Before Blockchains, There Was State Machine Replication (ft. Barbara Liskov and Tim Roughgarden)
a16z crypto
Jun 19, 2026
Turing Award-winning computer scientist Barbara Liskov explains that modern blockchain protocols are essentially practical implementations of state machine replication, a concept she pioneered in the 1980s. She argues that as AI automates low-level coding, the future of computer science lies in high-level system design, modularity, and rigorous verification to ensure reliability.
Key insight: Liskov notes that her Viewstamped Replication protocol and Leslie Lamport’s Paxos were essentially the same discovery made independently in different places, illustrating how the right ideas often emerge simultaneously when the field is ready for them.
