Argh

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@HeptaSean

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3/4 🥉
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My last salaried job was at a company that built blockchain technology. No, it wasn't for cryptocurrency. The goal was to use blockchain to create a fully peer-to-peer, decentralized game. I found it a technically interesting goal. I've always been fascinated by decentralized technologies, which is also why I'm drawn to ActivityPub. Another thing that attracted me was the promise that this technology would be implemented as 100% open source. I had always wanted to work on open source full-time, so I accepted the offer.

However, once I started working there, I found myself increasingly disappointed. The organization gradually filled up with so-called “crypto bros,” and the culture shifted toward prioritizing token price over technical achievement. I and a few close colleagues believed that introducing partial centralization to the fully decentralized system—whether to defend the token price or to rush a release—was not a “minor compromise” but a “major corruption.” The rest of the organization didn't see it that way.

One of the most painful things about being in that organization was the fact that the technology I was creating was not only unhelpful to society, but was actually harming the environment and society. At the time, I felt like I was working for a tobacco company—knowing that cigarettes harm people's health, yet turning a blind eye and doing the job anyway.

I'm no fan of cryptocurrency, but I still think blockchain has technically interesting aspects. However, blockchain has already become socially inseparable from cryptocurrency, and even if blockchain is technically interesting, there are very few domains where it's actually useful. Furthermore, the negative environmental impact of blockchain technology is a problem that must be solved for it to be taken seriously. In its current state, when I weigh the harm against the utility, I believe the harm overwhelmingly outweighs it.

Anyway, I have now completely said goodbye to blockchain technology. I feel at ease now that I don't have to live with that guilt anymore. I also came to realize that engineers must consider not only the technical interest of a technology but also its social impact. So for now, I want to focus on ActivityPub. I find it both technically interesting and socially meaningful!