A Fairer World, Trust and Breakthrough Technology with Zac Williamson

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This episode of the #citizenweb3 podcast features Zac Williamson from Aztec

Zac Williamson, co‑inventor of the PLONK zero‑knowledge proof system, is a former Oxford particle physicist who calls himself a “physics refugee.” He leads the development of privacy‑focused blockchain tools to make money a form of autonomy and agency, aiming for fairer systems as breakthrough technologies reshape trust and justice.

Aztec Labs is a Layer‑2 network on Ethereum that uses zero‑knowledge proofs to enable private, scalable smart contracts. Its goal is to give users more autonomy and fairness in digital finance through privacy‑preserving technology.

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We spoke to Zac Williamson about Aztec and:

• Physics refugees
• Breakthrough technology, it becomes a gold rush. And you get scammers.
• Trust infrastructure technology
• I want things to be more fair
• Software you can run only once
• Quantum computers
• Play to your strengths
• Find people to cover for your weaknesses
• The arc of history always tends towards justice
• Money is autonomy, it's agency

Timestamps

00:00 – 01:17 : Intro
01:17 -- 06:11 : Physics to Web3
06:11 -- 15:20 : Explaining the values of Web3
15:20 -- 17:05 : P2P
17:05 -- 24:24 : What it looks like in five years
24:24 -- 28:40 : Breaking the system
28:40 -- 34:00 : Cryptography
34:00 -- 41:15 : ADHD
41:15 -- 46:30 : Semantics and privacy
46:30 -- 53:19 : Fear
53:19 -- 57:02 : Filling the gaps
57:02 -- 58:30 : The next generation
58:30 -- 01:03:00 : Increasing decentralization
01:03:00 – 01:05:15 : Data centres
01:05:15 – 01:16:20 : The Blitz

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Special Guest: Zac Williamson.