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Connor Spelliscy

Executive Director of the Decentralization Research Center

Connor Spelliscy is the Executive Director of the Decentralization Research Center (DRC).146 He is a researcher and advocate for decentralized and plural technologies, with a focus on decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs).4

Spelliscy's work includes:

  • Running the Decentralization Research Center, a non-profit organization supporting nonpartisan decentralization research and acting as a hub for stakeholders to encourage equitable ownership, governance, and regulation of emerging technologies.4 The DRC was formed in 2021 and evolved from the DAO Research Collective.35 It focuses on decentralized systems and the organizations and applications built upon them.3 The DRC's mandate is to create opportunities for innovators to collaborate and guide the ownership, governance, and regulation of emerging technologies towards decentralization.3
  • Co-founding the Blockchain Association and the Canadian Web3 Council, which are leading industry associations for blockchain companies in the United States and Canada, respectively.4
  • Advising startups, including as a mentor at the Creative Destruction Lab.4
  • Previously working as a Venture Partner at Hangar, a fund that invests at the intersection of tech and policy.4 He also specialized in technology law as an attorney at Goodmans LLP.4

Spelliscy co-authored a report by Project Liberty Institute & Decentralization Research Center titled "How Can Data Cooperatives Help Build a Fair Data Economy?".2 He also wrote "Toward Equitable Ownership and Governance in the Digital Public Sphere," published in the Stanford Journal of Blockchain Law & Policy.7

Highlights

Aug 16 · linkedin

In light of the rapid development and deployment of AI, decentralized tools that can distinguish between human and machine online while maintaining user privacy and data sovereignty are more critical than ever.

So we at the Decentralization Research Center are proud to have co-authored a paper that explores AI-proof ways of determining who is human online alongside researchers from OpenAI, Harvard University, Microsoft, University of Oxford, SpruceID, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and many other orgs leading initiatives on digital identity.

Thanks to all of the amazing researchers who contributed to this paper and thanks in particular to Steven Adler, Zoë Hitzig, and Shrey J. for leading the way.

Exploring how Personhood Credentials (PHCs) could quickly and inexpensively be deployed to differentiate between people and bots online, this paper represents a step forward in combating online disinformation campaigns while guaranteeing users' privacy and autonomy.

PHCs shift the burden of proof from what is fake — an ever-changing and contested concept — to who is real — a relatively clearly demarcated benchmark. PHCs offer multiple benefits: they can signal who is human online, filter out AI-powered attacks, and distinguish between AI agents that are relatively benign and those acting on behalf of deceptive, malicious actors. We believe that increasing the use of these systems will be necessary to respond to the threat AI poses to identity online.

Not all PHCs are built the same, and we at the DRC will continue to support decentralized tools which guarantee privacy and autonomy of users over vulnerable, centralized alternatives. If you are working on research or platforms that could aid in the effort, please reach out!

Jun 12 · linkedin

We gathered 100+ academics, policymakers, industry and think tank representatives in Washington, D.C. to explore the equitable ownership and governance of emerging technology. We focused on artificial intelligence, blockchain, digital identity, social media, privacy, and competition. ⬇

If you missed the summit, you can listen to my fireside chat with Congressman Wiley Nickel, who is leading the way on tech policy and whose remarks shed light on the summit’s key areas of focus from a policymaker's perspective: https://lnkd.in/egpxarSy

Thanks to Congressman Nickel, our attendees, and all of our speakers: Aiden Slavin, Ariana Spring, J. Christopher Giancarlo, Doug O'Brien, Eric Alston, E. Glen Weyl, Florence G'SELL, Gayatri Kawlra, PhD, Helena Rong, Jay Stanley, James "Jeb" Bell, Jeff Strnad, Joshua Tan, Kate Griffin, Leah Wald, Manon Revel, Michael Mosier, Nathan Schneider, Nikhil Raghuveera, Rob Lalka, Sara Horowitz, Thibault Schrepel, Yorke Rhodes III, and Zoe Weinberg.

And thanks to our incredible partners: Project Liberty (Sarah Nicole, Jeb Bell), Blockchain Association (Chris Jonas, Dan Spuller), and Metagov.

To join us at our next summit and to stay up to date on our work, follow @TheDRC_ on Twitter and sign up for our newsletter (drc.beehiiv.com/subscribe)!

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Connor Spelliscy
Connor Spelliscy, photo 1
Connor Spelliscy, photo 2
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Location

Canada