- GPU vendors could trivially block cryptocurrency mining by embedding a challenge-response mechanism in the silicon: the GPU would refuse to run unless it receives a fresh, signed firmware/driver bundle from the vendor’s headquarters, making rollback impossible because each nonce is unique.  
- The same mechanism would let vendors whitelist only “approved” shader code, shifting the burden of proof onto developers and effectively ending general-purpose GPU computing for un-vetted applications.  
- Participants warned that this is part of a broader “war on general-purpose computation,” already visible in games that phone home to start and in locked-down smartphone firmware.  
- Valve’s collaboration with OpenEEG was highlighted as a stealth EEG-data play: gamers wearing low-cost EEG headsets will generate massive, well-labeled neural datasets in exchange for minor in-game perks, eliminating the cost of traditional lab-based EEG studies.  
- Long-term risks discussed include the datasets enabling fine-grained emotional profiling, targeted advertising, and eventual “thought-crime” policing via BCI evidence.  
- Optimistic counter-view: rising youth literacy in real cryptography may outpace centralized control mechanisms and preserve open computing.  
- Link shared: https://open5g.info/ – an open-source 5G initiative.