My key takeaways from the MIT’s Blockchain: Disruptive Technology course include learning about the various open-source tech tools that enable (with such ease-of-use) the ability for anyone to design tokens and consortiums without coding experience, along with the ability to work with ready-to-use BaaS platforms and services.
However, my greatest takeaway is as follows.
The fact that anyone can verify a transaction — essentially, the transparency that blockchain offers — is what completely democratizes the technology. The beauty of blockchain is its potential to eradicate the oppressive and controlling exclusivity of "old money" and level the playing field to offer access and inclusivity to anyone interested in being a part of the community. Blockchain seeks to break the stranglehold of hierarchical organizations dominated by a few and replace them with more democratic structures. Soon, gone will be the days when only financially powerful individuals and institutions dominate the business, financial, and social landscape, introducing an era of major disruption to the established order.
Its greatest appeal is blockchain’s potential to not only change the ways in which financial institutions and businesses function, but its power to transform society. Some see blockchain as a gateway to a cashless society, a solution to the limitations of fiat currencies, and a means to promote personal autonomy. It appeals to libertarian ideologies of a utopian state with an intoxicating list of desirable qualities: the security of encrypted ledgers; automation based on smart contracts; the resilience of its distributed structure; and the anonymity and data protection of its immutable ledgers.
Transforming Our World
Imagine a city were schools, buildings, and highways are built based on this technology. This was the idea behind Blockchains, LLC’s Innovation Zone proposal: to build a smart city to serve as an incubator for how blockchain technology could be used in a physical setting. While the proposal was withdrawn due to lack of support and opposition from environmentalists, local government officials and people skeptical of the growing power of technology companies, I believe this is the future direction of blockchain. Similar concepts will arise and we will eventually get to a place where integrating blockchain technology into our everyday lives will be embraced by many and become our reality.
Blockchains, LLC's original idea proposed the creation of a smart city based on blockchain, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, and 3D printing where citizens control their own data through the digital economy. It’s a revolutionary idea that can change how we relate to one another and our environment.
This illustration provided by Blockchains LLC shows a proposed “smart city” in rural northern Nevada. (C) EYRC Architects/Blockchains LLC via AP.
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