Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum cofounder, has dropped his views on privacy and how it impacts users. This latest update comes as the top blockchain innovator recently revealed a new privacy roadmap for the Ethereum ecosystem. This latest expression of his views on privacy expands the former.
In an update labeled "Why I Support Privacy" and shared with the ecosystem, Buterin emphasized that the privacy concept is not just about hiding things. He insisted that it is crucial to maintaining power, freedom and social structure in today’s decentralized world.
Buterin argues that information is power, as anyone who controls an individual’s data has control over them. He stressed the need to avoid centralized data control, particularly in a decentralized system like blockchain.
The Ethereum cofounder pointed out that with artificial intelligence (AI), the ability to collect, analyze and exploit data has soared. Hence, there is an urgent need for people to pay attention to privacy.
He explained that the technology for individuals to protect themselves exists and should be utilized to avoid sacrificing privacy.
The Ethereum cofounder listed some of those tools, including ZK-SNARKs and Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE). These tools allow users to compute data without making it visible to third parties. He believes that "obfuscation" may soon offer users even more options.
According to Buterin, privacy is crucial to any society's freedom, order and progress. He noted that people lose their freedom without privacy because they feel watched or judged. This makes it difficult to express unpopular opinions or live authentically because people are concerned about censorship and surveillance.
He insists that many social systems maintain order via selective sharing. Not everything needs to go public. For instance, medical records, contracts, voting and other such records require confidentiality.
Vitalik Buterin warned that trust and cooperation could be eroded without privacy. To foster innovation, he advocated "smart privacy" or selective disclosure in finance, healthcare and other areas.
Additionally, he warned that with brain-computer interfaces on the horizon, even human thought could become compromised if privacy is not prioritized. Therefore, he calls for privacy features to be embedded into technologies to protect freedom and decentralization, especially in an AI age.
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