How Irish Farmers are Turning Cow Poop into Bitcoin, Why a Former CIA Spy Stops at Every Yellow Light, & AI Needs to Slow Down.
“Most men lead lives of quiet desperation.” – philosopher Henry David Thoreau.
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Photo credit: Daniel Quiceno M
Hi friends,
With everything going on in the world, it’s easy to lose sight of the magical moment we get to live through.
Instead, we feel overwhelmed by the state of affairs, get foggy-brained, feel numb, and rarely feel content with our lives. We’re in a perpetual cycle of wanting more, forgetting that we exist in a miraculous time.
To quote physicist Brian Cox:
“What more do you want? When I see people go: ‘I want more than that, there must be more to it.’ What do you mean? The ingredients in our bodies are assembled in the hearts of long, dead stars. Over billions of years. And have assembled themselves spontaneously into temporary structures that can think and feel and explore. And then their structures will decay away again at some point. And in a very far future, there'll be no structures left. So there we are. We exist in this little window where we can observe this magnificent universe. Why do you want any more?”
Now onto some goodies…
FROM THE MISFIT PODCAST.
I recently spoke with Kgothatso Ngako, a South African software developer, bitcoiner, and founder of Machankura. Manchankura is an innovation allowing Africans to send or receive bitcoin via text messaging. No computer, no smartphone, and no internet is needed. How cool is that?
During our conversation, we talked about Bitcoin adoption in South Africa, the power shortages there, the role of energy in sustaining societies, the lack of net neutrality that exists worldwide, Machankura, and how the fiat system resembles an arcade game that only a few can win.
Listen to the episode on Spotify or Fountain.
WATCH.
Why Are We Bullish?
This past Friday I was on the “Why Are We Bullish?” show hosted by Ben Perrin from BTC Sessions. Ben is a Canadian YouTuber, educator, and ever-the-optimist bitcoiner.
Each of the panelists – including Ben, author Eric Yakes, mining guru Justin Orkney, and myself – came up with a reason on why we were bullish, excited, and hopeful on Bitcoin.
It was a 2.5 hour conversation that left me invigorated for the rest of the weekend. I find that bitcoiners are a brilliant, smart, hopeful, and kind group of people. (Well… most of them.) Anyway, here’s why we’re bullish on Bitcoin.
Perhaps you can share with me why YOU are bullish on bitcoin? I’m curious to know!
… A Quick Lesson on Bitcoin Mining …
Before we get to the next riveting part, let’s quickly sync up on the dreaded term ‘bitcoin mining’.
Bitcoin mining is when super powerful computers compete with each other to validate a series of bitcoin transactions (called a block). These blocks then get added to the blockchain (the ledger) allowing us to have a full record of all bitcoin transactions to date.
For this honourable work (of ensuring that the bitcoin transactions are legitimate and valid), miners get rewarded with bitcoin. And voilà, bitcoin enters our economy!
Through mining we avoid needing a centralized entity (like VISA or Mastercard) running Bitcoin’s financial network. We remain decentralized while keeping the network secure.
But, because bitcoin mining is energy-intensive, miners look for affordable and renewable sources of energy to make a profit — from hydro energy to solar energy and now cow poop!
How Irish Farmers are Turning Cow Poop into Digital Gold (aka Bitcoin).
Tom Campbell, an Irish dairy farmer who runs a farm in County Armagh (Ireland), is using excessive energy from his farm to mine bitcoin. He does this by using a method called “anaerobic digestion.”
“This involves breaking down biodegradable material to a point where it creates methane gas, which can be used to produce electricity.” — Cointelegraph
Tom uses the electricity to power his farm. But when there is too much energy that cannot be exported to the energy grid, he uses it to mine bitcoin. When the excess energy would’ve normally been wasted, now he’s using it to secure a global, financial network. How cool is that?!
Attacks on Bitcoin? Don't Worry; Bitcoin is Unstoppable! (But That Doesn't Mean We'll Do Nothing)
Time and time again we’ve seen Bitcoin survive attacks, proving that it’s unstoppable. According to best-selling author, entrepreneur and Bitcoin expert, Andreas Antonopoulos:
“Right now the vast majority of the attacks against Bitcoin are social attacks. They’re attacks in the media, they’re attacks with propaganda.... They're not attacks against the actual protocol or the miners or anything like that.” — Andreas Antonopoulos
That said, if there were directed attacks against mining or the network then we may need to consider making some technical changes. Here’s how we may need to consider these changes.
Either way: “Don't worry. Bitcoin is unstoppable. But that doesn't mean don't do anything if people tried to stop it.”
READ.
The AI Industry Really Should Slow Down a Little.
If social media taught us that lies travel faster than the truth, that hate speech inspires violence, and that it can be difficult to moderate/regulate corporations, then what on earth will artificial intelligence (AI) teach us? I’m a little terrified to know.
“More than 1,000 technology leaders and researchers, including Elon Musk, have urged artificial intelligence labs to pause development of the most advanced systems, warning in an open letter that A.I. tools present ‘profound risks to society and humanity.’” — The New York Times
But, like social media, AI will also be a sword wielding for good, carving out opportunities where they never existed before. Opportunities far bigger than our imagination can hold. That’s why the next few months will reveal a lot about the effects of AI, like GPT-4, on our society.
We must all think critically about the use and impact of AI. Should we limit the use of AI? Should it be regulated – and by whom (given many of our decision-makers, regulators, and lawmakers seem to lean towards the older/less-techy side of things)? Who should decide the ethics around AI and will these be made public?
AI is bigger than a corporation. It only seems fair that the rest of humanity be involved in these decisions too.
Why a Former CIA Spy Stops at Every Yellow Light.
When Amaryllis Fox was 21 years old, she was recruited into the CIA. By 22, she became one of the youngest female officers assigned to “non-official cover” (meaning she could carry out international operations without diplomatic protections).
Her work included infiltrating terrorist networks in remote areas of the Middle East and Asia, preventing weapons of mass destruction from getting to the wrong people, and dealing with terrifying threats.
What’s fascinating is that CIA spies learn to be so immersed in their cover that they can pass a polygraph test. They can spot the perfect meeting site (one that is isolated enough to avoid attention but also be easily explained if discovered), and to handle followers since surveillants can jeopardize an entire operation.
"When you do counter surveillance training, one of the things that you are taught is not to piss off your surveillant and make them think you are trying to lose them." — Amaryllis Fox.
Yet, some old habits are too hard to shake off — like stopping at yellow lights. And some habits stay with CIA spies for the rest of their lives.
That’s it for now, friends. Remember: “We exist in this little window where we can observe this magnificent universe. Why do you want any more?”
Go out and live your wonderful existence.
Con cariño,
— Ayelen xx
Thanks for the perspectives you share!