founder of Automaton
Our next guest barely needs an introduction. Asen Kovachev is joining LibertyBits for the second time after speaking at our pilot edition last year. Asen was one of the first who stepped in to support us from the very beginning for which we would like to thank him.
For those who haven’t had the chance to meet him yet, Asen is a visionary and founder of the Automaton project; a peer-to-peer network for scalable, standardized protocols. Asen believes permissionless innovation in the blockchain space will challenge the centralized status quo and is critical in restoring the liberty of individuals to own and utilize their information. He started writing code at the age of nine and has been fascinated with computer science algorithms ever since. He has worked on high profile video games at Treyarch, Activision, Vivendi Games and Sierra. After five years at Google, Asen left a cushy job to focus on research and innovation in distributed networks and computing.
Find out more about Asen in the interview below:
Hi Asen! Please give a chance to the 7 people in the corner over there, who didn’t hear about you yet to get to know you!
While I’m a software engineer by trade, you could say I’m a decentralist. I have over 30 years of software development experience. I’m mostly self-taught, I started learning math, algorithms and computer science at a young age for fun. I did well at regional and national computer science contests. I worked on high profile video games for 8 years. After 5 years at Google, I began researching distributed computing, machine learning, and blockchain. I decided to pursue my most ambitious ideas on how to scale and standardize blockchain projects and peer-to-peer protocols in general. That’s how the Automaton project was born.
Why did you decide to join the speaker’s lineup of LibertyBits conference for the second time?
It really was a pleasure for me to join LibertyBits last year. The event was well organized, I met interesting people and heard good presentations. Richard Stallman, albeit joining remotely, was a blast! As to why I’m joining as a speaker for a second time – I have a very interesting decentralization concept, and I’d like to share my vision with the world.
Why is decentralization important to you?
Decentralization makes the world more just. True decentralization means that there will no longer be people coming from position of power or authority, and as a result we will eliminate or at least minimize abuses of power. Administrative burdens can be minimized allowing people to unite, work and share together while adding value and enriching society.
What does the future society look like to you?
In my dream world, there would be full transparency at the top and complete privacy at the bottom. We would no longer have politicians and representatives in the traditional sense. Instead, anyone will be able to write and propose laws, which will be discussed by experts and others in a decentralized debating platform and voted on accordingly.
How much convenience are you ready to give up for having an independent life?
This is a tough one. In theory, most people prefer to be independent, but convenience is addictive and hard to give up. With how invasive all devices connected to Internet are becoming, a truly independent life may mean never using technology or the Internet! Try to live without the Internet for a month and let me know how it goes. We need to find the right balance…
What would you say to people who don’t care about the risks of growing centralization and the impact of monopolies?
I think most people DO care. But I also think that most people feel powerless. I would ask people to be patient, more open minded and embrace the upcoming new technologies, which will disrupt the status-quo on a massive scale.
What are your expectations of the conference this year?
Meet with old friends, make some new friends and have a great time taking a glimpse into the future of decentralization with like-minded folks.
Many thanks to Asen for taking the time to answer our questions! Find out what he has to share with us this year by reserving your seat here below!
#LibertyBits2019 is taking place on 25th June 2019 at Sofia Tech Park
Take the chance and reserve your seat A.S.A.P. for the second edition of LibertyBits Conference here: