The Fundamental Problem With The Concept of Blockchain Technology?

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I happened to come across an interesting interview yesterday as Bobby Lee (Yes, THE Bobby Lee) made a bold proclamation that blockchain technology could never really adopt real world use case status, given the inefficiencies of the “human” element backing them. Such as a hospital, for instance. A doctor may record a patient’s disease to a medical blockchain by reason of the symptoms they display. This may well turn out to have been a misdiagnosis, thus leading to possibly one or more ledge entries containing wrong information or data. Hence, from my standpoint, his argument appears to carry some validity.*

I never really thought of it that way before. Also highlighted was the fact that cryptocurrency is, by its nature, not reliant on the actual “mechanics of the machine” to run via user input and is therefore the best implementation of blockchain tech that we can hope for in the near term. I guess this makes me (as well as countless others invested in the crypto space) feel somewhat secure, but also opens up a multitude of issues that might hinder the ultimate progression of the “Blockchain” itself. In fact, many proponents in the field cite this underlying revolutionary technology as where the “real” intrinsic value of cryptocurrency is stored.

Now, I understand why the “distributed” model is what makes blockchain such a tantalizing prospect for most. Primarily being no intervention from third parties, who in the past have profited greatly from this mandatory role. But can these middle men be eradicated completely? I suppose the answer is no, given that many business structures will still require people to transcribe sensitive data to their systems and humans will always be prone to error. There is no getting around that fact. So, in essence, you will have company-wide blockchains whose data validation will only be as reliable as the person who inserted those particular entries. It’s fascinating stuff and just goes to show how earlier we are to the game.

At the same time, “AI” is being improved upon in leaps and bounds. That in itself in another form of disruptive distribution, in that the powers-that-be hope to one day automate many of the jobs we take for granted today. The introduction of driverless cars being the largest worldwide upcoming application of this. Thousands of jobs will go redundant overnight. Couriers, taxi services, public transport. These market sectors will be the first to go extinct. But still, the above is still just a crude implementation into the vast arena of “AI” and so it should also be safe to assume that this technology will continue to improve over time too.

So, it stands to reason that combining AI and blockchain, would be a match made in heaven. Don't you think? AI routines will always be far superior to any human brain out there. The low tolerance room for error, as well as the speed of which calculations are performed, will render the need for human intervention moot. However, we are still some time away from a world I’m describing. I’m thinking that this is the direction things are heading. An autonomous world where AI assumes command in regards to taking care of our daily living requirements and that blockchain technology will eventually fall into the hands of vastly superior robotic intelligence systems. For the greater good of mankind, of course (though not according to Prof. Stephen Hawking, lol).

A little something to ponder over, lol! I’d be interested to hear what you guys think, especially in relation to Bobby Lee’s brazen, yet thought provoking comments.

Hope you enjoyed this post, please look out for more on the way... (author: @ezzy)

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