Ok guys so this is a scoop. A big one. Right after lunch at the Berlaymont I rushed to the European Parliament for a conference called "Blockchain, the Game Changer of the 4th Industrial Revolution" organized by Lithuanian MEP (EPP group) Antanas Guoga.
source
On the way to the room I grabbed an brochure and waited for the proceedings to start. Here you can see the introductory address with high-ranking Commission official sitting next to MEP Antanas Guoga. The guy whose back you see, with the little manbun is Julio Alejandro, Global Communications for Aeternity blockchain (AE)
The panels were quite motley, here with former Estonian PM Taavi Roivas
Another one featured Julio Alejandro who acted like a Crypto Messiah (with such I guy in charge of Communication, no wonder AE mooned on the back of ... mostly nice papers)
Finally the last panel featured Chiara Tomasi from Google which was remarkable not for what she said but for what she didn't say. In a blockchain conference, she was the only person on the panel completely ignored the topic and avoiding even uttering the word, instead talking about AI (specifically AlphaGo).
I think it's fair to say that Google is for the time being completely ignoring the blockchain topic
The conference was followed by a cocktail during which I learned that the organizer, MEP Guoga is the same person as a former poker champion best known as Tony G! That came as a surprise, so wanting to know more I opened the brochure I had grabbed on the way in:
I quote from his biography:
Guoga, whose life reads more like that of a James Bond character than a political nerd, was a Rubik's cube champion in Lithuania before the age of 11, spent his formative years in Australia. From the age of 18, he started playing professional poker.
[...]
Elected in 2014, the Baltic MEP says, "I came into politics to change Europe for the better". he adds, "I wanted to have more meaning in my life life and be able to do something outside of business and playing poker"
Holy Molly ! My next stop was YouTube, looking for "Tony G". And sure enough, there he was !
Frankly, I'm absolutely thrilled by this! This is precisely what a revolutionary technology such as blockchain needs: not old, dusty, risk-averse politicians of the old school but mavericks that are not afraid to take risks and move fast! I'm sure his influence will be extremely positive.
Other posts on blockchain technology that you might enjoy:
- Blockchain revolution: the CIOs' dilemma
- Le printemps de la blockchain - (fr)
- Blockchain and the End of the Western Civilization
- Toward a pan-EU blockchain infrastructure
- Sovereign identity on blockchain
- Blockchain revolution: Money and Credit
- La Blockchain et la Fission Nucléaire - with English abstract
- Blockchain Global Expo 2018 @ London Olympia
- Blockchain Global Expo 2018 - day 2
- The Holy Blockchain
- Blockchain, Credentials and Connected Learning Conference
- Decentralized Learning: The Future of Student Mobility in Europe
Other posts on the impact cryptocurrencies are likely to have on our societies:
- The future of society
- The Church of Bitcoin
- Hack Your Life in 3 Easy Steps!
- Small worlds
- Steemit and the Fractal Society
- The Press needs to be Freed from the Tyranny of Money
- Steem $10Bln!
- A New Hope
- Immigrate to Romania!
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