Decentralise Everything with William Casarin - WBD719

William Casarin is a Bitcoin Core, Lightning Network and Nostr
developer. In this wide-ranging interview, we discuss the current
debate over Canadian state control over media and the
disillusionment of its citizens, the advantages of using Bitcoin
in the context of current banking constraints, the potential of
decentralized social media platforms such as Nostr, and the
benefits and challenges of AI.


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William Casarin is one of the band of amazing developers within
our community who ensure the cogs of Bitcoin-related machines
keep working. Our conversation began with a discussion about the
current situation in Canada amid concerns about state control of
the media. We also touched on the decline of Canada and the
disillusionment of its citizens, especially after a trucker
protest revealed the true nature of the politicians.


We then shifted our conversation to our experiences with banks,
which can be invasive and unreliable, and the advantages of using
Bitcoin. Banks today restrict financial liberty: there are
serious questions regarding their overreach in implementing KYC
and AML checks. Whilst running businesses on a Bitcoin standard
has advantages, there are real challenges as most businesses
still require access to fiat currency and associated payment
channels.


William then shared his vision of creating a level playing field
for free speech online and mentioned the progress being made in
decentralised social media platforms such as Nostr. He
highlighted the complementarity between Bitcoin and free speech,
as both are protocols that promote freedom and autonomy.


We also discussed the use of AI in various fields. AI can be used
to accelerate intelligence and make tasks more efficient, such as
generating assets for video games. However, there are serious
concerns about overreliance on AI and the potential dangers it
may pose. Cryptography will be an important tool in dealing with
the security risks associated with AI, despite states such as the
UK seeking to ban end-to-end encryption.


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Show notes:
https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/podcast/decentralise-everything


This episode’s sponsors:
Iris Energy - Bitcoin Mining. Done Sustainably
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Wasabi Wallet - Privacy by default
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