What is the new digital gold and why is the human brain still our greatest untapped power? Best-selling economist and co-founder of the Discovery Institute George Gilder shares his optimism about “thrilling new future” with #TRANSFORM Talks: #MWC23
It's pretty much compulsory for a Conference theme to be dramatic Energizing dynamic in the mwc here in Barcelona is certainly no exception to That rule velocity unleashing tomorrow's Technology today But away from the all-round sense of Liberating and speed what is unleashing Tomorrow's technology actually mean what Have we most got to look forward to it's A pretty obvious question for transform Talks to put to The Economist author and Co-founder of The Discovery Institute George Gilda or ultimately a mataverse a Matter world is requires Ubiquitous Wireless capabilities and That's the heart of world mobile Congress's opening up More frequencies more paths lower Latency all the prerequisites of a Metaverse Where we all can communicate both as Ourselves and in Virtual duplicates of Our environment And one of the things about connectivity And increased connectivity we've heard a Lot about is 5.5 G the next iteration The next stage of connectivity Um Do you think that will bring a huge Change do you think people understand The level of change it could bring I I Think that that the key thing is that uh Is really the move toward what I call 6G
Based on graphene and pioneered by Huawei that's the real future because Graphene which is a single hexagonal web Of carbon atoms that is 200 times Stronger than steel more conductive than Copper of more thermally gets rid of Heat better than any other substance Ever known to sign it's all these Features of graphene can transform the Mobile economy and I I today Huawei is working on graphene but There's virtual really no mention of it Across the floors of this Congress but I Predict that 6G is going to be a Graphene era and what will it what will That enable what will 6G or 5.5 Years be Enabled for people 60 will really make Uh 3D Communication ubiquitous you know the 3D 4G in space and time will be integrated Across a global economy of connectivity And I hope Amity one of the great things About The world mobile Congress is the world And uh all these Technologies require Contributions from people all around the World and bring the world together and That's what I Uh hope for from these adventures and Technology and how do we stop businesses Being left behind a kind of digital Gap As certain businesses Embrace and Modernize I don't believe in the digital Gap the fact is that when Technologies
Don't work very well all the rich people Buy them and use them and then as they Get cheap and ubiquitous then everybody Gets them and uh the third world is in Fact ahead of the first world in some Forms of digital Financial m-pesa in Africa is really better than PayPal in The United States it's a it's a Completely uh transparent on your cell Phone and so I I think that the miracle Of all these Technologies is they get Fabulously cheaper and better as they Get cheaper and more available to more People so always talk about the digital Gap really mostly comes from politicians And who don't really understand the Promise of the technology if they try to Force technologies that don't quite work On the third world It'll fail it'll be ineffective and and It'll slow down the Private miraculous process of advancing Underway chat GPT is another big topic Of conversation it's got an immediate Reaction a mix of Hope and horror which Camp do you fall in I think it's another Step in uh computer technology it's not A mind the idea that it's going to usurp Us makes me very worried about the Intellectual processes of Great Men like Elon Musk you know fears uh AI I think AI has it's governed by girdle's proof And Kurt girdle famous Foundation of Information theory is that no logical
System is complete it's always dependent On propositions outside it that cannot Be proven within it in other words every System the computer scientists create is Necessarily dependent on human Minds Outside the system and nothing about Chat GPT changes the situation it's What's dangerous about chat Is that people are kind of worshiping it As if it's a voice from above and so You're saying calm down It's another computer tool and it'll be Very helpful and it will advance Productivity around the world we're Talking about balancing productivity and We touched a bit on digital Finance you Said about so in Africa Five years from now what do you predict The state of digital finance will be for Businesses and customers I think the Existing Financial system around the World is in Jeopardy that we're going to Find blockchain based Technologies and blockchain is an Immutable Network where all the Transactions occur in every node and This is made possible by a two billion Fold increase in the density of computer Memories think of that 2 billion fold in 50 years and it's going to continue and And this makes possible a real secure Distributed Financial system more like M-pesa than like Chase Manhattan And do you welcome that is that a good
Is that a sort of democratization yes I Think so it's uh it's a real uh to Distributed Financial System and and the banks are going to Have to you know all the banks have been Nationalized around the world they're All instruments of their central banks And this is alien to the history of Money Uh the real money was gold and in the Past and gold standard-based economies Actually led the world Britain led the World and the Industrial Revolution Through the superiority of its Financial System based on gold as Isaac Newton Established it doesn't prove as Master Of the men that gold could not be Synthesized from lead or inferior Material so it was the ultimate Financial tool but gold is hard to chop Up and and distribute and this is the New gold render concur currency so we're Gonna have digital gold based on Blockchains and it's going to I think Establish Of a new Financial system so what about The role of a private company like Huawei and other companies such as Huawei in this digital Finance world What what service will we make I think Companies like Huawei will create the Technology that enables uh this Transformation of global money and the Acceleration of global progress velocity
Uh A Huawei is really learning how to Achieve velocity these days it's it's Being attacked all around the world and It's uh we're adapting and it's it's Adapting by focusing on graphene is one Of the things it's doing and this is a Thrilling new path to the Future do you Think that digital Finance obviously Relies on digital Networks And not everyone can have access to Digital networks do you think both that Network access and digital Finance is Becoming almost like a new fundamental Right that people should have I Certainly do I mean I I think you you Say everybody can't have access to Digital networks of course everybody can Have access to digital networks Essentially already it's possible there May be some reaches of the Antarctica That are chiefly accessible only by Iridium or low earth orbit Satellites of some sort but Essentially digital networks can be Ubiquitous yes so it's a case of making Sure that they are ubiquitous well than Theoretical so we've talked about 5.5 G Digital Finance transforming the world Why then with that sort of excitement And technological potential why is there Still a shortage of tech talent I think That there's been Massive intervention around the world
Uh that is Trying to control technology that the European Union is afraid of Google and Facebook The U.S is paralyzed by Tick-Tock and Huawei there's a lot of gratuitous and Unuseful Intervention and regulation of Technology that's actually retarding Progress these days and but I think I Think we're going to break out of this That this is a bad phase we're in at the Moment but does that impact Talent does That impact it makes makes uh Fewer opportunities I mean I think the world has to learn to stop Solving problems and pursue Opportunities that's my introduction to The Huawei Finance book I did a few Years ago begins with that quotation From Peter Drucker right don't solve Problems when you solve problems you end Up Feeding your failures starving your Strengths and achieving costly Mediocrity pursue opportunities Opportunities of a super abundant World Economy and there's no material Limitations to the human human progress They're all uh Sort of constraints in the mind yeah but What and so again huawei's role or a Company a private company's role in Directing that Talent OR investing in
That Talent do they have a role that Certainly does I mean these private Companies Are diverse you know people are exalting Diversity or private companies or a Force for diversity around the globe and Uh Huawei has 30 percent of huawei's People are are not Chinese and they got Offices I think 170 countries they're a Global force of emancipation for a new Technology and that's what impressed me From the beginning and uh Runs and Faye who I met and interviewed Several times In China as says that the reason the U.S Has succeeded is its openness And when it is less open it becomes less Successful and huawei's success is Dependent on its openness to the world And that is and I sincerely pray that Both American openness and Huawei Openness can ultimately Prevail over our What It Is Well science of scarcity and Decline and And various panicky fears for the future What is it's striking you talk about Open to the world the founder of Huawei Ranjong phase quotation about being open To the world here am I an Englishman Interviewing you an American in a Spanish City for a Chinese government Does it sort of give you cause for hope It does it does it's exciting to be in Barcelona for the Mobile World Congress
Or however they It's pretty obvious what the answer this Will be but ultimately you're in your 80s you've seen huge changes in Transformations do you remain Fundamentally optimistic about the Future I've remained completely Optimistic about the future as long as We Liberate individual human beings and so The real promise in the world is Unleashing Um talent and uh Huawei has been shown tremendous success In mobilizing talent in China and around The world and this shouldn't be regarded To be a threat this is wonderful this is What what Americans should want And so this is why I'm happy to be here And at the world mobile Congress And being interviewed at this event so It's unleash the human brain unleash Opportunity George thanks very much Thank you Foreign
