Decentralization in tech can lead to many benefits, but it’s also worth discussing the risks. Taking control away from any one person may also mean taking away any means of control by everyone. For instance, it may enable artificial intelligence to thrive and even evolve without giving us an easy way to stop it. — I recently wrote an article entitled “Can Life Exist on the Blockchain?” in which I explored the ability for Web3 technology to be used for the replication of natural selection and potentially the creation of life. Following its publication, I began thinking more and more about the ways certain innovations…

Over time, the tech industry follows predictable cycles of competition, growth, and destruction that very closely resemble the laws governing our universe. Understanding the laws can help us identify these patterns as they unfold. — Over the past several decades of the tech industry, it seems that the same cyclical patterns continue emerging. From the 90s dot-com boom to the 90s dot-com crash; from the many crypto summers to the just as many crypto winters; plus the ebbing and flowing of interest in social consumer…

By leveraging Web3 technology, it is now possible for the first time ever to digitally recreate the conditions necessary for the process of evolution to unfold; a type of Blockchain Darwinism — The Four Requirements for Natural Selection Darwin’s theory of evolution explains how, with a few straightforward conditions and sufficient time, all of the wonderful variety we see in life can emerge. It reveals how the earliest single-celled organisms swimming about in a sea of molecules began to compete—not intentionally but through the process of natural selection…

With an infinite amount of time, a monkey with a typewriter could write Hamlet… But Shakespeare did it in a year or two. — One morning during my sophomore year of high school, I excitedly approached my creative writing teacher to tell her about something fascinating I had read. “It’s called the Infinite Monkey Theorem,” I explained. …

An exploration of how, by introducing random errors into the results of elections, our government might actually become more representative of its people — Cookies and Democracy In Mr. B’s third grade class, Fridays are celebrated with an afternoon cookie treat. Students have the choice of either having chocolate chip or snickerdoodles. And Mr. B, being a proud American and believing in the principles of democracy, always leaves it up to a vote. Of his 20 students…

No matter what you’re building, there is no way around one of the most important rules of product development: the Law of Funnels. — In the universe of product development and design, most “rules” last just a short while before successful counterexamples emerge. Yet, as with most sciences, there are a handful of fundamental laws that, despite all of our best efforts, are impossible to defy. In my experience, I have come to learn…

An exploration of the impossible tradeoff that all startups must make: betting on now vs. betting on the future. — There is a surprising amount of similarity between the process of starting a company and the wild science of quantum physics. Both are chaotic, unpredictable, and in many ways counterintuitive. And one particular principle that I think translates quite nicely is what I’ll call the Startup Uncertainty Principle.

Traditional podcast hosts overcharge the majority of podcasters to offset their cost for top shows. But in a world in which listeners can directly support the shows they listen to, no creator needs to pay at all. — As the co-founder and CTO of Anchor, a company that lets anyone in the world create and host a podcast for free, I truly believe that the traditional podcast hosting landscape is extremely antiquated. But more than that: it’s unfair to creators. A couple of weeks ago, I published an…

Thanks to modern cloud services, the cost of storing and serving content on the internet is incredibly cheap in 2018. With a podcasting platform like Anchor, there is no need for podcasters to pay anymore. So why are traditional podcast companies still charging creators to host files like it’s 2008? — In my role as CTO and co-founder of Anchor, I’ve spent the past several years working to make sure that Anchor remains the easiest way to make a podcast ever. And, that it remain 100% free for creators. One of the questions I am often asked is “How is Anchor…