I spend every day thinking about tomorrow. I’m now kind of troubled about tomorrow when I think about yesterday. Many things of old were great. The fact they’ve all gone or are going is maybe an issue.
The fact that vinyl disappeared, replaced by CDs and now streaming was something. Yet, it’s weird, as it has comeback.
Nevertheless, every time I see someone advertising music, I think to myself: I can stream that for free. Now, we can deep fake anyone’s face but, more than this, we can do that with their voice too …
Nevertheless, I prefer watching the original in the original language. Maybe that’s me because I’m old.
Similarly, the reading of books has become a thing of the past although, for those who don’t read books, it suggests you are missing a key characteristic (reference Kanye West and Sam Bankman-Fried). Nevertheless, I find there’s nothing more satisfying than smelling and reading a page-turner book … but maybe that’s because I write books.
Then there’s banking.
I still love the feel of a banknote. Bank notes represent the culture and history of countries. We may say cash is not necessary but has so many unique attributes. The faces on the notes or the landmarks they represent; the fact that cash notes are trusted and can be transacted with immediate trust; the history of the currency and notes, and the way in which society has changed; the general idea that a bank note is a landmark of your country. I’m gonna miss all fo that when it all goes digital.
Like vinyl, books, going to the cinema or doing anything physical, I’m going to miss all of that when everything is digital … including cash and bank notes.
But then, when looking to the future, we can have a future that is hugely automated. We can have a future where robots look after our every need. A future where we don’t have to do anything.
How we will earn an income is a big question, but then I felt challenged when thinking about a near-term future where robots do everything, and humans just sit around and watch, so the robots start their own civil rights movement.
Robots rebel!
Robots fight back, digital money disappears, streaming music stops and the books you love to read are scrapped, as in Fahrenheit 451.
The more digital we become, the more we hope the more decentralised we become. The probability is no. The more digital we become, the more governments will control what we read, enjoy and do. And by having that control, they control the way we think.
Controlling our money, our movies, our music, our reading and our books, governments will control our lives. So, the more we argue for decentralisation, the more likely that the centralists will take over. Or am I wrong?
Meanwhile, Happy Valentine's Day!
Chris M Skinner
Chris Skinner is best known as an independent commentator on the financial markets through his blog, TheFinanser.com, as author of the bestselling book Digital Bank, and Chair of the European networking forum the Financial Services Club. He has been voted one of the most influential people in banking by The Financial Brand (as well as one of the best blogs), a FinTech Titan (Next Bank), one of the Fintech Leaders you need to follow (City AM, Deluxe and Jax Finance), as well as one of the Top 40 most influential people in financial technology by the Wall Street Journal's Financial News. To learn more click here...
