# The Human Layer: Episode 1 Research Outline ## Introduction: Mapping The Territory This research outline serves as a knowledge gateway for The Human Layer podcast episode 1 [[Episode 1 - The Premise]] , providing deeper context for the technical concepts, governance frameworks, and political theories discussed by hosts Crystal Street and Taylor Kendal. Rather than sanitizing the complex realities of our technological landscape, this outline embraces the podcast's direct approach to "saying the quiet parts out loud" about the intersection of emerging technology and human systems. If you'd like to read more about Episode One go here: [[building-through-vacuums]]. DYOR is designed to give you a foundation of the history and vocabulary used in [[Episode 1 - The Premise]] and for you to copy/paste into your own LLM models and dive deep into the many layers of emergent technology. --- ## I. Technical Infrastructure Concepts ### 1. Legitimization of Crypto **Definition:** The process through which cryptocurrency and blockchain technologies gain mainstream acceptance and institutional validation, creating both validation for early adopters and potential compromises to core values. **Evolution:** - Early crypto (2009-2016): Counter-cultural, anti-establishment ethos dominated - Middle period (2017-2020): Increasing corporate interest but limited institutional engagement - Current phase (2021-present): Full institutional entry including traditional financial players (BlackRock) and government entities **Host Framing:** Described as a "double-edged sword" that simultaneously validates early believers while potentially undermining core decentralization values—what Taylor calls "justification" that comes with a cost. **Real-World Examples:** - BlackRock's entrance into cryptocurrency markets - Presidential meme coins representing political co-option - Institutional custody solutions replacing self-custody principles **Tensions:** The fundamental contradiction between crypto's anti-centralization founding principles and the increasing power concentration as mainstream adoption occurs. **Further Exploration:** - **Reading:** "The Politics of Bitcoin: Software as Right-Wing Extremism" by David Golumbia (for critical perspective) - **Reading:** "Blockchain and the New Architecture of Trust" by Kevin Werbach (for institutional view) - **Case Study:** Bitcoin's evolution from cypherpunk roots to institutional treasury asset - **Project:** Ethereum's navigations between idealistic values and practical growth ### 2. Compression Algorithm **Definition:** The phenomenon in crypto/Web3 where social, economic, and governance developments that would take decades in traditional systems occur within months or years due to accelerated feedback loops and experimentation. **Host Framing:** Taylor describes this as time literally being compressed: "time literally does get compressed this week... it's months of evolution happening in days" and "what used to feel like we had a decade to figure out has compressed into months or years." **Historical Context:** While technological acceleration has been discussed since at least Alvin Toffler's "Future Shock" (1970), crypto represents a unique case where governance experiments that might require generational timeframes in nation-states can iterate multiple times annually. **Applications:** - ETH Denver as a microcosm where compressed versions of macro social and economic patterns play out - DAOs as compressed governance experiments testing coordination mechanisms - DeFi as compressed financial evolution testing centuries of financial theory in months **Connections to Other Concepts:** - Links directly to DAO evolution discussed in the episode - Relates to the urgency around addressing "soft hypocrisy" before it scales - Creates the conditions where technological capability outpaces ethical frameworks **Further Exploration:** - **Reading:** "Accelerate: The Accelerationist Reader" edited by Robin Mackay and Armen Avanessian - **Reading:** "Present Shock" by Douglas Rushkoff - **Project:** Gitcoin Grants rapid iteration of public goods funding mechanisms - **Case Study:** The rise and fall of yield farming protocols (2020-2022) as compressed financial evolution ### 3. Evolution of DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations) **Definition:** The developmental progression of blockchain-based coordination systems, moving from technology-controlled to human-centered approaches. **Host Framing:** Crystal characterizes this evolution in generational terms: - First generation: "Used technology to control and not cut out the human layer, but to herd those cats" - Second/third generation: Realizing "humans need to collaborate with technology supporting them, not driving them" **Historical Context:** - 2016: The DAO launches and fails due to technical vulnerability - 2017-2019: Early DAOs focused heavily on token-based incentives and technical governance - 2020-2022: Social DAOs emerge with greater focus on community and human coordination - 2023-present: Hybrid approaches seeking to balance technical tools with human-centered design **Real-World Examples:** - JournoDAO (mentioned by Crystal) as a smaller community where governance cancer could quickly fracture the organization - Early DAOs using bots and technical solutions to manage community - Recent DAOs incorporating more nuanced social structures and recognition of human complexity **Tensions:** The fundamental challenge of balancing efficiency and scalability of technological solutions with the messy reality of human coordination needs. **Further Exploration:** - **Reading:** "DAO: A Decentralized Governance Layer for the Internet of Value" by Primavera De Filippi - **Reading:** "The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations" by Ori Brafman and Rod Beckstrom - **Project:** Gitcoin, DAOhaus, and Colony as examples of different DAO design approaches - **Case Study:** MakerDAO's evolution from technically-focused to governance-complex --- ## II. Community and Governance Frameworks ### 1. Soft Hypocrisy **Definition:** Subtle misalignments between stated values and actions within crypto/Web3 communities that, when left unaddressed, grow into systemic problems—contrasted with obvious hypocrisy exemplified by figures like SBF. **Host Framing:** Taylor introduces this as "the insidious part" that needs to be called out, while Crystal extends it to community health, comparing it to "cancer" that can "fracture a community." **Historical Context:** While hypocrisy in social movements has always existed, crypto's combination of idealistic rhetoric and financialization creates unique conditions for values-action misalignment. **Examples:** - Projects claiming decentralization while maintaining centralized control mechanisms - Communities espousing openness while using exclusionary practices - Governance systems promoting equality while power consolidates among token whales **Why It Matters Now:** The accelerated timeline of crypto (compression algorithm) means that these misalignments scale faster and can cause more damage than in traditional systems where contradictions might take decades to fully manifest. **Connections:** - Directly related to community health and resilience - Connected to questions of when to "let it burn" vs. salvage - Part of the larger integrity vacuum in technological development **Further Exploration:** - **Reading:** "Seeing Like a State" by James C. Scott (on how institutional perspectives create blind spots) - **Reading:** "The Tyranny of Structurelessness" by Jo Freeman (on informal power in supposedly flat organizations) - **Project:** RadicalxChange's work on mechanism design for values alignment - **Case Study:** The evolution of Bitcoin's governance narrative from "code is law" to politics-laden technical debates ### 2. Social Forking **Definition:** The process through which communities naturally evolve, split, and reform based on values alignment, leadership conflicts, or mission drift—paralleling but distinct from technical forking in blockchain systems. **Host Framing:** - Crystal observes "I think we haven't done enough social forking" - Taylor responds that this is "such a natural" process—"humans have always done this... We are tribal by nature, but we're also forked by nature" **Historical Context:** Community schisms have occurred throughout human history (religious splits, political party fractures, social movement divisions), but crypto creates unique conditions where both social and technical forking can occur simultaneously. **Examples:** - Ethereum/Ethereum Classic split (both technical and social) - Bitcoin/Bitcoin Cash community division - DAO splits when governance conflicts become irreconcilable **Key Insight:** The hosts identify a "wild design space" at the intersection of technical and social forking that could create new models for community evolution. **Connections:** - Related to the question of when to "let communities burn" - Connected to governance mechanisms that enable or inhibit healthy evolution - Part of broader community resilience strategies **Further Exploration:** - **Reading:** "Exit, Voice, and Loyalty" by Albert O. Hirschman (classical framework on organizational response to decline) - **Reading:** "From Voice to Exit: The Evolution of Blockchain Governance" by various crypto researchers - **Project:** The MetaCartel ecosystem's approach to spawning multiple related but independent DAOs - **Case Study:** The Ethereum/Ethereum Classic split as both technical and social fork ### 3. Community as Marketing Tool vs. Authentic Community Building **Definition:** The tension between organizations using "community" as an extractive marketing strategy versus building genuine, self-sustaining communities with agency and value alignment. **Host Framing:** Crystal expresses frustration about organizations "using community as their marketing tool" for extraction, noting it's "heartbreaking as a community builder to watch." **Historical Context:** The corporatization of community has precedents in brand community literature, but crypto introduces unique dynamics where community can be explicitly tokenized and financialized. **Key Dynamics:** - "Airdrop farmers" as manifestation of extractive community participation - The question of when a "healthy community takes on its own life beyond its founders" - The challenge of explaining to corporate entities that "the human layer is messy and ultimately uncontrollable" **Examples:** - Projects announcing DAOs primarily for marketing purposes - Discord communities designed primarily to pump token prices - The collapse of extraction-focused community strategies mentioned by Crystal **Further Exploration:** - **Reading:** "Building Brand Communities" by Carrie Melissa Jones and Charles Vogl - **Reading:** "The Community Rule" by Nathan Schneider on cooperative governance - **Project:** Enspiral's non-blockchain approaches to authentic community governance - **Case Study:** Comparison between token-driven "communities" and skill/value-driven communities like Ethereum developers --- ## III. Political and Economic Theories ### 1. Centralization vs. Decentralization Power Dynamics **Definition:** The ongoing tension between crypto's founding anti-centralization ethos and the natural tendency of power to reconcentrate in new forms, particularly as institutional adoption increases. **Host Framing:** Crystal notes the irony that "we created technology to fight centralization, and now we're watching centralization of power happen within our own ecosystem." **Historical Context:** Cycles of centralization and decentralization have occurred across technological development, from the internet's evolution to earlier communication technologies. **Current Manifestations:** - Institutional players entering crypto markets (BlackRock mentioned specifically) - Concentration of mining/validation power - Venture capital influence over supposedly decentralized protocols - Political co-option through mechanisms like "presidential meme coins" **Why It Matters:** The fundamental promise of crypto was to create alternatives to centralized power structures; the re-emergence of centralization threatens the core value proposition. **Further Exploration:** - **Reading:** "Protocols, Not Platforms" by Mike Masnick - **Reading:** "The Master Switch" by Tim Wu on centralization cycles in communication tech - **Project:** Tornado Cash and the resistance to surveillance finance - **Case Study:** Ethereum's transition to Proof of Stake and the centralization concerns it raised ### 2. Intergenerational Wisdom and Technology Design **Definition:** The approach to building technological systems with long-term durability and values transmission in mind, rather than focusing solely on short-term growth or profit maximization. **Host Framing:** Taylor asks the critical question: "are we building durable intergenerational tools and communities? Or is this just about the next hype cycle?" **Historical Context:** Indigenous cultures have traditionally emphasized seven-generation thinking in decision-making, while modern capitalism often prioritizes quarterly results. Crypto exists in tension between these timeframes. **Key Considerations:** - The contrast between "number go up" mentality and building for long-term resilience - The potential for crypto to provide infrastructure that outlasts current market cycles - The transmission of values and wisdom across community generations **Connections:** - Relates directly to questions about the integrity vacuum - Connected to discussions of collapsing systems and what survives - Part of the broader conversation about technological ethics **Further Exploration:** - **Reading:** "Thinking in Systems" by Donella Meadows - **Reading:** "Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World" by Tyson Yunkaporta - **Project:** Long Now Foundation's work on long-term thinking - **Case Study:** Bitcoin's design principles for long-term persistence vs. flexible adaptation ### 3. Systemic Collapse and Transition **Definition:** The recognition that existing social, economic, and political systems may be entering a period of significant instability or transformation, creating both dangers and opportunities for new community structures. **Host Framing:** Crystal references "whatever systemic collapse is coming at us" and the need to build communities that can "become what they're really meant to be." **Historical Context:** Throughout history, periods of systemic instability have often led to both destructive outcomes and creative reorganization. Crypto emerges during a period of multiple overlapping crises (climate, political, economic). **Key Considerations:** - The role of technology in either accelerating collapse or building resilience - The importance of "hyperlocal" community building as larger systems struggle - How to preserve wisdom and functional coordination during periods of transition **Connections:** - Directly ties to discussions of "letting communities burn" to rebuild - Related to questions of infrastructure that can survive disruption - Connected to compression algorithm that accelerates both collapse and rebuilding **Further Exploration:** - **Reading:** "The Upside of Down: Catastrophe, Creativity, and the Renewal of Civilization" by Thomas Homer-Dixon - **Reading:** "Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed" by Jared Diamond - **Project:** Ethereum Localism initiatives mentioned in the episode - **Case Study:** Response of crypto communities to COVID disruptions as mini-case study --- ## IV. Resistance and Resilience Strategies ### 1. "Saying the Quiet Parts Out Loud" **Definition:** The practice of explicitly naming problematic patterns, power dynamics, and contradictions that are typically left unspoken within technology communities, particularly crypto/Web3. **Host Framing:** Crystal defines this as central to the podcast's mission, while Taylor affirms it as "the theme around all of this" and connects it directly to calling out soft hypocrisy. **Historical Context:** Truth-telling has been central to resistance movements throughout history, from samizdat publications in authoritarian regimes to whistleblowing in corporate contexts. **Why It Matters Now:** In an environment of accelerated hype cycles and heavily marketed technical solutions, creating space for honest evaluation becomes even more crucial. **Key Applications:** - Identifying misalignments between stated values and actions - Exposing power dynamics that contradict decentralization narratives - Naming the "cancer" in systems before it metastasizes **Further Exploration:** - **Reading:** "Radical Honesty" by Brad Blanton - **Reading:** "Speaking Truth to Power" essays by various activists - **Project:** Crypto research organizations focused on critical analysis - **Case Study:** How critical internal voices have shaped Ethereum's development ### 2. Ethereum Localism **Definition:** A movement to build hyperlocal applications of Ethereum and Web3 technologies that serve community needs and build resilience at smaller scales, connected to global infrastructure. **Host Framing:** Crystal mentions it as an example of vital infrastructure during "systemic collapse or whatever transition phase we're entering." **Historical Context:** Localism movements have historically emerged during periods of globalization tension, offering alternative development models focused on community self-reliance while maintaining broader connections. **Key Principles:** - Focus on applications meeting concrete local needs rather than purely speculative use cases - Building bridges between crypto-native tools and existing community institutions - Creating "infrastructure in systemic collapse" that helps communities navigate transition **Examples:** - Local currency and mutual aid systems built on blockchain infrastructure - Community governance tools for local decision-making - Local validator nodes ensuring regional access to networks **Further Exploration:** - **Reading:** "The Local Economy Solution" by Michael Shuman - **Reading:** "Local Is Our Future" by Helena Norberg-Hodge - **Project:** Global Forum for Ethereum Localism (GFEL) mentioned in episode - **Case Study:** Austin's local cryptocurrency initiatives ### 3. The Human Layer as Infrastructure **Definition:** The recognition that human relationships, trust networks, and coordination mechanisms are not secondary to technical systems but constitute essential infrastructure that must be deliberately designed and maintained. **Host Framing:** - Taylor emphasizes we "can't quite seem to grasp all the things that are still real and resonant about what it means to just be a human" - Crystal notes that early DAOs failed because "they removed the space for humans to collaborate with their messy, beautiful sense-making" **Historical Context:** Throughout technological development, the tendency to prioritize technical solutions over human factors has repeatedly created systems that fail to serve human needs or that actively undermine human flourishing. **Key Principles:** - Technology should support human collaboration rather than replace or control it - "Humans are humans and we are messy as fuck"—technical systems must accommodate this reality - The most resilient systems center human relationships rather than trying to engineer them away **Applications:** - DAO design that centers human sense-making with technical support - Community governance that recognizes the need for both structure and organic evolution - Building tools that respect human autonomy and agency **Further Exploration:** - **Reading:** "Emergent Strategy" by adrienne maree brown - **Reading:** "Team Human" by Douglas Rushkoff - **Project:** JournoDAO's approaches to balancing human and technical systems - **Case Study:** Comparison of technology-first vs. human-centered DAO designs ### 4. Letting Communities Burn vs. Salvaging **Definition:** The strategic decision framework for when to attempt to preserve and reform troubled communities versus when to allow them to dissolve so something new can emerge. **Host Framing:** - Crystal states "sometimes you have to let a community burn so it can rebuild itself" - Taylor questions what barometer exists for making this determination **Historical Context:** Creative destruction has been recognized in economic theory since Schumpeter, but applying this to intentional community governance represents a newer frontier. **Key Considerations:** - Who "has the mechanisms of control and sense-making" - Whether "infrastructure for everyone to have a voice" exists - The potential for communities to take on "organic life" beyond founders - Sometimes needing to "plant seeds and walk away" **Connections:** - Directly related to social forking concepts - Connected to questions of authentic vs. extractive community building - Part of larger resilience strategies during systemic transitions **Further Exploration:** - **Reading:** "The Art of Community" by Charles Vogl - **Reading:** "Community: The Structure of Belonging" by Peter Block - **Project:** Post-mortems of failed DAOs and what emerged from their dissolution - **Case Study:** The MolochDAO ecosystem's approach to spawning and sunsetting initiatives --- ## V. Interconnections and Synthesis ### The Integrity Vacuum at the Center The concept of an "integrity vacuum" (not explicitly named but implied throughout the episode) emerges as a central theme connecting many of the discussed frameworks. This vacuum forms when: 1. Technological capabilities advance faster than ethical frameworks 2. Financial incentives reward extraction over sustainability 3. Power reconcentrates despite decentralization rhetoric 4. Communication favors marketing over transparency **Response Strategies** discussed in the episode form a coherent approach to addressing this vacuum: 1. **Name the Problem** - "Saying the quiet parts out loud" 2. **Build Authentic Community** - Resisting the marketing-driven approach 3. **Enable Evolution** - Supporting healthy social forking when needed 4. **Center Humanity** - Designing for the "messy" human layer 5. **Think Intergenerationally** - Building for kids' kids, not just the next hype cycle This creates a comprehensive framework for navigating the current moment in crypto/Web3 evolution that balances critical analysis with constructive action. ### Future Research Directions Based on the conversations in Episode 1, several key research questions emerge: 1. What concrete mechanisms can help communities detect and address "soft hypocrisy" before it becomes systemic? 2. How can we develop better frameworks for "social forking" that preserve value while enabling evolution? 3. What would technology truly designed for intergenerational wisdom transmission look like? 4. How do we measure the health of the "human layer" in technical communities? 5. What historical precedents exist for successfully navigating systemic transitions while preserving core values? These questions form a research agenda that could inform future episodes and knowledge garden development.