喜928: “How Do You Put A Human On The Blockchain?”
The introductory section of this piece contains extracts from the original prospectus of the work. The prospectus is included as an attachment in the Bloc file or can be read here at the artist’s personal site.
I: Introduction II: Proof of Work III: Passwords Revealed IV: Secrets Revealed V: Physical Proofs VI: Picture VII: Purpose VIII: Epilogue
Today’s child will grow up in a System where it will engage more as a virtual form than in “person”; where a majority of faces seen are filtered by a computer; where many leading entertainers are synthetic; where popular culture is algorithmically generated; and where billions have digital personae so accurate that their in “person” behavior can be algorithmically predicted and directed.
Governments and corporations are beginning to mandate digital personae for humankind. These are used for identification, tracking, and access to goods or services. The World Economic Forum is encouraging the adoption of “the blockchain” for these digital identities. These representations are undignified and reductionist; the limits and perverse incentives of such systems change human behavior for the worse. With misguided plans to integrate “the blockchain”, these shoddy representations of humankind threaten to become permanent.
