# 9 - The Future of Tech |AI |Cryptocurrencies |New computing platforms
From Invest Like the Best & Summarised by Untethered.email - capturing the uncaptured
TL; DL (Too Long; Didn't Listen)
In this edition, you will learn 3 Megatrends for the next 5 to 10 years (again, 5-10 years horizon) from Chris Dixon on Invest Like the Best
Artificial intelligence
Cryptocurrencies
New computing platforms
Self-driving Cars
Drones
Virtual reality/augmented reality
Find out what smart people are working on during the weekend, and you’ll know what other will be doing years in the future. - Chris Dixon
“There’s simplification in cryptocurrency industry than any other big companies so people will invest on them more.” - Chris Dixon
“If you want more jobs, give the guy spoons instead of shovel.” - Milton Freeman
“Technology is a lever for doing more with less.” - Patrick O’Shaughnessy
Insights
Technology’s driving force
We mistakenly feel that the deep satisfaction feeling we get, when we achieve things in our little ways makes us happy.
The idea of engineering or creating what’s already been used by the society seems to be more helpful in most people’s perspective.
The decision now is about how useful it will be for most people.
Will automation kill all of the jobs?
Having a conversation about automation is essential as it will determine how it will affect one’s life.
History of technology has caused some displacements but over the time, is has created more jobs, and has improved the overall quality of life.
With the new technology, it’s just easier to imagine the jobs that will go away, but not the jobs that will be created.
Like 20 years ago, we will imagine that Photoshop will destroy print and graphic design industry, but we failed to imagine web developing jobs, and mobile application designers.
Other job opportunities materialized with designing industry. With common goals to increase welfare and well-being.
History in networks and network design
Algorithms in Network Design should be the title of the Computer Science’s field. It’s dealing with abstract mathematical thing rather than the use of computer.
Software differs from hardware wherein software is literally encoding of human ideas.
“If you can think of it, you can write a software that embodies it.”- Chris Dixon
Internet for me is a plastic, malleable, form of media. Unlike hardware-based of network like television and radio.
Software and hardware companies
It’s the degrees of freedom with software and hardware differs from each other.
Hardware, you’re fundamentally limited with physics
Software, the degree of freedom is literally the limit of human thoughts.
Thus, software companies commoditized much slower than hardware companies.
Features of proprietary centralized networks and open networks
Proprietary centralized networks have this analogy of having a super box of computer that accessed human information.
Though no one predicted the internet in science fiction that you can have access to it in your pocket like the miracle I’m referring to which are Google, Facebook that were for free and the outsourced encyclopaedia, Wikipedia.
Why internet beat AOL
There are great million software developers in the world
“No matter how many smart people you have working for you, the smartest people don’t work for you as much as it works for somebody else.” - Billy Joel
The reason why internet beat AOL is that they captured the hearts and minds of massive community since internet is set of decentralized protocols that you can change.
Centralized vs decentralized
It is like Google versus Wikipedia.
Google has centralized information though has been run by ads and profits
Wikipedia is a non-profit outsourced search engine that only ask for money once or twice a year because their mode of getting information is not expensive.
This is the reason all platform now of companies trying to expand their market by creating things that will likely be used by everybody such as all applications now have voice assistants.
Decentralized systems, on the other hand, has this benefit that users, developers, and people participating in a specific platform, can feel that they can build on the platform and not having rules of the game change.
Concerns on protocols and centralization of the system problems
Giving a history that cryptocurrency started in 2009 with publication of bitcoins. It grows with miners being the main platform.
It sky-rocketed by 2013 since the prices of services and products went up though it crashed because there’s an argument among developers about bitcoin protocol over how much memory to offer on each block lowering the amount of investments.
So, there were developers wanting to change protocols focusing on computation of how much should be paid how powerful your computer software are assisting you to mine with arbitrary computer codes served as contracts.
What major trends is Chris passionately pursuing
Chris wanted to remind everyone that it takes a whole lot of investment in this platform.
He made this prediction, same with all of his other prediction, with 5 to 10-year horizon and not 2 to 3 years. A very long-term horizon is required when trying to build fundamentally new business models on new technologies.
It’s one of the best-presented platform or technology.
Other than cryptocurrency, Chris invests in Artificial Intelligence materials over weekends.
Checking error rates of information and researching about all other computing powers or software that will provide you data and resources.
Cryptocurrency platform is a very promising platform wherein right now in its fast-paced growth, he wonders what other opportunities are.
There are 3 major technologies right now that like internet intersects with mobile technology: Cryptocurrency, Artificial Intelligence, and Internet intersects and will amplifies each other.
There are a lot of things that can be imagined and materialized. Every people will invest on this.
“There’s simplification in cryptocurrency industry than any other big companies so people will invest on them more.”
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