About this version of my talk planned for ETHDam 2025…
- This is will be an update of my talk at Gikii with a focus on cypherpunk
- My hypothesis is that cypherpunk follows the dystopian power struggles similar to cyberpunk. Cypherpunk started a bit later, and can be viewed as a practical application of some of the visions of cyberpunk to try to stop the surveillance state / tech oligarchs.
- (side note: In contrast, I view solarpunk as ultimately a utopian movement).
- encryption as one specific battleground of control in the evolution of the DCF-84 virus.
Submitted Abstract (ETHDam 2025)
This presentation will focus on my current research project on a media virus called Dystopian Cyber Future 1984 (DCF-84). For ETHdam, we will explore the hypothesis that cyberpunk literature influenced movies which in turn influenced the tech oligarchs of today. These oligarchs (and DCF-84) in turn may be big drivers of the regulation and privacy discussions we see today.
Abstract Concepts
Visions of the future/present from the past. Or as the KLF said, What Time is Love?. This presentation will combine the cinema and sci-fi of the 90’s, which are in turn a result of 80s cyberpunk and Reagan/Thatcher Cold War aesthetic, and look at them from the far future of 2025. Maybe we find some lessons for today along the way for the cypherpunks out there.
For added bonus points, we will also (of course) highlight two box office bombs from 1995:
- Johnny Mnemonic (1995)
- Strange Days (1995)
We will have a look at the underlying short stories (in the case of William Gibson), the visions for the future, some contemporary forces at play (such as the 1992 Los Angeles Riots), with a sprinkling of Chaos Magic, and of course, mention Snow Crash and the birth of the metaverse. Looking back and across in time, we will discuss samizdat, remember SecondLife, and maybe see exactly what the fuck is going on with technology .
ATTEND AT YOUR OWN RISK.