2024 ABS Asia Blockchain Summit Enters Plurality Summit, with Heavyweights from the Cryptocurrency and Democratic World – Ethereum Co-founder Vitalik Buterin and Former Minister of Digital Audrey Tang, Concluding a Wonderful Conversation.
Summary:
In the final day of the ABS 2024 Asia Blockchain Summit, Ethereum Co-founder Vitalik Buterin and former Minister of Digital Audrey Tang, both heavyweights in the cryptocurrency and democratic world, engaged in an insightful conversation. They discussed various topics including decentralized social networking, plurality, blockchain, and democratic governance. Here are the highlights of this highly anticipated conversation.
Vitalik Recommends Decentralized Social Networking Platform Farcaster to Audrey Tang:
Vitalik recommended the decentralized social networking protocol Farcaster to Audrey Tang, which he has praised multiple times. Audrey Tang acknowledged Farcaster as a good decentralized platform, but mentioned that she was unable to log in and instead used the Supercast client to post her first article on Farcaster and propagate it across the network.
X Community Notes Embodies the Concept of Plurality:
When discussing the concept of plurality, Vitalik used the example of X’s Community Notes feature. The open-source algorithm of Community Notes determines that if two users who have conflicting opinions on other matters agree that a particular annotation is helpful, then their votes should be weighted accordingly.
Blockchain as the Infrastructure for Democratic Online Voting:
Audrey Tang raised the question of whether blockchain is truly necessary, considering that technologies like zero-knowledge proofs, secure multi-party computation, and fully homomorphic encryption do not rely on blockchain. Vitalik firmly expressed that blockchain is indeed necessary, especially as the infrastructure for democratic online voting. He emphasized that blockchain can help online voting systems resist censorship and protect privacy.
Blockchain as a Sandbox for Democratic Governance:
Vitalik asked Audrey Tang how the cryptocurrency world and the democratic world can mutually contribute. Audrey Tang stated that she often sees the Ethereum community as a higher-temperature governance sandbox, where more ambitious governance mechanisms can be attempted and tested under more adversarial conditions.
Enhancing User Protection Against Scams in the Cryptocurrency Community:
Vitalik discussed the issue of scams in the cryptocurrency community and suggested the need for infrastructure that functions like a defense lawyer to assist and support users. He mentioned that he likes the idea of message checkers and highlighted the importance of early detection of problems through automated detection in cryptocurrency wallets.
In conclusion, the Plurality Summit at ABS 2024 featured a thought-provoking conversation between Vitalik Buterin and Audrey Tang on topics such as plurality, community media, democratic governance, and blockchain. This conversation inspires further collaboration between the blockchain world and the democratic world, fostering applications that enhance the well-being of all and the immense potential of digital democratic governance.
Note: The article is accompanied by several images, which are referenced in the text but not included in the translation.