[najdan33]

> Cryptography rearranges power: it configures who can do what, from what. This makes cryptography an inherently political tool, and it confers on the field an intrinsically moral dimension.

Admittedly, this is true for other types of innovation as well. For example the invention of the decentralized Internet and its basic properties. Have the Internet not been decentralized, it would not have allowed folks in countries without infrastructure and money to build their own networks which are on par with the developed countries' ones. Also, free and open source software in general.

There isn't anything cryptographic in that and yet it was a big power re-arranger in a way.

[college_physics]

Yes, i think we take it for granted by now but its obviously an invented layer and a-priory it might not have been even clear if such an architecture is workable at this scale.

The emerging picture is of a (still) wide open canvas where cryptography along with patterns like ocap models play the role of ink for drawing boundaries.

What is still unclear if all pre-existing social arrangements can be re-expressed on this new canvas and where the feedback loops between power centers and the technically skilled people will lead us.

So far the track record is not good. There are various initiatives for moral manifestos concerning digital tech here and there, but they dont seem to make much of a difference