The Future of Technology

My dad, born in the walled Jewish ghetto of Tehran, Iran, built himself a small fortune using an abacus. I immigrated to America and got an engineering degree using the same calculator, the slide rule, that sent a man to the moon.

The impact of the mainframe computers in the 1950s and the personal computers in the 1980s has often been compared to the invention of the printing press and electricity in the march of human evolution. I recall rehearsing my message before making an expensive long-distance call; a worldwide video connection is free and instant today.

There it is, in one lifetime – from Tehran to Boulder, from an abacus to a supercomputer in my pocket. So now the question is, what’s next on this logarithmic curve of progress?  

While predictions, especially about the future of technology, are daunting, I’d like to think Highland Institute for the Advancement of Humanity is well situated to take a stab at compelling areas such as Blockchain, Stablecoins, Bitcoin, Crypto, Artificial Intelligence, and Quantum Computing. On this front, I’d like to explore a few random thoughts on a range of issues:

With $34 trillion in national debt and no political backbone to address the consequences, it appears that the era of the Petrodollar may be over. The current Bitcoin price of ~$70,000 and gold at ~$2400 point to the dollar's vulnerability as a global reserve currency. The Brave New World of Stablecoins is one failed U.S. Treasury auction away from reality.

Bitcoin could supplant the current monetary fiat systems found in roughly 180 countries as the new global currency, like today’s Euro in trans-Europe. 

Although the full impact of Artificial Intelligence on business is unclear, AI will play a huge role in future global business transactions. Since AI cannot transact in fiat currencies, watch for the role of Crypto and Blockchain in future AI transactions. In fact, think of AI as a feature, not a product.

Given that our legal system is traditionally twenty years behind the world of innovation, this transition may be decades in the making. But prepare we must; the sooner, the better, and I can not think of a better place than Highland Institute in Boulder, Colorado, to contemplate the inevitable. 

Behold the future of technology.

— Sina.