Today I learned that ‘person’ comes from the Greek word ‘persona’ which means ‘mask’. Masks had a very different function in ancient times than they do now. A mask enabled you to become a different person, whether in real life ceremonies or in theatre.

A mask is the person.

We wear many masks as a parents, workers, friends and rebels in our everyday lives.

Our masks should never be taken away because that’s who we are as persons.

All this recent stuff about ‘proving personhood’ is horribly wrong. It’s about stripping away your person(s) to your naked biological instance, in the aim to fight ‘deep fakes’, ‘inauthentic transactions’, etc. All it does is remove your personhood for the sake of someone else’s utilitarian definition of ‘personhood’

Don’t let this happen.

What I have learned is that it’s all about proof of work. If you put work into your efforts and relationships that is what authentic. And it need not exclude silicon-based entities because over time (not soon) I might trust as authentic an entity that exists exclusively as silicon. The key requirement is not to have these proofs debased or counterfeited. Cryptography protects that.

In the end, don’t ever give up your rights or seek permission to ameliorate a ‘problem’ that was never yours to begin with, or accommodate a ‘solution’ that was never in your interest.

Be free. Be #nost