In the soaking-up-extra-compute case? Yeah, for sure, I can only really picture it (a) on a very short-term basis, for example maybe while linking up tightly for important negotations (but even here, not very likely). Or (b) in a situation with high power asymmetry. For example maybe there’s a story where ‘lords’ delegate work to their ‘vassals’, but the workload intensity is variable, so the vassals have leftover compute, and the lords demand that they spend it on something like blockchain mining. To compensate for the vulnerability this induces, the lords would also provide protection.
In the soaking-up-extra-compute case? Yeah, for sure, I can only really picture it (a) on a very short-term basis, for example maybe while linking up tightly for important negotations (but even here, not very likely). Or (b) in a situation with high power asymmetry. For example maybe there’s a story where ‘lords’ delegate work to their ‘vassals’, but the workload intensity is variable, so the vassals have leftover compute, and the lords demand that they spend it on something like blockchain mining. To compensate for the vulnerability this induces, the lords would also provide protection.