If you’re reading this, then you just stumbled across where I’ll be documenting my thesis process for 2018 at NYU’s ITP. Let’s start with my 1-minute gong show description I gave to my class:
The buzz of cryptocurrencies has recently made me think about the advancements of technology. The advent of the internet has allowed cryptocurrencies to exist as many things in the past have gone virtual or digital. Sending data and bytes between two parties (much like sending money to one another) are just communication exchanges.
In many ways, Instagram likes, YouTube views, github stars, or time are various forms of currency
And because of this I often wonder how we think about the differences between this (money), (credit card), and (hard drive)
For my thesis, I’d like to explore currencies and how humans view it, interact with it, and understand it. With the help of (artificial intelligence, AR, or blockchain) basically new technology, what are the trade offs of this new age of digital currency?
In all its various forms, currency has no intrinsic value.
With my analysis I hope to spend my semester printing the money of the future.
But maybe the future is a matter of publishing the money, not printing
So what’s next?
One experiment I set up (besides this blog), is an Instagram account 100 Days of Currency. I was able to travel to Canada and the Philippines in 2017 and physical fiat currency always amazes me. Some questions I ask myself:
- Who is this person on this money?
- Why were they chosen?
- How were these colors chosen?
In its physical form, money is political, cultural, colorful, multilingual, and are relics of how different cultures preserve their value. I started this account as a discipline to do something daily and archive what I think could be lost if all currency goes digital.
I’ll keep this short for now, but I hope you join me in this journey as I explore currency through various angles.
Thanks for reading!