of NFTs, blockchain and cryptocurrency took the art world by storm. But often, this meant doubling down on art’s status as a financial asset. However, this technology could have a place in the art world beyond the speculative churn of NFT markets.

How can blockchain help build an ecosystem where artists and galleries support each other – one where creators have sovereignty over their data, and see it preserved for generations to come? In this episode, we hear from Kelani Nichole, the founder of TRANSFER Gallery, which exhibits digital art both online and IRL. She explains the challenges of preserving and maintaining media art, why “artist data sovereignty” is so important, and where blockchain fits into her vision of digital art’s sustainability.

How is crypto taking hold in India?

MEDLab — Thu, 23 Mar 2023 22:57:05 +0000

Being an entrepreneur in the international cryptocurrency market involves numerous challenges—from government regulations to cultural context. These challenges play out very differently around the world. The conversation revolves around cryptocurrency in India, web3 entrepreneurship, and cryptocurrency technology-based arcades for gamers. Nikita Menon speaks with Siddharth Menon, a founder of various startups including Tegro, WazirX, and Crowdfire. He shares his experiences as a serial entrepreneur and highlights how blockchain can shape the future of diverse industries around the world, from art to gaming.

Are blockchain developers creating the new internet?

MEDLab — Wed, 01 Mar 2023 19:05:34 +0000

Blockchain was created to build democratic systems but more often than not we see stories of scams, frauds and attacks. Despite these allegations, there are a few builders who continue to work towards improving this technology; builders who wish to see a democratic internet being enabled by the blockchain.

Hari Anantharaman speaks with Austin Griffith to understand what it means to be a builder in web3. Based in Colorado, Austin is a member of the Ethereum foundation and an educator aiming to teach more people Web3 development. In this month’s feature, Austin talks about his curriculum SpeedRunEthereum and further discusses how the blockchain helps build a fair internet.

Can blockchain technology support mutual aid?

MEDLab — Thu, 22 Dec 2022 22:03:53 +0000

Cryptocurrency has been in the news this past month after a cascade of bankruptcies unraveled a web of fraud. This comes after a year of already declining markets recast the 2021 crypto boom in a dark light. However, the headlines usually stick to flashy financial projects with big bottom lines.James Brennan speaks with Marisa Rando from PactDAO to learn how mutual aid can be served by blockchain – without ever adding a price tag to anything. Based in New York City, Pact uses decentralized tech to help coordinate community action. Marisa walks listeners through how Pact is navigating this unique middle ground of decentralized tech and local organizing.

Can Blockchains Stop War Crimes?

MEDLab — Thu, 23 Jun 2022 21:50:22 +0000

These days it seems like cryptocurrencies and blockchains are mostly enabling abuses: speculative bubbles, malware attacks, and money laundering for rogue states. But could the same technology also hold powerful governments and corporations accountable?

Jonathan Dotan directs the Starling Lab at Stanford University and USC, which uses emerging cryptographic technology to document human rights abuses, from the Holocaust to the current war in Ukraine. Dotan explains how his lab leverages tools usually associated with money and finance to preempt misinformation in the fog of war.