I will be speaking at ETHPrague 2026 in May. My talk will be unusual :) It’s entitled “Do!”
Abstract: Decentralization only matters if people use it otherwise it’s just expensive philosophy. This talk explores what developers and creators can do to make privacy-respecting systems usable and desirable. With fresh research, real examples, and the theater project System Err 2052, it links product design and activism, arguing that protecting user rights is both a technical and creative act.
Description: The first part of this talk focuses on adoption: how to convince humans (not whitepapers) to choose decentralized, privacy-preserving tools over shiny but rights-hostile alternatives. Drawing on new research and current examples, it examines why people love convenience more than freedom, how friction quietly kills good ideas, and what developers can do so users don’t need a PhD in cryptography to defend their autonomy. This section treats usability as a form of activism and decentralization as something that should feel less like homework and more like muscle memory.
The second part moves from products to protest with a stage in between. If decentralization protects freedom, activism teaches people why that freedom is worth the trouble. Using the theater performance System Err 2052 as a case study, this section explores how art can turn abstract values into emotional experiences and passive audiences into potential change-makers. By asking people to imagine social transformation through their own creative skills, the project shows how culture can support code. Backed by fresh examples from privacy movements and digital art activism, this part suggests that decentralization does not just need better protocols it needs better stories, better metaphors, and maybe a little dramatic lighting.
I hope I’ll see you there!