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.We spoke to Zac Williamson (https://x.com/Zac_Aztec) about Aztec (https://x.com/aztecnetwork) and:Physics refugeesBreakthrough technology, it becomes a gold rush. And you get scammers.Trust infrastructure technologyI want things to be more fairSoftware you can run only once Quantum computersPlay to your strengthsFind people to cover for your weaknessesThe arc of history always tends towards justiceMoney is autonomy, it's agencyTimestamps 00:00 – 01:17 : Intro 01:17 -- 06:11 : Physics to Web306:11 -- 15:20 : Explaining the values of Web3 15:20 -- 17:05 : P2P17:05 -- 24:24 : What it looks like in five years 24:24 -- 28:40 : Breaking the system 28:40 -- 34:00 : Cryptography34:00 -- 41:15 : ADHD41:15 -- 46:30 : Semantics and privacy46:30 -- 53:19 : Fear53:19 -- 57:02 : Filling the gaps57:02 -- 58:30 : The next generation58:30 -- 01:03:00 : Increasing decentralization01:03:00 – 01:05:15 : Data centres01:05:15 – 01:16:20 : The BlitzIf you like what we do at Citizen Web3:Stake with Citizen Web3 validator (https://www.citizenweb3.com/staking)Listen to the YouTube version (https://youtu.be/Q3lgZunFrAI)Follow us on Twitter (https://x.com/citizen_web3)Sign up to the RSS feed (https://www.citizenweb3.com/rss)Special Guest: Zac Williamson.