Biggest Revolution of our Time?
Why Cryptocurrency is ushering in the next industrial revolution
A few years ago you would be hard-pressed to find someone who knew about bitcoin, let alone what the blockchain is. Today it’s making the daily news and the latest crypto news is an ever-growing segment of the news cycle.
We are now in the fourth industrial revolution, a period marked by advances in artificial intelligence, quantum computers, robotics, 3-D printing, nanotechnology, biotechnology, the internet of things, cryptocurrency, and the blockchain.
Before we can delve into why this is the biggest revolution of our time, we need to first understand the industrial revolutions of the past.
First Industrial Revolution
The first Industrial Revolution took place between the 18th and 19th century and was marked by the transformation and migration of mostly agrarian and rural societies into urban areas.
This was the first time in history people on scale moved to more urban and city centers in the hope of jobs and work offered by the growth of industrial, most notably the iron and textile industry.
Second Industrial Revolution
Less than a hundred years later, taking place between the 1870’s and the first world war (in 1914), the second industrial revolution was marked by the introduction of the steel, oil and electricity industries and the expansion of preexisting industries that marked the first industrial revolution.
Many technological advances (we still use today) developed during this time include the telephone, light bulb, and internal combustion engine.
These further advancements in technology helped to hasten the migration of large numbers of people to the urban and city centers in search of work.
Third Industrial Revolution (Digital Revolution)
More widely known as the Digital Revolution, the third industrial revolution started during the 1980s and is marked by the transition from analog-based systems to digital systems.
Evidence of the digital revolution is ubiquitous today us as we are now in constant contact with it’s technologies which include, at its core the personal computer and the internet.
Fourth Industrial Revolution
Today we find ourselves in the most disruptive of all industrial revolutions -the fourth industrial revolution.
It is marked by breakthroughs in a number of different fields including robotics, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, quantum computers, biotechnology, the internet of things, 3-D printing, autonomous vehicles, and arguably most influential of them all — cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.
It’s the Biggest Revolution of our Time
We are currently in a technological revolution that will fundamentally alter the way we live, work, and interact with others. The worldwide scale and scope of these changes will be unlike anything we have experienced before.
This is not simply an extension of the Digital Revolution but a completely new revolution that will have us asking the most fundamental of questions — what it means to be human and serious inquiry into our personal values and beliefs.
This revolution is happening at an unprecedented rate — exponentially. At no time in history have we seen such a dramatic impact on systems, velocity of change, or worldwide adoption taking place.
The breadth and depth of these changes will fundamentally change entire industries, methods of production, systems of governance, management and most notably finance.
It’s Happening Now
Translation software has dramatically impacted the translation profession. Robotics and artificial intelligence have already replaced much of the labor force in many industries (see Tesla Factory).
Self-driving cars are already on the roads and posed to completely disrupt the taxi, public and private transportation and logistics industries in the near future.
This is also the first revolution which people no longer need to migrate to where their jobs are. We are living in a time where “online jobs” are available on a global scale.
There is a Dark side
This industrial revolution has the potential to increase global income levels, and improve income equality and the overall quality of life for millions of people around the world.
However, it can also have the opposite effect creating greater inequality. Human labor markets could be displaced by AI and autonomous machines on a worldwide scale (even AI trading bots).
Then there are the innovations in biotechnology and the movement towards transhumanism that are pushing the boundaries on what it means to be human.
This revolution will change not only what we do. It will also change who we are and what we believe in.
It’s not a Bubble, it’s a Revolution
We are at the helm of great change. Cryptocurrency and blockchain is simply one spoke in a multiple-spoke wheel called the Fourth Industrial Revolution which will likely include a global financial system affectionally called the New Quantum Financial System.
More now than ever, advances in decentralized (and DeFi — decentralized finance) networks and platforms are giving us the opportunity to shape our future through our individual daily choices.
In the end, it all comes down to you and your personal values and beliefs.
We are all participants in this revolution, whether we are aware of it or not and it’s our participation that shapes its development — this is especially true for investors.
As a crypto investor, you vote with your dollar and this gives you direct power to support those initiatives you believe in. Your decisions will have an impact on our future and those of our children.
Trade Safe.
Richard
