this post was submitted on 13 Aug 2023
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AI Is Starting to Look Like the Dot Com Bubble (futurism.com)
submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/technology
385 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

As the AI market continues to balloon, experts are warning that its VC-driven rise is eerily similar to that of the dot com bubble.

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I think people are using the word scam not in it's strictest sense - that is to say, I don't think Satoshi personally invented BTC to defraud everyone who bought it so in that sense, no, it is not a scam technically. A better way to describe it would be via the greater fool theory: the only way to make money is to find someone even more foolish than yourself to buy it.

Crypto as it is currently implemented is inefficient, riddled with problems, and is deflationary which you can argue about but most economists would say deflationary currencies are bad as they lead to shrinking economies and do not encourage investment.

There also aren't that many problems that it 'solves' that aren't already solvable by existing tech. And even in the case of things it's useful for, if it were to be widely adopted the 'benefits' would be overshadowed by the massive new problems that would be created.

I think crypto will always have a niche, especially for black markers. I don't think anything similar to currently existing crypto currencies will ever be adopted for widespread use as legal tender.

And as the other commenter pointed out, the tax situation is a nightmare. Even if you don't sell online yourself, that's a big hurdle to crypto achieving what many supporters claim it can do.

[–] Freesoftwareenjoyer 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

A better way to describe it would be via the greater fool theory: the only way to make money is to find someone even more foolish than yourself to buy it.

Cryptocurrency is not about making money. It's a distributed ledger. Technology like that could maybe be a scam if it didn't do what its creators claim it does. But it's been around for a long time and we know exactly how it works.

Crypto as it is currently implemented is inefficient, riddled with problems, and is deflationary which you can argue about but most economists would say deflationary currencies are bad as they lead to shrinking economies and do not encourage investment.

It has problems, but like every technology it keeps improving. I choose to use it despite its flaws and will probably use it even more in the future.

There also aren’t that many problems that it ‘solves’ that aren’t already solvable by existing tech.

It gives me privacy and anonymity when paying online. No other online payment technology does. It also doesn't require trust, since it's decentralized. I'm not aware of any other technology that solves those problems.

I think crypto will always have a niche, especially for black markers. I don’t think anything similar to currently existing crypto currencies will ever be adopted for widespread use as legal tender.

That's possible, but over time it is accepted by more and more stores. So it keeps growing. But even if it didn't, you can use crypto to buy gift cards for any store. It doesn't have to be popular.

And as the other commenter pointed out, the tax situation is a nightmare. Even if you don’t sell online yourself, that’s a big hurdle to crypto achieving what many supporters claim it can do.

When someone wants to invest in crypto, I can see how that could be a problem. I just use it to pay for things online.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Cryptocurrency is not about making money. It's a distributed ledger. Technology like that could maybe be a scam if it didn't do what its creators claim it does. But it's been around for a long time and we know exactly how it works.

I would venture that the majority of people see it as an investment of one sort or another. I think the insane market cap, and the devestating effect the recent crash had on its reputation and use, are evidence of that.

It has problems, but like every technology it keeps improving. I choose to use it despite its flaws and will probably use it even more in the future.

Most cryptos have fundamental problems that I don't see being fixed, eg it's deflationary properties, BTC's wasteful PoW, ETH skirting/crossing the boundary of being a security, etc.

It gives me privacy and anonymity when paying online. No other online payment technology does. It also doesn't require trust, since it's decentralized. I'm not aware of any other technology that solves those problems.

This is like the one thing they are good for, and Monero is the best at it. This is an arguable point though, others may say that this is a negative due to the implications and governments have cracked down on privacy enhancing tools like Tornado Cash for this reason. I personally value privacy to an extent, but do not see the need in my life to use Monero. I certainly wouldn't fault you for using it, though.

That's possible, but over time it is accepted by more and more stores. So it keeps growing. But even if it didn't, you can use crypto to buy gift cards for any store. It doesn't have to be popular.

I think adoption has stagnated. And look at El Salvador, they basically had to force crypto on the populace and they use their own proprietary wallet, nullifying privacy benefits. And again, it is treated as an investment by the government there who are buying BTC to speculate.

When someone wants to invest in crypto, I can see how that could be a problem. I just use it to pay for things online.

Yeh this is dependant on your country. Here in Australia every crypto transaction is a capital gains event 🙄

[–] Freesoftwareenjoyer 1 points 1 year ago

I would venture that the majority of people see it as an investment of one sort or another. I think the insane market cap, and the devestating effect the recent crash had on its reputation and use, are evidence of that.

You are right, but it doesn't matter what most people think. I mean we should educate them about it, but their opinion is irrelevant.

Most cryptos have fundamental problems that I don’t see being fixed, eg it’s deflationary properties, BTC’s wasteful PoW, ETH skirting/crossing the boundary of being a security, etc.

Etherum has already switched from proof of work algorithm to less wasteful proof of stake. So it seems that at least that problem can be solved.

This is like the one thing they are good for, and Monero is the best at it. This is an arguable point though, others may say that this is a negative due to the implications and governments have cracked down on privacy enhancing tools like Tornado Cash for this reason. I personally value privacy to an extent, but do not see the need in my life to use Monero. I certainly wouldn’t fault you for using it, though.

You should be able to buy any of the popular cryptocurrencies anonymously. They won't make your payment history private like Monero does, but you will still be anonymous when paying.

I think adoption has stagnated. And look at El Salvador, they basically had to force crypto on the populace and they use their own proprietary wallet, nullifying privacy benefits. And again, it is treated as an investment by the government there who are buying BTC to speculate.

I don't know exact stats, but it's bigger than I expected before I started looking into it. There are a lot of crypto ATMs now in cities, which you can see at https://coinatmradar.com. There are also some stores and restaurants that accept crypto, especially in the US (https://coinmap.org/view). You can also find some online services on https://cryptwerk.com. El Salvador is certainly messed up. Bitcoin probably isn't even a good choice, because of its big transaction fees. Other cryptocurrencies are faster, can handle more transactions and have smaller fees.

Yeh this is dependant on your country. Here in Australia every crypto transaction is a capital gains event 🙄

Damn, that's crazy. So you can't even buy something without paying an extra tax?