Tuesday, 14 November 2017
ALL ABOUT BITCOIN SINGULARITY & CRYPTO CURRENCIES
Bitcoin is the Singularity
By Nick Soman
Why it’s easy to sound crazy when you talk about crypto
In his book The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology, futurist Ray Kurzweil describes the Singularity as:
“… a future period during which the pace of technological change will be so rapid, its impact so deep, that human life will be irreversibly transformed. Although neither utopian nor dystopian, this epoch will transform the concepts that we rely on to give meaning to our lives, from our business models to the cycle of human life, including death itself.”
Many people think the Singularity begins at the moment when machines become smarter than humans. Elon Musk has warned that Artificial Intelligence is “a fundamental risk to the existence of human civilization.”
The robots are coming.
What if we’re all watching the wrong door?
Why ideologists won’t stop talking about crypto
The “crypto” in cryptocurrency comes from cryptography — the art of writing or solving codes. The first tribe to embrace Bitcoin was the cypherpunks — a distributed group of hackers who advocated cryptographically enhanced privacy as a route to social and political change. From A Cypherpunk’s Manifesto (1993): “Privacy is necessary for an open society in the electronic age. … We cannot expect governments, corporations, or other large, faceless organizations to grant us privacy … We know that someone has to write software to defend privacy, [and] we’re going to write it … Cypherpunks deplore regulations on cryptography, for encryption is fundamentally a private act.”
In Bitcoin, cypherpunks found a long-imagined path to an anonymous digital cash that could be minted, shared, or traded without government action or control. Libertarians rallied to the cause, finding common ground with the cypherpunks in their drive for personal freedom.
Bitcoin and blockchain are revolutionary technologies, and not in the pitch deck sense. They are technologies purpose-built to support revolution.
Why people who own crypto won’t stop talking about crypto
I am not a cypherpunk or a libertarian, but I do want you to buy some Bitcoin. And some Ethereum, and some altcoins. Crypto undeniably has characteristics of a pyramid scheme. Only 21 million bitcoins will ever be created, so people who plan to hold Bitcoin long term — often called HODLers — love to watch the price go up when new money comes in. A rising tide lifts all boats, to the degree that US market leader Coinbase, which violates core cypherpunk dogma by storing users’ private keys — which means Coinbase has your money, not you — maintains an uneasy peace with ideologists because they keep new money pouring into the system. Many people have observed that we’re in a bubble. But as an increasing proportion of available Bitcoin falls into the hands of HODLers, the floor is rising too. And the best way to keep it rising is to keep talking about Bitcoin.
And it’s not just Bitcoin or even cryptocurrency. Many useful products and services built on blockchain and powered by tokens will benefit from the “double network effect” I wrote about previously, marrying the devils and angels on our shoulders — our selfish and selfless motives — in the service of making them grow.
In short, the fundamental characteristics of crypto are what keeps everybody talking about crypto.
The technology is dictating how we behave to ensure its survival.
And what could be smarter than that?
Thanks to Jason King and Will Pangman for chats that inspired this post.
SOURCE: https://medium.com/blockchain-gang/bitcoin-is-the-singularity-a9c6b4c56514
David Orban Explains the Bitcoin Singularity
David Orban is an entrepreneur and a visionary global high technology analyst. He is CEO of the US-based technology platform and services company Dotsub, which powers captions and translations as subtitles in any language in online videos to remove barriers to multi-cultural communications. Orban was a co-founder of WideTag, a technology company providing the infrastructure for an open Internet of Things (IoT). He is also an Advisor and member of the Faculty of the Singularity University.
The Singularity University, co-founded by Ray Kurzweil and Peter Diamandis in 2008 with the support of NASA and Google, provides educational programs, innovative partnerships and a startup accelerator to help individuals, businesses, institutions, investors, NGOs and governments understand cutting-edge technologies, and how to utilize these technologies to positively impact billions of people. Based at the NASA Research Park in the heart of Silicon Valley, the Singularity University is currently the most visible manifestation of the disruptive visionary spirit in which Bitcoin has its roots.
Orban is also the administrator of the popular Facebook group Bitcoin and the Internet of Money. CCN reached out to David to inquire about the “Bitcoin Singularity,” a term that keeps popping up in futurist technology circles.
The Bitcoin Singularity Brings Extreme Change to Financial and Internet Technologies
David, what is the Bitcoin Singularity? And, by the way, what is the Singularity
The first time I heard the expression “Bitcoin Singularity” was from my friend Nikola Danaylov, who used it on his successful blog and video interview series the Singularity Weblog. He sees it as extreme financial change, induced by the wide adoption of Bitcoin and similar technologies. An interesting aside in this is that Nikola used to be a strong critic of Bitcoin and skeptical about it, until he got deeper into its technology and applications, and turned around in his evaluation.
The Technological Singularity has many interpretations, but the most useful for our objective here I think is the one that looks at the implications of extreme changes in technologies, due to their exponential nature, in the lives of individuals, the workings of corporations, and the organization of our societies. Exponential technologies, the most evident of which is information and telecommunications empowered by the self-fulfilling prophecy of Moore’s Law, are those which double over a given period of time some parameter that defines their usefulness. In the case of computers, their transistor count traditionally, which translates roughly into their power, and which doubling every 18 months has been going for 40 years! Contrary to linear phenomena which are familiar to all and easy to account for, exponential ones have radical consequences that are difficult to predict even for experts.
Does the Singularity University accept payments in Bitcoin?
No, or at least not yet. I have been strongly supporting the introduction in the curriculum of a broader study of not only Bitcoin but more in general of the Blockchain, and this is happening. Also, in the Exponential Finance conference organized in New York by the Singularity University recently Bitcoin was featured in many sessions and panels.
I definitely believe that, just as other important changes from the past like open source software development approaches, every startup will have to consider Bitcoin in the near future, and justify why it has not taken a cryptocurrency route if they choose so.
What role will Bitcoin play in the development of the Internet of Things (IoT)? What role will the IoT play in the development of Bitcoin?
It is important to distinguish three layers of the cryptocurrency stack, which confusingly use as a historical accident the same name for different concepts. The Blockchain is the fundamental mathematical invention that allows the decentralization and the distribution of activities that before were assumed to be solvable only centrally. Bitcoin as a protocol and a network is a first implementation of this invention, and bitcoin (with lower case) is the application of the Bitcoin network to payments with its specific unit of account. So to get back to your question, I don’t think that bitcoin the payment system is going to have a large impact on IoT, and it is also unlikely that Bitcoin the network and protocol will see a large adoption in the IoT because of the way it is built today, and the consensus mechanism around its evolution which will impede more drastic changes in its workings.
On the other hand, the Blockchain is definitely a superior way for a network to self-organize, find its optimal topology, communicate among nodes, and allocate various types of resources to the nodes that need or deserve it most.
IoT proposals by various industry players are unavoidably based on centralized and hierarchical architectures, which can’t win against the newer approaches allowed by the Blockchain. It is very important, not only in terms of resource allocation, but also in terms of security and privacy to adopt topologies that are not based on the corrupt Google approach of finding better needles in larger haystacks.
Open, interoperable, transparent, permissionless approaches are needed that enable industry to develop standards that can positively interact with regulatory frameworks overcoming the gridlock of dead-ends in which we find ourselves in our rudderless views on privacy, business model evolution, stakeholder participation and more.
The stakes are very high, and if the pressure on the Internet increases to become a universal tool of surveillance and control, then unavoidably the evolutionary forces will turn what today we call the Darknet into the preferred infrastructure of the future global collaborative platform. Solutions will be found, for sure, the question is how complex and meandering the road is going to be to get there.
Do you offer Bitcoin micropayments to the participants in your crowdsourced video captioning and translation initiative Dotsub?
We offer Bitcoin as a payment mechanism for our clients, and are definitely ready to experiment in other ways as well to make sure that the Dotsub platform can maintain its edge as payment options evolve. For the moment Bitcoin payments are not available as compensation for micro labor tasks.
What are the three most interesting new developments in cryptocurrencies?
Many are holding their breath waiting for the release of the Ethereum protocol and network, which is very ambitious, and supported by a lot of people, as shown by the successful sale of Ether this summer.
The recent side-chain proposals also look interesting.
And in general, the decentralized app model which Bitangels popularized has not been widely understood yet, but in my opinion it has the opportunity of representing a shift that is as fundamental as the introduction of open source and the GPL 25 years ago.
In general the field is moving very fast, and these lists are bound to be old soon…
What if Bitcoin is used to send money to the ISIS?
I would be surprised if it were not already. Some would see this as disastrous and dangerous, in the belief that it will give a chance for anonymous and wide scale funding of ISIS. Bitcoin in reality is not anonymous, but pseudonymous, and it is not especially adept in the funding of activities that are deemed illegal in certain jurisdictions. I am not an expert, but I am pretty sure that ISIS is able to get large amounts of money through relatively traditional sources of diverting oil-revenues, for example, and, at least for the moment, Bitcoin would not represent a major need or opportunity for it. On the other hand it would be certainly very welcome by those who want to paint Bitcoin as dangerous per se, and in need of very strict regulations.
What other question should I ask?
You know that my motto is that question, indeed, and it is a good way to stimulate both introspective understanding of a situation and a challenge, as well as to conduct job interviews, journalistic interviews, and so on. And yes, by applying it to this we could find many more interesting areas to explore. I suggest that we do that, and that we leave the questions as eventual starting points for a future interview, and a surprise for your readers. I will be happy to read their comments, and to engage in a dialog not only with you, but with them as well both here an on the numerous platforms where we all participate online and offline.
Source: https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/david-orban-explains-bitcoin-singularity/
Bitcoin: The Financial Singularity is Here
by Socrates on July 4, 2014
Growing bitcoin graph conceptI have to admit – I was a total bitcoin skeptic. But after spending several months learning about cryptocurrencies I have come to believe that bitcoin is the financial singularity – the most disruptive technology of our present day beyond whose event-horizon human affairs as we know them – be it financial or otherwise, will be fundamentally transformed.
Why I was a skeptic
“Bitcoin is fake money used only by criminals, libertarians and anarchists” – reported the media.
“Bitcoin Is Evil” – opined Nobel-prize winning economist Paul Krugman.
“I want Bitcoin to die in a fire: this is a start, but it’s not sufficient” – finished it off Charlie Stross.
So how can anyone not be a skeptic?!
And so I was – the media reported it, the experts condemned it, one of my favorite science fiction writers wanted it dead – case closed!
Or is it?
Let me share with you why I believe bitcoin is the financial singularity. And then judge for yourself.
What is Bitcoin?
The most fundamental document about bitcoin is Satoshi Nakamoto’s break-through white paper Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.
After we lay out the technical foundation it is important to recognize and differentiate between bitcoin – the currency, and bitcoin – the technology.
Bitcoin – the currency, is simply cash for the internet. It does not have any intrinsic value of its own and is not backed by a government. [Like AI, it is backed by silicon ;-]
It is technocratic, predictable, scientific, non-reversible, mathematical currency, traded via a decentralized trust network of payments, and using distributed “proof of work” report, stored in a database called the “blockchain.”
Notably, as far as currencies go, bitcoin is arguably the most successful i.e. the most valuable currency because, at the moment I am writing this article, 1 bitcoin is traded for over 640 US dollars. [And I don’t know of any other currency that is as highly valued as that.]
But bitcoin – the currency, works because of bitcoin – the technology. And the technology has three main features:
- It is decentralized – no single person, organization or government does or can control it.
- It is pseudonymous – transactions are conducted under a pseudonym i.e. a fake name. [As opposed to anonymous – without any name.]
- It has near zero transaction cost and it doesn’t matter whether you send a penny or a billion, the transfer fee is the same.
Libertarians, anarchists and criminals are allegedly the groups most concerned with the first two features. Most people, however, don’t really care about those. But everyone cares about the last one – near zero transaction cost. Whether you are a private individual sending money to your parents, a not-for-profit NGO collecting donations, or a multi-national corporation – everyone wants to diminish transaction fees as much as possible. And so, it is the third killer-feature that arguably is and will continue pushing bitcoin – both as currency and as technology, from the extreme into the mainstream.
I also need to stress that other cryptocurrencies can be built upon and use, in part or in whole, the bitcoin technology – as they have been. Those are usually referred to as altcoins. [e.g. NXT.]
It is for that and other such reasons that Andreas Antonopoulos often says that “Bitcoin is not currency; it’s the internet of money!”
What are the problems that Bitcoin solves?
Bitcoin solves 3 major problems:
The first one is the so called double-spending problem. Put simply “double-spending” results from the fact that, in contrast to physical goods, digital files can be copied infinitely. This means that if I get a single digital coin there is nothing preventing me from copying and spending it a million times. Traditionally this issue is resolved by trusted third parties such as government institutions but bitcoin does it via “an electronic payment system based on cryptographic proof instead of trust.”
The second problem that bitcoin solves is getting a bunch of people who don’t know and don’t trust each other to agree on a transaction. Mathematicians refer to this as The Byzantine Generals’ Problem. [Imagine a group of generals of the Byzantine army camped with their troops around an enemy city. Communicating only by messenger, the generals must agree upon a common battle plan. However, one or more of them may be traitors who will try to confuse the others. The problem is to find an algorithm to ensure that the loyal generals will reach agreement.]
The last one is the traditional transaction cost problem. Unless you are a mathematician or a cryptographer, you may fail to appreciate the elegance in Satoshi Nakamoto’s first and second solution. But his mathematical and cryptographic break-throughs result in the resolution of the problem we all care about – near zero transaction cost.
Bitcoin is disruptive
“Give me control of a nation’s money and I care not who makes it’s laws” said Rothschild.
The power to control the supply of money has been the prerogative of the state [or the sovereign of the realm] for thousands of years. Bitcoin stabs at the very heart of that center of power. Taxation and the maintenance of an army are derived from the ability to control money. Without taxation and/or an army the state cannot exist.
By decentralizing the ability to control money, bitcoin undermines the very foundation of the state as an institution. And, consequently, the whole concurrent international state system. It is for this reason that Charlie Stross wrote that “BitCoin looks like it was designed as a weapon intended to damage central banking and money issuing banks, with a Libertarian political agenda in mind—to damage states ability to collect tax and monitor their citizens financial transactions.”
Now, if you are an anarchist or libertarian the above agenda suits you just fine. But, if like Charlie Stross [or me] you are not, then you are likely to oppose bitcoin on ideological grounds. [Just like libertarians support it for their own ideological reasons.] Ideology aside, I think we can agree on the profound long-term effects that bitcoin is likely to have – not only on the state as an institution, but also on the whole international system.
Just like snail mail was disrupted by email, old-fashioned money will be disrupted by bitcoin.
But ask yourself what is more important in your life – money or email? If, as I suspect, it is money, then consider how the world has changed since the invention of the internet and email. Realize that bitcoin is both: as a currency bitcoin is the first app – just like email was the very first killer-app for the internet; as a technology bitcoin is a platform – just like the internet, its impact will span way beyond that of its first app i.e. email, in ways we cannot foresee from this side of the event horizon. Still, it is not too big of a stretch to guess that its impact will include, but will not be limited to, the current banking, payment, legal and voting systems. It will necessitate a total re-think of our whole concept of money and, consequently, the economy, governance, law and politics…
Bitcoin: the financial singularity is here
By now it should be clear that, after bitcoin, the world will never be the same. But, similarly to AI, it is hard to foresee whether bitcoin will be good/bad or the end/the beginning of civilization. Yes, you will find the full spectrum of ideological opinions on the topic. But the reality is that the proof is in the pudding and right now we simply don’t know; we can’t know. That is why it is a singularity.
Bitcoin may be the beginning of a new socio-economic system unlike anything we’ve seen so far – one that we can’t possibly imagine from this end of the black hole. Or it could simply be the end of the current system resulting in chaos and anarchy – a disturbing alternative not only for Charlie Stross and Paul Kurgman. The good news is that we are having a soft take-off of this financial singularity and the slower pace of change ought to give us a better chance to understand, steer and adapt to the bitcoin world. No, bitcoin is not perfect – it is hugely disruptive and will likely precipitate a crisis in most realms of our civilization. But our current economic and monetary system is very far from perfect either. And we know it is not going to change from the top down. That is why I prefer to focus on not wasting this opportunity to create a better future, rather than fight it. [After all, a crisis is a terrible thing to waste.]
To sum it all up, in my opinion bitcoin is here to stay – in what shape and form – I can’t really say. I am not sure if bitcoin – the currency, will survive. But I have no doubt that, in one form or another, bitcoin – the platform, will prosper. And thousands, perhaps millions of cryptocurrencies are going to be a major part of our future. [Maybe I will launch a singularity coin ;-]
Though it is unlikely to replace the American dollar any time soon, bitcoin may well end up replacing smaller, more volatile currencies such as the Argentinian pesso or the Zimbabwean dollar. Though it may not replace the banking system any time soon, it may provide a financial framework for the billions of people not able or eligible to use a bank. Thus bitcoin doesn’t have to replace entirely the current system to be successful. But it will make it less and less relevant.
It will take some time before the dust settles and we can start seeing what it all ads up to and begin weighing the consequences. But if bitcoin does not work – people will lose money. If it does work it will change the world as we know it.
I myself am convinced it is the latter. And whether that change is for the better is up to us. So let’s not stand as mere spectators while history is made in front of our eyes. Let us roll up our sleeves and build a better future, better you!
Related articles
The Bitcoin Phenomenon [Short Doc]
Bitcoin: Going from Deceptive to Disruptive
Andreas Antonopoulos on Singularity 1 on 1: “Bitcoin is not currency; it’s the internet of money!”
Source: https://www.singularityweblog.com/bitcoin-the-financial-singularity/
Central Banks, World Elite Using AI to Takeover Bitcoin, Blockchain & World Finance.