I don't usually read autobiographies but a few years ago I happened to stumble upon Steve Jobs' one. While I was skimming through it, one particular sentiment caught my attention. It did strike me because Steve, myself and the movie Idiocracy, happened to share the same idea: Humans enjoy being idiots.
I am noting "enjoy" because thinking takes effort. Also, Steve Jobs did not really call humanity idiots. More or less, he said that the reason for his success was because he invested contra to what everyone else was doing in regards to "advancing humanity". While hardware and software developers tried to offer more flexibility, functions and education in regards to using computers, Steve Jobs decided to go the exact opposite way. He designed products for people who had no idea about computers and had no desire in learning. In other words, he invested in human self perpetuating stupidity.
When visionaries hope to "educate" and "advance" humanity surely don't have this kind of dream. This is why most competitor companies who really did care about something better for their customers accomplished nothing. Today, we are faced with the same conundrum when it comes to cryptocurrency. Most people can barely go to the bank and sign for a loan. As of recently, most people had trouble using their debit card online. Now try to ask the average Joe to store keys and type long-ass sequences of letters and number without screwing up and you get an idea how far behind we are into wide crypto adaptation. This is why banks, politicians and bosses claim that they know what's best for us. This is how dictators get approval. Human passivity is one of the strongest forces in the universe if one knows how to utilize it.
The killer app — if there is such a thing in crypto — won't be a function. It will be creating an interface that will be even more user friendly that the use of credit cards and passwords. Even the pin system seems too much for many people. For anyone that tried to explain cryptocurrencies to people, they understand perfectly the void in people's eyes when you start getting into technicals. Nonetheless, this sentiment about oversimplification that has been growing on an exponential rate, can predict a lot of things about the future. For one, humans will become more and more dependent on others other than themselves.
Centralisation won't go away. In fact, it will become more popular than ever. Users will prefer entities like coinbase to hold their funds much like they prefer a bank to hold their money. The less they do, the better. Banks won't go away either. In an effort to compete with the market, they will lower their fees and offer similar services as other currencies. People who have no idea about crypto will prefer to stick with the "popular" state coin. We will be cashless but we will be more transparent than ever. Cash, the absolute king that gives power to average people will slowly become obsolete. This already has started with countries like India trying to go complete cashless. All transactions will be recorded unless you happen to be more tech savvy. Yet, very few will know how to use them.
Next time you take a look at your phone and you press those big square colourful buttons, think how we got to the point of using them daily. Why the letters become bigger and bigger? Why the images become more and more like street signs? Why do we want more and more simplification to have even more time to do the exact menial tasks? Our behaviour is a massive predictor. We only have to observe ourselves carefully.