Governments and the people in them, in theory, are there to serve the public. One of the roles is to protect the population from various threats.
How often that is achieved along with the focus of governments is highly debatable. That said, when it comes to technology in this era, throw in the towel.
This is something that industries as well as the general population are going to have to deal with. Responsibility is going to fall more onto individuals to protect themselves from certain threats, especially online. Technology can actually help in this area, if people are willing to educate themselves.
One of my theories is the current collapse in confidence in governments is the start of a broader trend. We are looking at outdated organizations that were designed in the physical world. The impotency of these entities is now being shown.
In this article we will give into why governments are basically useless when it comes to the technological world we live in.
Governments Cannot Keep Up
Nancy Pelosi, the 84 year old congresswoman from California, recently criticized the bill that the state passed regarding AI regulation.
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What makes this headline ironic is the presumption that she is informed about this subject.
Here we have a prime example of the problem.
Governments all over the world are fairly similar to the US. The United States Senate is full of fossils such as Mitch McConnell, Bernie Sanders, and Chuck Schumer. These people are not from the technological era. In fact, they are from a time when technology was advancing very slowly.
Thus, for any of the political class to believe they have the ability to keep up with technology is absurd. Even if they were studying it, which isn't likely, there are not enough hours in a day to remain on top of everything.
That, of course, does not preclude them from passing laws and enacting regulation.
When you have governments that were born in a time when the world was physical, how is it going to adapt to the digital? Some will state how government was a driver of technological development. That was true, years ago. It is not the case today.
Look at space. This was once the domain of governments. It is now run by private corporations that can advance quicker and bring innovation. NASA is a joke compared to what private entities are doing.
Naturally, bureaucracy is a large part of this equation.
This not only applies to the public sector. Private companies that are mired in this are going to suffer. In my view, this is one of the problems Google has. It is no longer an innovative company to market. They might develop a lot of breakthrough stuff but to get approval to go live is a nightmare.
Contrast this with Zuckerberg who still has the "develop something, test the hell out of it, and go live" approach. For all the attack Meta gets, this is thing it resisted. It is why the company can keep reinventing itself.
If this is a problem for some Big Tech firms, what do you think the impact is on governments?
Crypto Moving Too Quickly
Justin Wang, the founder and CEO of Zeus Network, recently make the point about the pace of innovation and government. While he was referring to bridges in particular, it is valid across the entire industry.
This is what he had to say:
Nevertheless, the CEO said developers should keep working on finding better solutions, even as this seems a lost cause. In written responses shared with Bitcoin.com News, Wang expressed confidence that a foolproof model guaranteeing the security of users’ assets will eventually be found. Additionally, he said the developers’ quest to find newer or safer solutions will not only inspire others but also help keep “the innovation flywheel spinning around, furthering progress in the industry.”
Meanwhile, Wang suggested that regulators are likely to continue experiencing difficulties in influencing or controlling the crypto industry because the usual restrictions or requirements imposed on traditional finance cannot easily be enforced in a decentralized world. He also cited the pace of innovation in the crypto industry, which he said makes it difficult for notoriously slow regulators or governments to keep up.
This is a perspective that I agree with.
For years I felt it ridiculous that Gary Gensler was going after crypto using laws that were written in the 1930s. Granted, Gensler has nothing else to go on but he was applying something that could have been from Mars.
Of course, in the United States, we are nearing the last part of 2024 and there is no new crypto regulation. This was something that Joe Biden first broached more than 2 years ago.
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Whether one is in agreement with the executive order or not is immaterial. The fact that it was issued and now, 2.5 years later, nothing was done shows the impotency of government.
Let us contrast this with the advancement of LLMs since that time. This order was more than 8 months before the release of ChatGPT3. Just think of all the change that took place with generative AI over that period of time.
This should exemplify how far apart these two worlds are.
The Gap Will Widen
The United States has an election coming up. This mean many of the politicians are focused upon getting re-elected. That does not mean, however, that nothing is passed.
It is possible that something regarding cryptocurrency goes through Congress and is signed. That said, there is a degree of probability the opposite is true.
As we enter 2025, we will have to see the make up of the government.
If it is divided in some way, with either the Republicans or Democrats having one branch of either Congress or the presidency, then we could be in for some stalemates.
The new terms do not start until January. Depending upon what is taking place in the world, the focus might not be on these topics as a high priority. After all, there is Russia/Ukraine, Israel/Gaza, China, tariffs, the economy, and who knows what else which garners headlines. Perhaps some will not be an issue but there is always the chance other things will surface.
What will they focus upon is always is crucial.
My point is the longer they look away, the further behind they get. With AI, if they punt until next Summer, the gap will see so wide they cannot even begin to close it.
Crypto is not much different. The reason I think this is due to the fact that both are going to be aligned. AI is ideally suited for crypto. As these networks are built out, they will be enhanced by AI. We are going to see faster, more efficient networks that offer a wider array of features, especially in the DeFi realm.
As was stated, governments are ill-suited for this already.
Technology is like a Ferrari and governments akin to the horse and buggy. Whether you care for Sam Altman or not, we know the majority of the members of OpenAi aren't spending their time on the campaign trail. That company is moving ahead as fast as it can.
They are not the only one.
My guess is that, a year from now, the gap is so wide governments will be basically useless when it comes to AI and crypto. They will pass bills which will be made obsolete before the President has a chance to sign them.
Posted Using InLeo Alpha