Such advanced technology and steps taken by the electronic giant can lead us straight into the abyss or make our lives much easier.
The idea
The LG reported on 23 April that the new technology is already being tested by them. The digital currency payment platform, after a face scan, is to combine Artificial Intelligence (AI), blockchain and cloud storage technology. The next LG flagship smartphone, once the user is identified, will allow automatic payment for services and products.
Lee Joon-won, development manager at LG CNS, outlined that: “We expect more people to use the blockchain digital currency, after which the use of our technology will be facilitated.
Company of the 21st century Renaissance
LG has been testing an intelligent face recognition system for digital currency payments since March this year, but these are not the only blockchain experiments they are experimenting with. In July 2019, LG CNS presented plans to introduce blockchain technology to increase transparency in school canteens. The blockchain is to be programmed to contain accurate data about the canteen’s products and information about the production, processing, distribution, acquisition and consumption – all to be recorded in the blockchain and made publicly available.
In November last year, the LG started working with the blockchain internet provider, Kakao, to develop “mutually compatible infrastructure“. As the LG representative shared with us: “We are breaking the boundaries between private and public blockchain with this cooperation.”
At the end of March 2019, the LG corporation registered the trademark ThinQ Wallet, which includes: “blockchain platform for computers“, “cryptographic wallet for smartphones” and “payment application for smartphones“. Already in July this year, they applied to patent offices in Korea and the United States for permission to introduce a crypto wallet.
This raises some concerns
The creative invention and vision of the electronic giant LG are amazing and for fans of utopian visions of the world, where everything is compatible, intuitive and simple, this topic is certainly extremely interesting. However, it may raise some concerns, not only for the sceptics of this topic but for the average citizen. We are moving exceptionally fast towards a direction from which there is no turning back, where our privacy and freedom is limited by blockchain in combination with new technologies such as 5G networking, advances in surveillance technology, autonomous drones, artificial intelligence and advanced face recognition systems.
The creative invention and vision of the electronic giant LG are amazing and for fans of utopian visions of the world, where everything is compatible, intuitive and simple, this topic is certainly extremely interesting. However, it may raise some concerns, not only for the sceptics of this topic but for the average citizen. We are moving exceptionally fast towards a direction from which there is no turning back, where our privacy and freedom is limited by blockchain in combination with new technologies such as 5G networking, advances in surveillance technology, autonomous drones, artificial intelligence and advanced face recognition systems.
Satoshi Nakamoto (an anonymous creator of Bitcoin) would certainly not support such moves. Bitcoin is not only a place cut off from the current economy and fiat, but a place for anonymous ownership. Taking into account the moves of other electronics giants such as Samsung and HTC, the course has already been set. The question is when we get there?