SNARKs rely on "arithmetization": a way of converting a statement about a program into an equation involving polynomials (or sometimes vectors and matrices)
To keep numbers within reasonable sizes, the arithmetic must be done not over regular integers, but over structures called "finite fields". Modular arithmetic is the simplest example of a finite field, but there are others.
The Dencun hard fork has activated, and thanks to Blobscriptions the blob fee markets are now in "price discovery mode".
It has been well-understood for years that the future of Ethereum scaling depends on rollups backed by data space secured with data availability sampling. EIP-4844 is a key change that lays the groundwork for this future.
By popular demand, an updated roadmap diagram for 2023!
Here was the one from last year. Notice that it's actually quite similar! As Ethereum's technical path forward continues to solidify, there are relatively few changes. I'll go through the important ones.
The role of single slot finality (SSF) in post-Merge PoS improvement is solidifying. It's becoming clear that SSF is the easiest path to resolving a lot of the Ethereum PoS design's current weaknesses.
New monster post: my own current perspective on the recent debates around techno-optimism, AI risks, and ways to avoid extreme centralization in the 21st century.
First of all, technology is amazing, and there are very high costs to delaying it.
Climate change is an important exception to an "everything is getting better" story. I'm optimistic, but pessimistic outcomes could be quite bad so the problem is really worth our attention.
It's a reminder that tech solving problems is not automatic: we have to work for it.
Today I'll take a break from my break from twittering and do another twitter AMA.
Feel free to ask questions about any crypto or non-crypto topic. People I follow can reply (to minimize spam), everyone can quote, I'll check both!tauday.com
@AISafetyMemes One big reason my p(doom) is not higher is that I am unconvinced of fast takeoff and the "there is no fire alarm for AGI" thesis (I know fast takeoff is not a prereq for doom, but it's a big push in that direction!)
If I get convinced of those things, my p(doom) goes up.
@trentmc0 @AISafetyMemes ... which invariably implies ideas with varying degrees of spookiness, eg: brain-computer interfaces, swapping specific components of brains, brain uploading, etc.
Sandeep and I discussed and jointly concluded these and other projects are high-impact and need follow through grants. Hence we decided to put $100m more to these projects
This will be done under my entity Kanro with its multisig
where @CryptoRelief_ and I are going to disburse the funds to.
Covid and future pandemics are a global problem that requires a global solution combining frontier scientific innovation and on-the-ground implementation all over the world.
Work in India continues to be a key part of the solution, but we also need an integrated global approach.