Then · Now
Present Day
Many ideas that feel new today have older roots. Digital money, artificial intelligence, longevity, prediction markets, and new forms of sovereignty were being explored decades ago by communities like the Extropians.
Topic
Then
Now
Digital Cash
Then
Hal Finney on electronic cash in Extropy #10 (1993), Wei Dai's b-money proposal (1998)
Now
Bitcoin, crypto, stablecoins
Artificial Intelligence
Then
Now
LLMs, AI agents, alignment labs
Longevity
Then
Cryonics, Alcor, life extension across Issues #4 through #17
Now
Longevity startups, biotech, healthspan research
Digital Communities
Then
Mailing lists, Extro conferences, early online networks
Now
DAOs, crypto communities, network states
Sovereignty
Then
Cryptography, exit, competing legal systems
Now
The Network State