GenAI, Tokenization, and BoE’s Payment Innovations: Hubris or Genuine Progress?
Trump's stunning crypto conversion.
Artwork of the day: The Tower of Babel, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, circa 1568
Pieter Bruegel the Elder was among the most significant artists of Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painting, a painter and printmaker, known for his landscapes and peasant scenes; he was a pioneer in presenting both types of subject as large paintings.
The Tower of Babel[a] is an origin myth and parable in the Book of Genesis that explains why the world's peoples speak different languages. It is a testament to humanity's hubris as humans challenged God by reaching to the heavens.
The Tower of Babel was a popular subject with Flemish and particularly Antwerp painters. The biblical story about the confusion of languages in Babylon struck a chord in the busy port of Antwerp, a commercial hub frequented by merchants from different countries. With meticulous precision Bruegel depicted the bustle and commotion in the harbour and on the construction site where work was in progress: more than a thousand small figures can be seen hauling equipment, laying bricks, and loading and unloading building materials.
Why today’s stories matter:
Today’s theme is hubris versus progress, and why I picked today’s today’s painting of the “Tower of Babel.” The painting is a classic example of humanity’s hubris in building a tower to the heavens.
The problem we all face in living in a time of such massive technical transformation is separating hubris from reality, and today, I will look at a few examples.
Today’s lead story focuses on the Bank of England’s plans to modernize currency through constant innovation. This isn’t hubris but a rational view that technology is changing the financial system. It matters because it shows how the BoE is wisely embracing the future.
Next, we turn to two great articles on GenAI: the first explains how to build GenAI applications, and the second provides a blueprint for working with GenAI in your company.
These articles matter because if ever there was an example of humanity’s hubris, it is GenAI. I like GenAI, but I think humanity is overestimating its capabilities, and these articles will help readers stay out of trouble.
What I don’t think is hubris is the massive $30 trillion valuation for the tokenization marketplace. While this may take some time, I see tokenization’s impact on financial markets as inevitable.
Speaking of hubris, I covered Trump’s comments at the Bitcoin convention, but not from a political perspective. I share an objective perspective of what his comments mean for crypto, stablecoin and CBDC. Spoiler alert, CBDCs aren’t happening!
Articles that made me think:
Collateral Damage: The Domestic Impact of U.S. Semiconductor Export Controls
'King dollar' dethroned? USD dominance in an age of geo-economic fragmentation
Finally, a great report from UBS and MIT shows how the next revolution will begin when GenAI makes IoT data and the devices that generate it accessible and controllable.
While GenAI has garnered all the hype, many don't know that IoT has quietly transformed our world and may now account for up to 20% of the world's data generation.
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