TL; DR
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Mercedes unveiled a concept car with an ’emotional’ AI assistant and shows off the owner’s NFT collection.
Full story
“What are you even doing here? There is no room for you under this roof!”
What is this:
A) Our reaction to seeing blockchain technology at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES)?
OR
B) What we said to our mother’s boyfriend, Greg, when he came to Christmas dinner when we were ten?
Whether you answered A) or B, you are correct.
(Congratulations!)
Today we’re going to focus on point A) and look at the latest product integration of blockchain technology, on display at CES.
(Full disclaimer: this article shouldn’t be filed under “This is cool” so much as it should be filed under “This is a gimmick”).
This is what we’re talking about:
Mercedes recently unveiled a concept car that features an ’emotional’ AI assistant and displays the owner’s NFT collection.
And if you’re wondering “who is this ’emotional NFT car’ for?” The answer is: nobody actually (these types of concept cars almost never go into production).
But we’re straying from the topic…
Here’s why there’s no place for blockchain technology at CES (at least as it stands now):
Blockchain is primarily an infrastructure technology.
This means that it should (ideally) work in the background, without the end user being aware of it.
In the same way that when you watch a show on Netflix, you are not actively aware that the video is being hosted/streamed from an Amazon Web Services (AWS) server to your TV.
…so where does blockchain ‘fit’ into the existing technology landscape?
Everywhere where digital value is exchanged, but has not yet been:
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Generate revenue
For example, collecting/trading digital items in a video game.OR
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Unified/standardized worldwide
For example, borderless, stateless banking at super low costs.
(Neither needs a booth at CES anymore).