Intelligence Squared: “Blockchain: Quantum leap forward or digital snake oil?” last night — Monday 2 July 2018

 

The Intelligence Squared event last night was great fun! A very interesting and productive discussion.

It was held in the auditorium of the Emmanuel Centre, near Victoria tube station. I’m not sure of numbers, but it was pretty well attended.

The format was a panel discussion on the question: “Blockchain: Quantum leap forward or digital snake oil?” Moderator was Kamal Ahmed, the Economics Editor for BBC News. The other panelists were:

• Vít Jedlička, the President of Liberland — a “micronation” that doesn’t quite have a territory yet, so is functionally Internet-based. Its official currency is Bitcoin.
• Primavera De Filippi, a blockchain lawyer and academic, who has written at length on the blockchain’s possibilities for the future.
• Jamie Bartlett, author of several books on new technologies, the dark nets, cryptocurrencies and so forth.

Vit and Primavera were notionally on the “quantum leap” side and Jamie and I on the “snake oil” side, though Jamie was surprisingly optimistic about the future of blockchain — i.e., that any of this could work or be useful — and Primavera acknowledged quite a lot of the practical problems and the hugely snake-oil nature of much blockchain promotion.

The discussion didn’t so much get into non-cryptocurrency blockchains (to the disappointment of a few attendees) — it started at cryptocurrencies and more or less stayed there.

I mostly talked about snake oil merchants, the cryptocurrency world and how blockchain marketing works. Vit and Jamie were very into the idea that cryptocurrencies were a huge threat to present governments, who would surely seek to crush them. I responded that this sort of claim was largely fairy stories that Bitcoiners tell themselves. I predicted cryptos would normalise into just another financial instrument with suitable regulation within a few years, given how financial regulation works in the real world.

Vit was heavily into the possibilities of smart contracts and DAOs to automate governance functionality. Primavera brought up The DAO as the obvious counterexample. “Smart contract” correctly translates as “computer program, but you can’t fix bugs.”

We were surprised and pleased that all the questioners asked straightforward questions, and there weren’t any speeches from the floor — remarkable for a blockchain event.

The event was recorded, and will be edited down to an hour for the Intelligence Squared podcast. Update: Podcast is up!

Twitter came to the party with photos! I need a more cheerful tie. (No, no crypto logos or “blockchain” stock photos, thanks.)

 

https://twitter.com/BChainPRBuzz/status/1013855245825388544

Excited to be at the #iq2debate debate to hear @JamieJBartlett, @yaoeo, @davidgerard and @Vit_Jedlicka discuss current and future uses of blockchain technology. pic.twitter.com/lo9y3JJbhO

— Miranda | Text FLORIDA to 30330🍊 (@miranda_barrie) July 2, 2018

Attending the Intelligence2 debate at the Emmanuel Centre pic.twitter.com/FHRMr5Icfl

— James Bowater – City A.M.’s Crypto Insider (@CityAM_Crypto) July 2, 2018

Blockchain: Quantum Leap or Digital Snake Oil? Great panel discussion from thought leaders this evening. #iq2debate #blockchainiscoming pic.twitter.com/rTucsHvDUQ

— Kapsule (@Kapsule_Life) July 2, 2018

Kamal Ahmed starts the discussion @intelligence2 #iq2debate pic.twitter.com/tsiFODG2hQ

— Abel Hadden (@abelhadden) July 2, 2018

“You regulate the use not the technology” says @yaoeo #iq2debate #blockchaintechnology pic.twitter.com/VNfF1IFgQ2

— Alan Newton (@AlanRNewton) July 2, 2018

"The more you attack bitcoin the more it will grow. Governments trying to put an end to cryptocurrency is like trying to put an end to the internet" Vít Jedlička #iq2debate pic.twitter.com/zlHKN2JZwn

— Intelligence Squared (@intelligence2) July 2, 2018

https://twitter.com/BChainPRBuzz/status/1013869599215869952

Some pretty valid analogies in the air!
"Private #Blockchain is like #beer without #alcohol."
–@yaoeo #blockchain #cryptocurrency #Bitcoin #Debate #event #HeatWave #london #fintech #government #iq2debate pic.twitter.com/k63vs8TnIR

— BTC Wires (@btc_wires) July 2, 2018

https://twitter.com/BChainPRBuzz/status/1013866772678799361

Interesting Q for #blockchain community… ‘How does #GDPR impact someone’s right to be forgotten when the tech is an immutable ledger?’ #iq2debate

Anonymising data is possible and very relevant in enterprise use. pic.twitter.com/9dr63xF2yg

— Alan Newton (@AlanRNewton) July 2, 2018

"if you're going to commit a crime it's probably not best to commit it on an immutable, permanent ledger" – @davidgerard #iq2debate pic.twitter.com/tnPy60Whzz

— Intelligence Squared (@intelligence2) July 2, 2018