Case for crypto
As AI power intensifies, the inevitable advent of Artificial Superintelligence (ASI) looms closer. Our safeguard? Cryptography. It is our present and future bastion against the incursion on our rights and wealth, with or without ASI in the picture.
Give an AI enough computational resources, and it can outperform humans in numerous knowledge-based tasks, from coding to essay writing. Yet, even AI has its limitations: the physical constraints of silicon chip manufacturing and the mathematical boundaries that protect cryptography.
The world's collective computational power, while immense, is finite. A rough estimate places our total compute at about 2^80 operations per second—assuming it's 10,000 times greater than the entire Bitcoin network's capability. Breaking a typical 256-bit private key, even using the most efficient Rho algorithm, requires 2^128 operations. That translates to 8 million years to crack a single private key, even with all the computational resources on Earth.
Quantum computing threatens this security, though its timeline remains uncertain. Meanwhile, quantum-resistant cryptography exists. It's ready, albeit underadopted, for when the need arises.
Consider Moore's Law: if computational power doubles annually, we still need to maintain this growth for 8 million years to crack a private key in less than a second. However, Moore's Law is reaching its limits, and there are constraints on how quickly we can produce silicon chips, which limits the scalability of computing power.
Securing your information, assets, and identity from nefarious actors is paramount.
Information: Privacy matters. Whether it's your intimate conversations or location data, encryption keeps you safe. No entity, no matter how intelligent, can decrypt these without your permission.
Assets: Cryptocurrencies protect your wealth from theft. Regardless of their origin—be it from hackers (Dodge coin), governments (USDC), or algorithms (ETH, BTC) —once in your digital wallet, your assets are unassailable without breaking your private key.
Identity: Your identity—defined by your SSN, degrees, tax filings—is crucial. It's your unique imprint within our civilization, and it mustn't fall into the wrong hands. Owning your identity, secured by cryptography, prevents this.
In a world secured by cryptography, no AI, regardless of its computational resources, can infringe on your information, assets, or identity without your consent. Cryptography is our bulwark against the future, securing us today and tomorrow.