AI and Crypto Are Becoming Regulatory Frenemies
The competition between digital currencies and artificial intelligence for the hearts and minds of tech innovators - and the wallets of venture capitalists - reflects a more general dichotomy.
Crypto and AI have the same regulatory problems.
Photographer: Edwin Koo/Bloomberg via Getty Images
In 1865, Britain passed its infamous “Red Flag” act — copied in many other places — to regulate for self-propelled vehicles. It required a crew of three for each vehicle, one member of which was to walk 60 yards ahead with a red flag to warn horses and riders of the vehicle’s approach. It also imposed a four mile-per-hour speed limit, or two miles-per-hour in populated areas.
Why is this relevant now? Because attempts some 158 years later to regulate cryptocurrencies and artificial intelligence will seem equally silly to future generations. Technology transforms society according to its functionality and what people want to do with it, not conservative regulations passed by clueless officials.