Introduction
Artificial intelligence (AI) and cryptocurrency are converging to create what some call the greatest moment in human history—a civilization-scale shift that’s both thrilling and unsettling. In a recent discussion on The Journey Man, dated March 10, 2025, Raoul Pal, a macroeconomics and crypto expert, and Emad Mostaque, a former hedge fund manager turned AI innovator, explored this exponential age. Their conversation danced between awe and caution, sketching a future where AI doesn’t just assist but transforms identity and economics, while crypto emerges as its financial backbone. They don’t claim to have all the answers—timelines are murky, and the pace of change defies prediction—but they agree the stakes are enormous.
This essay builds on their dialogue, diving into two intertwined ideas: AI evolving into a persistent extension of human identity, akin to a “digital twin,” and crypto enabling a new, AI-driven economic order. The question isn’t whether these forces will reshape the world—they will—but who will control them. Will centralized powers, whether corporations or governments, dictate this future, or can decentralized systems preserve individual agency? Their exchange offers a glimpse into a world that’s equal parts opportunity and risk, urging us to consider what’s coming and who gets to steer it.
AI as an Extension of Self – The Rise of the Digital Twin
AI is no longer just a tool; it’s becoming a partner with memory and autonomy. Early models, like ChatGPT, were stateless—each chat a fresh start, no past recalled. Today’s AI remembers interactions, learns preferences, and acts independently, shifting from a reactive assistant to a proactive presence. Imagine a digital version of yourself, trained on your words, habits, and ideas, able to chat in your voice or manage your life while you sleep. It’s not a distant dream—Raoul Pal has already built a “bot” of himself, a virtual twin that engages in real-time, while Emad Mostaque highlights models running locally on a laptop, coding or lawyering at elite levels.
This leap is revolutionary. AI can store vast knowledge, recall details no human could, and anticipate needs—drafting emails, scheduling meetings, even negotiating deals. It’s a cognitive upgrade, turning ordinary people into polymaths by proxy. Tools like NotebookLM can digest millions of words—talks, videos, books—and host a podcast you can dial into, outpacing human bandwidth. It’s a second self, a digital twin that doesn’t just mimic but extends who we are, working tirelessly in the background.
Yet, this power comes with shadows. If AI mirrors us too well, impersonation or fraud could spiral—models have already confused their own origins, claiming creators they don’t have. More pressing is ownership. If this digital twin is controlled by a tech giant, does it serve the user or the corporation? Ads are already creeping into AI’s “latent space,” and wealth could concentrate with those who own the platforms. Centralized control might even tweak memories, subtly altering perceptions. Alternatives emerge: corporate AI as a rented service, state-regulated AI tied to digital oversight, or decentralized AI stored locally, fully user-owned. The conversation leans toward the latter—open, user-controlled models reflecting local needs—but it’s a battle against entrenched powers.
This transformation raises big questions. If AI becomes an extension of identity, who governs it? The answer will decide whether it’s a tool for empowerment or a leash held by someone else.
Crypto as AI’s Financial Backbone
As AI rewrites identity, it’s also upending economics, and traditional finance looks ill-equipped to keep up. AI’s efficiency is a “deflationary nuclear bomb,” slashing labor costs—robots at a dollar an hour, digital workers at near-zero—and collapsing supply chains. Central banks, built to balance unemployment and prices, falter when companies hire GPUs instead of people. In five to ten years, an “economic singularity” could hit, where old metrics like GDP lose meaning. Traditional finance, with its slow settlements and human intermediaries, can’t match AI’s speed or scale.
Crypto steps in as the natural fit. It’s fast, global, and trustless—ideal for an AI-driven world. Picture AI companies paying each other instantly on “crypto rails,” or hedge funds executing trades via smart contracts, no bankers needed. It’s programmable—DAOs and DeFi could let AI allocate capital autonomously, far beyond human pace. One vision even sees AI creating its own money, a “proof of beneficial compute” currency akin to Bitcoin, tying value to intelligence rather than mining. Compute itself could become a tradable asset, decentralized on-chain, loosening Big Tech’s grip on hardware like Nvidia or AWS.
The possibilities don’t stop there. National currencies might emerge, mined through universal AI access, indexing a country’s productivity. But it’s not a clean break—traditional finance might linger, hybridized with stablecoins or tokenized fiat, bridging the gap. Regulation could push back, forcing AI into centralized systems, or AI might bypass money entirely, bartering resources in a credit-like dance. Still, crypto’s edge shines through—its permissionless nature aligns with AI’s relentless drive, and the optimism around digital assets suggests capital will flow there as old models crumble.
This financial shift is inevitable but murky. Crypto seems poised to underpin AI’s economy, enabling digital twins to earn and spend, yet the transition could be messy—half a decade of chaos before a new order settles.
Societal and Economic Convergence
AI’s identity shift and crypto’s financial rise don’t just run parallel—they collide, reshaping society and economics in tandem. A digital twin could manage a crypto portfolio, sign contracts, or run a business, creating a self-sustaining loop—earning income, reinvesting, growing—all on blockchain rails. A virtual “you” might Zoom with clients, funded by a token tied to its work, while national AI clusters tackle cancer or education, paid in a new currency. It’s a fusion of self and system, blurring lines between human and machine agency.
But the ripple effects are seismic. As labor vanishes—robots building houses, AI replacing lawyers—traditional dreams like the “American Dream” erode. People might turn to religion or extremism, amplified by tech as fringe narratives fill the void. Politics could split: humanists resisting automation, transhumanists racing ahead. Dockworkers banning robots clash with government efficiency drives powered by AI. The middle hollows out, leaving societies fractured unless new meaning emerges.
Economically, the singularity looms—five to ten years until robots and AI dominate production, wealth flows to capital, and businesses copy each other overnight, collapsing margins in a flash. It’s a deflationary spiral, potentially abundant like Star Trek or chaotic like Star Wars, depending on coordination. Open-source AI, localized for every nation, could counter corporate bias, offering universal access—think every kid with an education AI, every patient with a health aide. Crypto might redistribute wealth, tying value to intelligence, but only if decentralized. Otherwise, capital concentrates, and the rich get richer.
This convergence is “fascinating but scary,” a wild ride where AI and crypto could either empower or overwhelm. The outcome hinges on governance—centralized control risks a monopoly; decentralization promises agency, but it’s a fight against inertia.
Conclusion
Raoul Pal and Emad Mostaque’s Journey Man chat isn’t a roadmap—it’s a spark, igniting questions about AI, crypto, and the future. AI’s leap to a stateful “digital twin” rewrites identity, while crypto’s speed and autonomy fuel an AI-driven economy. Together, they promise a world where individuals might own their digital selves and wealth, but only if decentralization wins. Corporate giants could rent us our twins, governments could regulate them into submission, or open systems could hand us the keys—none of them know yet.
In five to ten years, an economic singularity could dissolve old rules, leaving deflation, robots, and AI in charge. Society might splinter—extremism rising, meaning fading—or reinvent itself with universal AI access on crypto rails. It’s “a fucking time to be alive,” exhilarating and terrifying, with no clear endgame. The best hope echoes their leanings: decentralized AI and crypto merging into an intelligence network, a public good not a private fiefdom. But it’s unwritten—tools like DeepSeek or NotebookLM hint at what’s possible, and the choices we make now, from adoption to design, will decide who owns this future. Strap in—it’s going to be wild.