Some thought bombs from Edward Snowden at Orchid’s #Priv8 just now:
“What is the purpose of privacy? Why is its loss do dangerous? Privacy protects the right of inquiry that leads to progress.
Privacy is not to hide; it’s to protect. It’s a right. It protects the right to think differently. Rights protect the minority.
Trying something new is the engine of all human progress. All ideas we hold dear come from privacy, even ‘private property’.
We have a right to privacy when the people who write the rules went through a revolution. They were recently a minority.
The costs of curiosity of expression and exploration have become too dire. When you speak online, you have to double down to defend what you said instead of admitting mistake. This wrongdoing cannot be forgiven en masse or forgiven.
Bitcoin sucks in many ways, such as financial privacy.
Technology is a magnifier of power. In the early days, the government sucked at using it. It was academics at first.
The internet is broken because it reflects a broken society. Institutions are competing against the individual while individuals compete among themselves. It’s all about the likes. We are set against each other in a daily talent show. We pay to compete in a contest that society cannot win.
The dissatisfaction of the masses can be managed by distraction. By entertainment. By division of identity that is amplified all over the place.
The government has burned and spent the wealth of a generation that will never enjoy its fruits.
Liberty is freedom. To have freedom, you have to accept a risk of failure. Risk is the source of progress.
Don’t Stay Safe. Stay free!”
Full DIsclosure: we were founding investors in Orchid, with the motto “Stay Curious, Explore Freely” — https://flic.kr/p/2i1iiNV
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