Khalon Bridge

The biggest ambitions start with a dream. Share & mint yours with the world in build_dreams: app.buildcities.network/dream

Sharing my talk on “Network State Realism”, where I introduce the concept of the *Fifth Estate* as a (IMO) more strategically viable alternative to the network state framework. Link to my supporting essay in reply. Many thanks to @buildcities @angelo_a_jr and @vdao for hosting. TALK SUMMARY 1) The network state framework has failed to materialize (and will continue to) because of one flaw: Idealism — too exit focused (doesn’t scale) and politically unrealizable (has no mechanism for legitimacy and recognition) 2) The “Hard Problem” of network states is international law, not tech or community or “pop ups” (those are necessary, but not sufficient) 3) To solve it, we need to create a strong mechanism for legitimacy and recognition upfront. 4) My proposed mechanism is simple: Legitimize the Network—NOT specific network state projects—as a new spatial and legal order. 5) International law is fundamentally about the (re)conceptualization and governance of Space (Schmitt’s “Nomos of the Earth”). 6) The Internet has emerged as a new Space: a planetary spatial order existing in parallel to and unconstrained by nation states. 7) This space is not “no man’s land”. It has been settled by billions, hybridizing national sovereignty and territorial integrity — this settled network is what I call the Fifth Estate. 8) The Fifth Estate is a new power. It is a spatial order, but not yet a legal order. By expanding the legal convention of self determination from sovereign states-only to include the “sovereign” Network, the Fifth Estate can eventually be recognized as a legitimate governance “authority” in the international system. 9) To achieve that, we need a deliberate project of shoring up the coordination and legitimization of the Fifth Estate. We need to build the tech stack (self sovereign ID, digital public infrastructure, etc) and legitimacy stack (policy, advocacy) of the Network. Anything else is fundamentally unserious and LARP. Read the essay below for a more detailed account of the idea, and reach out if you’re interested in helping bring this vision about.

Dream #28 Total Unique Authors: 4 Full Prompt Available at opensea.io/assets/ethereu…

Marc Andreessen was right, software ate the world. Fast forward to today and we now have approximately 70% of the world online, a digital economy that constitutes 15% of global GDP, and even an entirely new digitally-native asset class in the form of cryptocurrency that commands a $2.5T market cap. It's the world of bits that brought us here, so where do we go next? Back to the world of atoms... Translating the world of bits into a world of atoms will require coordination, capital, leverage, and a vision for the future of society. It's time to build solutions at the intersection of the physical and digital that are not only innovative but also regenerative and antifragile. @joinvdao & build_republic for the fourth installment of Building Network States on July 8th, 2024 in Brussels, Belgium alongside @EthCC for a full day of panels, networking, and hacking towards this new world. Speaker lineup continues to grow alongside the following: David Johnston (@DJohnstonEC) Vinay Gupta (@leashless) Stefan Rust (@srust99) Alpha Barry (@alphaxbarry) Marc Ziade (@ZiadeMarc) Griff Green (@griffgreen) Rob Avis (@rob_5thworld) Andrej Berlin (@kischiman) Phil Fogel (@Philfog) Luca Prosperi (@LucaProsperi) if you are interested in speaking or facilitating a workshop, please reach out over DM. Registration link for attendees and hackers in thread below👇

Marc Andreessen was right, software ate the world. Fast forward to today and we now have approximately 70% of the world online, a digital economy that constitutes 15% of global GDP, and even an entirely new digitally-native asset class in the form of cryptocurrency that commands a $2.5T market cap. It's the world of bits that brought us here, so where do we go next? Back to the world of atoms... Translating the world of bits into a world of atoms will require coordination, capital, leverage, and a vision for the future of society. It's time to build solutions at the intersection of the physical and digital that are not only innovative but also regenerative and antifragile. @joinvdao & build_republic for the fourth installment of Building Network States on July 8th, 2024 in Brussels, Belgium alongside @EthCC for a full day of panels, networking, and hacking towards this new world. Speaker lineup continues to grow alongside the following: David Johnston (@DJohnstonEC) Vinay Gupta (@leashless) Stefan Rust (@srust99) Alpha Barry (@alphaxbarry) Marc Ziade (@ZiadeMarc) Griff Green (@griffgreen) Rob Avis (@rob_5thworld) Andrej Berlin (@kischiman) Phil Fogel (@Philfog) Luca Prosperi (@LucaProsperi) if you are interested in speaking or facilitating a workshop, please reach out over DM. Registration link for attendees and hackers in thread below👇

Marc Andreessen was right, software ate the world. Fast forward to today and we now have approximately 70% of the world online, a digital economy that constitutes 15% of global GDP, and even an entirely new digitally-native asset class in the form of cryptocurrency that commands a $2.5T market cap. It's the world of bits that brought us here, so where do we go next? Back to the world of atoms... Translating the world of bits into a world of atoms will require coordination, capital, leverage, and a vision for the future of society. It's time to build solutions at the intersection of the physical and digital that are not only innovative but also regenerative and antifragile. @joinvdao & build_republic for the fourth installment of Building Network States on July 8th, 2024 in Brussels, Belgium alongside @EthCC for a full day of panels, networking, and hacking towards this new world. Speaker lineup continues to grow alongside the following: David Johnston (@DJohnstonEC) Vinay Gupta (@leashless) Stefan Rust (@srust99) Alpha Barry (@alphaxbarry) Marc Ziade (@ZiadeMarc) Griff Green (@griffgreen) Rob Avis (@rob_5thworld) Andrej Berlin (@kischiman) Phil Fogel (@Philfog) Luca Prosperi (@LucaProsperi) if you are interested in speaking or facilitating a workshop, please reach out over DM. Registration link for attendees and hackers in thread below👇

From Citrus Groves to Lunar Landings: Central Florida's Journey to Space: This weekend, tons of hackers, investors, and government stakeholders arrived on the Space Coast for one of the largest space tech hackathons in recent times—the Space Coast Hard Tech Hackathon, put on by @SpencerMac101 Now, why the space coast? Why now? In 1938, citrus groves, cattle ranches, and lagoons dominated Brevard County. A year before Germany launched an invasion on the Polish front, a small team arrived in this pastoral county. That team was sent by Admiral J. Hepburn, whose background included defeating the Spanish Squadron off the Cuban coast. The admiral and the select team then developed an air station at Banana River, which would later host hundreds of pilots and bombardiers. This small base would lay the groundwork for what would become the Space Coast. Fast forward to mid-July in the summer heat: The RTG-G-4 Bumper rocket, manufactured by the Army Ballistic Missile Agency, was launched (Bumper 8) from Cape Canaveral - a low-angle atmospheric flight. Eight years later, NASA selected the Cape as their primary launch site for U.S. missions, beginning the influx of elite engineering talent. By the 60s, the Apollo program had arrived at the Space Coast, which became the gateway to the moon. Under the Reagan administration, the Space Shuttle era brought an economic boom to the Space Coast. Post-shuttle era, the Space Coast fluttered, but SpaceX, Boeing, and Blue Origin laid the groundwork for revitalization. All this and more has cemented Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral as America’s key spaceports, feeding into the future growth of the Space Coast ecosystem. As SpaceX and other key space companies thrive, the potential for a large, horizontally integrated economy emerges, where a number of manufacturing companies can support the large-scale launch process. Manufacturers could develop anything ranging from heat shields, engine nozzles, payload fairings, vibration isolation systems down to very small parts such as fasteners and seals. Currently, it makes sense for the supporting base to be located on the Space Coast to develop large-scale network effects among talent and a much simpler procurement process. In addition, being closer to the problem will be vital. Now, just as Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux defined New York by developing the urban landscape of NYC with the creation of Central Park, @SpencerMac101 is galvanizing the Space Coast by bringing emerging talent, established mentors, academic institutions, and investors all to the Space Coast Hard Tech Hackathon. Situated at Florida Tech, a leading local university for upskilling, hackers traveled from all over the country to develop the Space Coast. Hackers solved critical problems such as cybersecurity for satellites dealing with the complicated issues of strong encryption but the computational limits of satellite hardware, security for spaceports such as utilizing autonomous drones to patrol spaceports instead of people sitting with binoculars, or edge compute in orbit. Walking into one room provided you with deep conversations regarding space public policy, how to redevelop manufacturing facilities in the area, and of course, lots of builders. Lastly, the data backs up the potential: 70+ launches for the Space Coast in 2024, 2.8 times the U.S. rate in manufacturing job growth, and home to large space and defense companies such as L3Harris, SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Lockheed Martin. While young talent gathers in Hayes Valley, El Segundo, Palo Alto, and Downtown Austin, the Space Coast, sitting at the divergence of the Atlantic and launch pads, will surely be added to that list. Keep up with Hard Tech here: atomsnotbits.com

The new episode of The Engine is up! Where to Live to Build? This week we talk about startup cities with Nick Smoot and Chris Pennino of @buildcities.

The World Bank considers human capital and institutions to be the world’s most valuable asset: improving their efficiency by just 0.1% would quadruple a nation's wealth. At @Logos_network and @buildcities, we believe blockchain technology is the key to unlock this opportunity.