BRAIN FOOD vol. 12

Welcome home to you dusty burners out there - the rest of us zombies, we here chillin on some delicious brains ??

Naturally, our summer guests exceeded expectations on every level - and shared a common thread of digital dollars. From Alex Gladstein at the nexus of currency and human rights, to the future of art with our expert panel in Carmel, the consensus is that the dynamics of capital are changing fast.

For more on this and other fine gems, look no further!

Do things for the right reasons, and you'll move mountains.

When it comes to Human Rights, Alex Gladstein is achieving the extraordinary; he and the HRF team have run a number of campaigns to help others achieve the freedom to assemble, the freedom to own property, the freedom of speech, and the freedom of privacy. One of those campaigns is Flash Drives for Freedom , in which they've smuggled over 2.5M hours of footage to close to 1.5M North Koreans. Why? Flash drives are a window to the outside world. How? A number of clever ways, including the thriving black market as well as parachuting them in. ?? Diplomacy and war won't work; but with information & technology, North Koreans can at least make their own decisions.

Let's Set the Table??

Over half the world lives under a dictatorship. Let that sink in for a moment; an estimated 5.4 billion people lack a lot of the basic human rights those in liberal democracies take for granted. The inability to challenge the government or expose corruption without suffering the full force of the law may sound crazy. But consider being brainwashed from birth and knowing nothing else; Imagine not having a word for love or liberty, as North Korean defector Yeonmi Park famously shared. Other countries with poor human rights track records include Russia, China, Cambodia, Iran, Turkey, Venezuela, and Saudi Arabia to name a few.

What is a dictator, and how do they come to power?

/?dik?tād?r/ - A political leader with absolute power and authority over a country or a region, often without the consent of the governed.         

Typically centralized to a single individual or a small group, they have little to no meaningful checks and balances - often with a disregard for human rights. Each scenario is unique in circumstance and complexity, but these totalitarians often rise from coups due to political/economic instability and botched foreign interventions.

The Weaponization of the USD ??

Since 1971, the essentially the entire globe has used the dollar (for example when Ghana buys tractors or oil, that commerce is done in USD). When the US makes the dollar more expensive to manage inflation, it cripples these small countries because their debt is in dollars - and they can't print more money like the Federal Reserve does. Countries (like people) are most effective when they lean into their strengths. But when they change their exports & production to suit the needs of the US, economic dynamics are quickly perverted in a way thats simply not sustainable.

BTC: The Quiet Revolution ?

Belief in a better future is an empowering notion, and its being facilitated by the secure messaging app, Signal - because with privacy we can protect democracy. Also driving autonomy are peer-to-peer networks like Bitcoin (current market cap of roughly half a trillion dollars) where the government is not involved, unlike bank wires and traditional exchange markets.

Not without its challenges, like being targeted by Congressman like Brad Sherman , its decentralized architecture provides a unique alternative.

?? BTC is a sovereign savings account (meaning a gov’t can’t print more)

?? BTC is an unstoppable payments network (sanctions resistant)

?? BTC has no remittance (predatory fees which can take weeks)

The Human Rights Foundation: How you can get involved

The HRF's events like the Oslo Freedom Forum (Sept 28 in NYC) allows for like minded folks to attend talks and a gala, and the yearly summit in Norway is a must-attend event in the summer. Alex's Twitter is @gladstein and his books Check Your Financial Privilege and Hidden Repression are available here .

Full SZ episode here .

Zombies puts the 'fun' in Non-Fungible Tokens ??

A few weeks ago at the Nematic Gallery , we dove into NFT's and the business of art. Yes there's a lot talk and hype. But what exactly are they?

NFT's: Digital art where ownership is registered on the blockchain         

Diving Deeper ??

The concept of NFT's bridges the gap between traditional artistry and the digital world/exchanges they are traded on. It touches art history, blockchain technology (a secure ledger), and contemporary trends of a 'digital fingerprint' connected to art that has been 'minted '. Once on an exchange like MakersPlace , artists can leverage Smart Contracts: self-executing agreements written into code. To grasp the significance of these new markets and their potential to democratize and drive accessibility , we enlisted brilliant minds:

Jeffry Marinelli (founder of Art and Living magazine), Craig Palmer (curator, CEO of Makers Place), Blakeney Sanford (Artists in residence), Khuong Nguyen (AI artist 'Spyzter '), and Lawrence Fuller - Actor / Artist in residence.

From the tangible canvas to the virtual realm, artists are now scaling their visibility and compensation in brand new ways - while leveraging AI platforms such as MidJourney like the talented Spyzter .

The Power of NFT's Unveiled

As Jeff Marinelli shares, it's all about accessibility.

"10 years from now, nobody will need to know what a blockchain is...all the complexity of wallets (where the assets are stored)...will all be hidden." -Craig Palmer

Revolutions come in Evolutionary Ways ??

Applications extend outside of the digital art realm, too. State legislator turned Congresswoman Brittany Petterson was able to marry two women over Zoom; both Russian refugees stuck in Turkey (who has targeted the LGBT movement ), allowing them to safely leave to the United States: full circle to #humanrights. Hat tip to Bryan Talebi for the introduction to this marvelous woman. One thing is for sure, this decentralized movement that gives #powertothepeople isn't going anywhere.

Full SZ episode here .

Upcoming Events ??

SZ Goes MedTech on October 12 ??

Our next live show at the Park James Hotel will feature the first surgeon to do a successful covid lung transplant, serial medtech founder (with exits) Raphael Michel , and FI Health Accelerator Dominique Kim, MPH . With quantum leaps in medical technology like AlphaFold (using AI to accurately predict the shape of a protein down to the atom and available to the public), we are at the brink of unlocking the mysteries of drug discovery. And Open source collaboration is at the heart?? of the matter.

LG Nova Innovation Festival - Oct 25, 26

LG NOVA will be hosting the Innovation Festival at the Hibernia in SF, Oct. 25-26. Silicon Zombies Podcast will be moderating and streaming live, if interested in a free ticket please reach out to [email protected]

Interesting AF ??

Prague at Sunrise on the Charles Bridge. Want cheap airfare? Aer Lingus offering round-trip flights for less than $500 from the US West Coast to Europe (From LA, San Francisco and Seattle to Amsterdam; Barcelona; Brussels; Madrid; Malaga, Spain; and Paris). not a sponsor, just a good deal*

That's all from us, catch ya next month. Until then, be good to yourselves, and be good to each other ??

Big thanks to our sponsors:

Necodex - your remote team in Mexico for web/mobile products

Primero Negocios - The best marketing team to you get local customers

---

www.siliconzombies.com