So I was listening to a video from the Dollar Vigilante(A YouTube channel that makes content about cryptocurrencies, Anarco –Capitalism, and other topics) hosted by Jeff Berwick, the episode (which I will link to) was mainly focused on the bitcoin bubble. The episode ultimately ended up talking also about the technology behind bitcoin and its future viability. Kerry Lutz (Who was interviewing Jeff) posed an interesting question and made a comment I would like to discuss. Essentially Kerry made the comment that over time we have ultimately seen the stagnation of technology growth. He brought up the infamous Moorse’s law that everyone in the technology community has probably heard of at some point. If you haven’t heard this term the 30 second Google search definition is that every two years the number of transistors in a circuit on a chip such as your CPU for example will double in number. For a while this observation held true as computers progressed they went from being the size of entire rooms to being some thing we can create virtual realities with and are only the size of a cellphone. This transition happened fairly quickly in the grand scheme of things. A computer from 20 years ago today would hardly be functional, where as today our computers have nearly reached there limit for how much complexity and computing power they can physically pack onto a chip as transistors approach the size of atoms. So does this mean that technology is plateauing as Kerry put it?
In my opinion no; yes its true that the physical silicon that we use to create processors are reaching the limit to how small and compact they can be. However quantum computers might have the solution to this problem. Essentially a quantum computers makes its calculations using quantum entanglement which allows for 3 states instead of the 1’s and 0’s we have right now in ordinary binary computing. These computers already exist today however quantum computers and their technologys probably aren’t going to be working themselves into your smart phone or home PC any time soon. They are very effective and running massive simulations and are very proficient at solving very difficult algorithms and problems; but in everyday life a quantum computer really won’t help you cruise FBI-book any faster or give you the most riveting gaming experience. They are niche tools for highly sophisticated work, for right now anyways. So are we reaching a tech limit? Quantum computers clearly don’t do much in the way that an everyday consumer might see or use. In my opinion technology is evolving around us right now but we just don’t see it in the traditional sense.
Bitcoin, 5g, machine learning and AI, these are just of the few things that will forever change how we use technology. Bitcoin and the other cryptocurrencies are taking the power away from centralized and government control and intervention. Not to mention the promising future the block chain technology might provide. 5G mobile data speeds and over the air broadband speeds at gigabit levels will allow for more integrated solutions and change how many people access the internet but the other technologies it brings with it is what is truly promising. Fully automated, self driving cars are feasible but require very low latency high bandwidth internet connections. 5G technologies could allow for this. So long as corporate America doesn’t stunt its own wireless evolution by lowering the expectations for what 5G should be. But that’s a story for another day.
Machine learning and artificial intelligence are these Si-Fi sounding terms from a movie but in reality they too are not only possible but currently they (in one form or another) already exist. A little bit of research into how much data your ISP or internet services like Google collects from us might scare you. To some extent it should. All this data is collected and fed into programs that can predict everything from what we want to buy on Amazon to who we want to friend on social media. All this data most people voluntarily are just giving up and feeding these software machines. Don’t get me wrong many of these services aren’t malicious inherently they can even be very convenient, but just knowing it’s out there for someone or something to access at any time might make you uneasy. Our cell phones and other electronics know more about us, than many of the people in our lives know about us. They can tell you exactly where you were at two weeks ago with your friend or what your latest TV obsessions are.
All these technologies are proof that we aren’t stagnant in our technological growth. Our microchips and CPUs might not be able to grow exponentially faster or smaller forever but technology is evolving in other ways right now. In my opinion it’s more of fine tuning and finding applications for the infrastructure we might already have. It’s an exciting time to be in the tech world right now, we are developing solutions and applications for problems we might not even know exist yet. Things are changing around us today, we just might not see it yet.
-Regards
Dollar Vigilante YouTube Video
Are Cryptocurrencies in a Bubble? And Why Cryptocurrencies Are Changing The Game