News
Famous philosopher Yuval Noah Harari criticizes Bitcoin
Alex Dovbnja
Historian and philosopher Yuval Noah Harari argues that Bitcoin doesn’t fit his vision of finance
Continue reading U.TODAY
Google News
The famous Israeli philosopher Yuval Noah Harari, best known for his best-selling book “Sapiens”, recently he took aim against Bitcoin, calling it “a currency of distrust.”
While Bitcoin supporters may have good reason to distrust banks, their preference for the leading cryptocurrency is still based on distrust of human institutions, Harari argues.
The famous intellectual says this is an “alarming development”, given that money is supposed to create trust between strangers.
“I understand the causes of this mistrust, but it is an alarming development,” he said.
He hopes humanity will find a way to build trustworthy human institutions instead of adopting technologies of distrust. The philosopher also added that human beings control the world precisely because they have learned to trust each other. He warned that algorithms could start to control the world if humans put all their trust in them.
“Farmers grow food. Shoemakers make shoes. What is the function of the financial system? Finance creates trust,” says Harari. She adds that various financial systems should build trust between strangers who can cooperate on shared projects.
“Originally, there was very little trust in institutions such as banks and governments, so money was minted from gold. Since gold was scarce, this limited the amount of money and economic cooperation,” he noted. Today, 90% of money is just computer data that cannot be easily understood by humans.
In March, Harari also spoke out against the use artificial intelligence (AI) in finance. The philosopher warned that this technology could make financial regulation even less clear for humans. People should first understand how AI works and regulate it instead of integrating it into the financial system.
According to Harari’s philosophy, humanity is largely guided by myths that make large-scale collective cooperation possible.
About the author
Alex Dovbnja
Alex Dovbnya (aka AlexMorris) is a cryptocurrency expert, trader and journalist with extensive experience covering everything related to the burgeoning industry, from price analysis to Blockchain disruption. Alex has authored more than 1,000 stories for U.Today, CryptoComes, and other fintech media. He is particularly interested in regulatory trends around the world that are shaping the future of digital assets; he can be contacted at alex.dovbnya@u.today.