Brave New World
When I am not flexing my muscles making incredible NFT art, I put food on the table by working as a technology expert. I’ve had a long successful career doing so, and I have never seen the rapid pace of innovation that we are witnessing now. We are living in a time of so many disruptive influences, it is impossible to keep count of all of them.
Consider the concept of reusable rockets. The average soccer mom may not think that rocket reusability has anything to do with her, but in a few short years, a certain company has made them routine, and collapsed the cost of lifting payloads to orbit so drastically, that there will be all sorts of unforeseen space applications that make life better for everyone. One example is how quickly Starlink is rolling out; this global internet access method allows anyone, anywhere on the planet, to communicate with anyone else, with quality and speed, for an affordable price. Humanity has never had that ability. Ever.
I could recount other disruptions created by that same company, but I want to point out that all of those innovations are largely due to the driving vision and desire of one guy. A nerdy guy, for sure… but don’t ever let anyone tell you that you personally can’t make a difference.
I have mixed feelings about intellectual property. The primary attribute of this digital age is the ability to copy; music, art, programs, brands, you name it. If I use an application, I pay for it. If I have music, I license it. I create my own images for this and other publications, or seek public domain or released photos, and try to cite the creators. This is why I am so intrigued about what NFTs (non-fungible tokens) represent to creators such as myself. An NFT is essentially a unique digital certificate of ownership, with a history. If I create a photo, and make it into an NFT, that image is now indisputably mine. I can keep it, or sell it. If I created that NFT with royalties in place, any time the image is resold, a portion of the sale price comes back directly to my wallet. There is no agency that does this; NFTs are enforced by smart contracts. (Bitcoin maximalists who sneer at Ethereum and say it will never work, are not paying attention to what is happening right now.) To restate it, as a creator, I can make some art, sell it, and reap royalties, myself, without ever having to rely on a third party. This has immense implications not only for art, but for any system where people can benefit from a public accounting log that can’t be changed.
The basis of NFT capabilities derives from blockchain technology. This is a HUGE disruptor which is shredding traditional industries so quickly, those industries are not even aware they are feet-first in the wood chipper yet. For instance, where is investment capital trending? Decentralized financing, or ‘Defi’ is beginning to hollow out brokerage and banking markets. Bitcoin, and its derivatives, are pushing traditional currencies into the void. If you doubt me, ask yourself why the dollar, which is the world’s reserve currency, has deflated in value by some 90% in the last 100 years, while bitcoin, less than 15 years old, is now worth over $40,000, each.
I haven’t even discussed AI, gene splicing, energy production, data harvesting, or a host of other technological changes. All of these carry massive risks, as well as massive benefits. I am cautiously optimistic for the future… but am aware of the forces who will use these tools to take advantage of us.