AI and crypto are becoming regulatory frenemies
The competition between digital currencies and artificial intelligence for the hearts and minds of tech innovators – and the wallets of venture capitalists – reflects a more general dichotomy
IN 1865, Britain passed its infamous “Red Flag” act – copied in many other places – to regulate for self-propelled vehicles. It required a crew of three for each vehicle, one member of which was to walk 60 yards (54.9 metres) ahead with a red flag to warn horses and riders of the vehicle’s approach. It also imposed a four mile-per-hour (6.4 kmh) speed limit, or two miles per hour in populated areas.
Why is this relevant now? Because attempts some 158 years later to regulate cryptocurrencies and artificial intelligence (AI) will seem equally silly to future generations. Technology transforms society according to its functionality and what people want to do with it, not conservative regulations passed by clueless officials.
The collapse of crypto exchange FTX in November 2022, capping a “horribilis annus” for big-name, regulated digital currencies, combined with the demo release of ChatGPT the same month, sent venture capital money fleeing from crypto and into AI.
KEYWORDS IN THIS ARTICLE
BT is now on Telegram!
For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend. Subscribe to t.me/BizTimes
Opinion & Features
It is time to put idle cash back into the market
Consider housing policy tweaks to boost Singapore’s birth rate
Gauging sentiment is crucial, and there are hard and easy ways to do it
Interests of OCBC and Great Eastern’s minority shareholders are fundamentally misaligned
The election-devaluation cycle
Singapore offices await a new wave of tenants