Boo, hiss
A Declaration of the Dependence of Cyberspace
1. Pretty gutsy to put yourself on the level of a father of several movements and phenomenons, and a phenomenon himself.
2. "It is hard to believe that such a naïve view of cyberspace was taken seriously just about 20 years ago" Did you read any of the obituaries at all? It wasn't naïve -- it was hopeful, visionary speculative fiction and a cultural statement.
3. "What happens in cyberspace does not stay in cyberspace!" Yes yes, the internet runs on computers, and the cloud is other people's computers. Otherwise the Declaration wouldn't have made any sense. It was a statement about a chance to carve out something new. If cyberspace were intrinsically separate, there would have been no carving to do.
4. "dozens of cryptocurrencies, and initial coin offerings" Was this written in 2012? Try hundreds, thousands.
5. "Central banks used to strive for a stable currency value." Bretton-Woods was put in place over 70 years ago, and held only until near half a century ago.
6. "More recently they have come to realize that a slightly depreciating currency value (about 2% per year) is better for economic growth." 2% is a hunch. Nobody knows where the number comes from, it's a meme. And no central bank today manages to reach it. They're trapped between raging property inflation and recession fears.
7. "In contrast, the supply of cryptocurrencies is a priori limited" For some cryptocurrencies. It's an open space, people can try, and are trying, other models, including currencies pegged to the prices of various key indicators and commodity or currency prices.
8. "The cryptocurrency bubble is, in my opinion, a growing systemic financial risk" Yes, we are fumbling in the dark, we haven't been experimenting this much with the core mechanisms and institutions of the economy before. But saying that is hardly original.
Come on, ACM.
A Declaration of the Dependence of Cyberspace
1. Pretty gutsy to put yourself on the level of a father of several movements and phenomenons, and a phenomenon himself.
2. "It is hard to believe that such a naïve view of cyberspace was taken seriously just about 20 years ago" Did you read any of the obituaries at all? It wasn't naïve -- it was hopeful, visionary speculative fiction and a cultural statement.
3. "What happens in cyberspace does not stay in cyberspace!" Yes yes, the internet runs on computers, and the cloud is other people's computers. Otherwise the Declaration wouldn't have made any sense. It was a statement about a chance to carve out something new. If cyberspace were intrinsically separate, there would have been no carving to do.
4. "dozens of cryptocurrencies, and initial coin offerings" Was this written in 2012? Try hundreds, thousands.
5. "Central banks used to strive for a stable currency value." Bretton-Woods was put in place over 70 years ago, and held only until near half a century ago.
6. "More recently they have come to realize that a slightly depreciating currency value (about 2% per year) is better for economic growth." 2% is a hunch. Nobody knows where the number comes from, it's a meme. And no central bank today manages to reach it. They're trapped between raging property inflation and recession fears.
7. "In contrast, the supply of cryptocurrencies is a priori limited" For some cryptocurrencies. It's an open space, people can try, and are trying, other models, including currencies pegged to the prices of various key indicators and commodity or currency prices.
8. "The cryptocurrency bubble is, in my opinion, a growing systemic financial risk" Yes, we are fumbling in the dark, we haven't been experimenting this much with the core mechanisms and institutions of the economy before. But saying that is hardly original.
Come on, ACM.
Just as you cannot separate the mind and the body, you cannot separate cyberspace and physical space. It is time to accept this dependence and act accordingly.
And that's why we want to defend it against states, corporations, lawyers and criminals. But I repeat myself. What are you doing?