The Complete Application Of Blockchain Implies Human Subjugation
I am uncertain if humans understand the consequences of the complete application of blockchain technology. For if we manage to realize the complete application of blockchain, the human cost will be extraordinary.
Editor’s note: The following piece is from Identity Element. You can read more from the site and/or subscribe here. It’s free.
In the period leading up to the 1990s, sound business models were predicated upon deploying capital to produce assets which in turn generated more capi
In the process of this happening, as will happen with the global rise of the middle class, the human population on Earth will shrink.
Interesting comment. Dermography being a “slow” wave, the shrinking of global population by 2100 is already baked in the cake. Is that a positive development? Will the shift with respect to material goods from scarcity to abundance, as was the case after the Black Death, lead to a new age of human-focused innovation, like the Renaissance, or will will the machines and algos simply solidify their total control of society
Alchemy. They worked very hard during the middle ages to create something valuable from something with little value. I think they think they have finally succeeded.
That’s right, Bitcoin is dependent upon a server….overly dependent on electricity…..and future buyers to drivr value….
Great article; thanks for posting it. While I appreciate the potential disruption to things like tradfi and mortgage brokers et al, I agree that we haven’t begun to think about the disruption to the people that earn a living from these industries. At the same time there is a lot of new growth in “blockchain-adjacent” industries. Still, I would have to place the potential disruption on the same level as the introduction of the motor vehicle or a global version of the Meiji reformation in Japan. Blockchain disruption over the next decades is something IMO we are woefully unprepared for.
If humankind doesn’t come up with a new source of cheap energy, expanding the blockchain network will run into energy constraints. Entropy marches on.
“Entropy marches on.” As it will, anywhere and everywhere. Nearly 65 years ago during my summer reading at the library — first time in the adult library — I ran across a thin tome, a play entitled R.U.R. This was the first work of fiction I ever read that utterly fascinated me. Ever since then my ears prick up whenever I hear about the prospect of the human race being subjugated by machines. Turns out it’s already happening but not from physical machines but rather by faceless electronic ones. I recently reread the play and it’s really prescient. Robot lives matter, too.
Dystopian, but one of the more thoughtful pieces I’ve read about Bitcoin and crypto. Thanks to you and to whomever wrote it for sharing it.
I have some follow up questions for anyone patient enough to explain. The value proposition of the coin itself still eludes me. Bitcoin exists as a payment for work within the bitcoin system but there’s no guarantee that it is worth anything outside of it. If the US government were to shut it down tomorrow (due to terrorism concerns for instance), doesn’t it’s value immediately approach zero? If that were to happen, would the “work” on the network then cease–I imagine the incentive for all that computing power is a lot higher at 60K per coin than at say $60 per coin.
Great article ! I wonder if the subject of alternate currencies will die out with the advent of crypto platforms on blockchain. At the end of the day the point on its value remains unaddressed at least in a simple transparent way.
the US government has no bearing on the value of bitcoin since it can be converted to any currency (and already you can make payments with it using the coinbase visa card for example). The US Govt cannot shut it down since the Proof of Work (mining) operations are not only in the US but in many countries and can be set up anywhere with some computing power. The difficulty of securing of the network goes down if the power in the network goes down – it is adjustable so if us miners were removed, other miners would receive more of the rewards and it would be easier to secure but the network would be fine. anyway new miners would fill the gap accross the world
there are also lots of companies being built on the etherium network – companies that deal with financing, governance, security on the blockchain, energy, entertainment and many more that i do not know about. one company i follow – Get Protocol is using blockchain to become a worldwide ticketing solution – allowing ticketing companies to integrate, allowing for unique assets to be added to tickets (NFT) and even working with other partners in the etherium network to provide financing for events (decentralised financing). this is helping to upturn the ticketing model of existing platforms like ticketmaster that have shady deals with clients at the expense of ticket buyers who are then buying much more espensive tickets due to scalping. every ticket goer has a unique ticket on the blockchain and this can be independently verified. i can even verify how many tickets are sold for each event and so the finances of the company on the blockchain – there are many many other ways they can gain network effects with other integrations opening opportunities.
US gov can shutdown access (or do you forget all this is connected to the internet) or confiscate assets, wouldnt be the first time, however I think the easiest way to slow or stall is to tax it heavily in the exchanges. Since cryptos are not widely accepted and some not really suited to small transactions due to fees, its just easier to move cash to other assets and keep USD for everyday spending.
us govt or people in the us are hardly the beacon of hope for a decentralised world. i dont really see btc as an alternative currency and it wont be, just another asset. i would say that dcentralised companies willl be very interesting going forward though
Worrying about working to further the network while being paid by the network is a bit silly. No single human controls the dollar and yet many people work to expand its reach; though that may or may not be their job or intention.
Additionally, I don’t see how this replaces checking accounts unless I can pay my taxes in btc instead of dollars. Why would the US (or any) government ever give up that power?
Disclosure: long bitcoin
This is an interesting thought experiment and a nice continuation of the philosophical musings of Heisenberg as of late. There are interesting parallels between the arguments for bitcoin/crypto and the response to the coronavirus. Many people would prefer to subject society to arbitrary limits like deficits or algorithms that pay miners in digital tokens for performing useless calculations rather than have an active government that responds to crises. We also see people willing to subject themselves to the whims of a very real virus or corporate decision-making rather than countenance government “impositions”.
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that so many people are willing to subject themselves and others to unnecessary suffering so long as it’s not imposed by government fiat. I fully recognize that governments have been the perpetrators of many of the worst atrocities and it’s hard for people to overcome the perception that government is always bad when people’s minds immediately drift to the worst examples. However, it’s unfortunate that we can’t seem to recognize that government isn’t inherently bad and we have the resources to at least provide a basic standard of living to all citizens. I guess one way or another we are subject to the limitations of the human nature that only evolved far enough to keep people alive through instinct and not necessarily grasp bigger philosophical questions and the nuance that comes with them.
The other interesting aspect to this is religion which basically straddles between the idea of government determining the best course of action and an arbitrary fixed set of rules as we see in blockchain. Religious people perceive religion to be a fixed set of rules that are defined by god when the reality is that they are just human-created rules that are subject to the same whims as government rule (i.e. people make up and interpret the rules to suit their own purposes) which creates its own set of problems.
“… people make up and interpret the rules to suit their own purposes. And as Neil Gaiman points out, they create the gods they want as well. The ancient Greeks had Zeus, the Norse had Odin and Thor, etc. Once they no longer needed or believed in these deities they just disappeared. This, too, shall pass, perhaps sooner than we anticipate.
Loved this article, it explores a subject I think a lot about. We (humans) tend to see ourselves as the pinnacle in evolution when we are a mere link in the chain. There is indeed inevitability to this process, our end as a dominant force in our little planet is within sight but we can still have a legacy that perpetuates some of the best qualities of our species. We should not be fearful or sad about the prospect of AI replacing humans, our sole evolutionary goal and our greatest achievement will be the creation of the next link, passing the torch from human to synthetic.
Humans are already subjugated, this is just another iteration.
I mean this ultimately seems a bit silly. The conclusion here is no more certain than the conclusion that facebook is the final social network never to be usurped and replaced with something with user’s best interests at heart. Whatever becomes of crypto it is all series of at will voluntary networks whose value disappears without some critical mass of consensus. Even if they became completely automated it is trivial to create a new one with new rules if the existing one is too onerous and the existing network constituents opt to decline corrective action.
If blockchain disappeared tomorrow would you miss it? Or would life go merrily along.
“Blockchain” sounds like something that belongs in a dungeon.
It is hard to like something I can’t make jokes about.
So a blockchain and a dollar walk into a bar and the bartender tells the blockchain to get out and the dollar asks why. The bartender says “I know his type,all flashy and fun but nothing but an empty pyramid when the crowd thins out.”