Crypto dreams: Unblocking society’s chains through Blockchain
This year’s Blockchain Economic Forum is over and I am now on the airplane back to Europe. Pretty sleepy as the different time zones and the long days in the hall are now presenting their bill. But I need to immediately jot down the many thoughts swimming in my head.
My journey towards the blockchain shores is revealing itself like a musical composition of what I have been reasoning and partially acting upon in the last few years — the true nature of capitalism and money, how to turn technologies into successful businesses, the advancement of scientific knowledge such as robotics and A.I., and the consequences for society.
Singapore is a very peculiar city. It is a fusion of business atmosphere with traditional Asian kindness and nirvana-like calmness. This probably inspired, subconsciously, the mindset of my reasoning during the last few days here. If so, it is a city I would always love to visit.
Even more inspiring was the BEF 2018 conference itself, as I was able to meet and connect with many like-minded people, who contributed to further shaping my own vision and mission.
The Sunday panel on A.I. was key to framing my ideas. As a panelist, I had the opportunity to speak on the type of social contract we are leaving to the next generation, when A.I. is going to rule the world. Once business is run by robots and algorithms, what will be the jobs available for our children, if they do not become highly specialized scientists (quantum physicists, bio-engineers, mathematicians, and the like)?
Politicians worldwide are already starting talking about universal basic income. That is not the solution, however, as a society with billions of people barely surviving financially is undesirable. World-renowned physicist Stephen Hawking is worried about humanity’s egoism and the unwillingness of the robotic plant’s owners to share the productivity gains with the rest of the population — a dystopian scenario, as pictured in some Hollywood movies.
I would tend to agree, if it was not for my being a positive thinker and not willing to accept such a fatalistic view. Therefore, I share J.M. Keynes vision of a society in which technologies are to be used for drastically cutting working hours, resulting in humanity being able to enjoy far more leisure time.
My vision for making this happen is that combining A.I. with blockchain technology (the newly created concept of the Hypersmart Contract) shall enable and empower many people all over the world to more easily become entrepreneurs; creating a multitude of small, decentralized, and innovative businesses, thereby avoiding a society run by a few giant corporations and 1% of the population owning 90% of all assets.
In turn, a society with much higher numbers of entrepreneurs will very likely be run by much better politicians, as I cannot imagine the contrary to be feasible. This is the powerful message delivered by the innovation of blockchain: Enabling a vast network (in this case, of companies and entrepreneurs) to work on the basis of (i) decentralized power; (ii) high transparency; (iii) with the possibility of self-controlling the issuance and use of money; (iv) smart algorithms providing the necessary automated coordination among participants in global value chains. All this will result in the unchaining of society from the suffocating chains of too-big-to-fail corporations, financial institutions and public organizations.
I like to think of the Hypersmart Contracts (the intelligent connectors of Algorithms, Blockchains and Cryptocurrencies — “ABC”) as a new, Lego-like alphabet of technology building blocks that enable and empower almost any person to become an entrepreneur. After all, only a vast number of (small) businesses will very likely avoid S. Hawking’s prediction from coming true. I shall further elaborate soon about this — my journey has just begun.
You can follow my journey on twitter: @ORS_Fabio.
Here is the beginning of the journey.
