From Distributed Systems to Privacy: The Foundations Still Guiding Us
When I first stumbled into cryptography, I couldn’t have predicted how deeply it would shape my view of security. I still remember racing through *Cryptography for Dummies* the night before an interview, trying to absorb decades of research in one sitting. It wasn’t the most academic start, but it was enough to show me just how powerful and far-reaching this space really is.
Over the years, as I’ve grown smarter about cryptography and its connection to privacy, I’ve realized something that continues to amaze me: so much of the progress we make today rests on contributions made decades ago. What we now consider cutting-edge often traces directly back to pioneering work in system design, programming, and distributed computing.
Barbara Liskov is one of those foundational voices. An American computer scientist who became one of the first women in the United States to earn a PhD in computer science, she introduced concepts that completely redefined how we write and structure software. Abstract data types, the Liskov Substitution Principle, and her research into distributed systems weren’t just theoretical—they gave us practical frameworks for building systems that are reliable, modular, and resilient.
What’s remarkable is how much of that work, dating back to the 1970s and 1980s, continues to influence the toughest problems we are solving right now. Distributed computing and fault-tolerant design are no longer niche—they are the backbone of modern cloud platforms, blockchain infrastructure, and secure architectures. Privacy-preserving computation and cryptographic systems cannot scale without the same principles of resilience and trust that Liskov and her peers established. You can trace a straight line from her early work at MIT to the reliability models that underpin our most advanced technologies today.
And Liskov is not just a figure from the past. As an Institute Professor at MIT, she continues to guide and shape the field, mentoring new generations of scientists and technologists. Her 2008 Turing Award—the highest honor in computer science—cemented her as one of the greats, but her influence didn’t stop there. She remains engaged in the evolution of programming languages, distributed computing, and the very architectures that define our digital world.
For me, what stands out isn’t only her brilliance. It’s the fact that she carved this path in a male-dominated, highly competitive space, and her work has endured across decades of technological change. Along the way, I’ve crossed paths with organizations like MITRE and Stanford, places touched by her ideas, and each encounter reminds me of the quiet but profound impact she has had.
At Coachella, we often talk about honoring the journey—both the bumps and the breakthroughs. For me, reflecting on Barbara Liskov’s story is a reminder that the computing pioneers of yesterday are still shaping the privacy and security models of today. And if I think about the people I’d most want to interview in my lifetime, Barbara is at the top of the list. Not only to understand the technical arc of her career, but to hear firsthand what it meant to lead with conviction and resilience in a field that wasn’t designed to welcome her.
Her story isn’t one of legacy—it’s one of living impact. And it challenges us to think about how today’s contributions will become the foundation for tomorrow’s breakthroughs.
