Friday morning musings with ChatGPT

Why Do AI Applications Resonate Better with End-Users than Blockchain Applications?

I’m currently in San Francisco, and yesterday, I found myself sitting in a Waymo, Google’s self-driving taxi again, stunned at how quickly I’ve gotten used to the fact that there’s no one behind the wheel. It’s wild when you think about it—what seemed like science fiction not too long ago is now just another part of life, at least here. We’re already living in a future where self-driving cars navigate the streets with ease, and it’s no big deal.

But it’s not just those cars that have evolved—it’s us too. We’ve adapted, almost without noticing, to a world where the extraordinary has become mundane. Technologies that once seemed like the stuff of imagination are now woven into the fabric of everything, all at once. This shift, where the future quietly embeds itself into the ordinary, says as much about where we’re headed as the tech itself.

The internet is much like that self-driving car—already in motion, powered by AI that delivers real, tangible results. AI didn’t just arrive—it took over, seamlessly integrating into our routines and making itself indispensable. Blockchain, meanwhile, is still under the hood, struggling to prove it belongs on the road at all.

AI is the turbo-charged engine propelling this journey forward. It’s personal, it works, and it’s real. Whether it’s Claude, ChatGPT, Midjourney, or the latest cool AI tool, AI has captured our imagination and delivered on many old and new promises from day one. There’s a visceral, almost magical connection when AI understands you, predicts your needs, or creates something that didn’t exist a moment before. It’s the kind of experience that makes you feel like the future is already here, in your hands. Although still buggy and sometimes laggy, it allows us to imagine where it could go.

Blockchain, on the other hand, remains more academic and theoretical—a potential that’s yet to be realized in a way that matters to many of us day by day. It’s the electric engine that’s yet to find its Tesla, and hasn’t found its Prius yet either—an impressive piece of technology searching for a reason to exist beyond often pure ideological commitment. We’ve heard the promises of decentralization, transparency, and a new kind of trust, but they remain abstract, distant. For the average Western person, blockchain is a solution looking for a problem, rather than a tool that makes life easier today. That’s not to say blockchain isn’t or couldn’t be useful in many situations—look at how stablecoins have gained traction in regions suffering from hyperinflation. But even then, it’s the stablecoin itself that people care about, not the underlying blockchain tech driving it.

So, let’s extend the metaphor. Think of the self-driving car as the future of the internet, moving seamlessly and effortlessly toward its destination. But what powers it? In reality, it’s an electric skateboard—a flat platform with wheels and a battery, the essential foundation. Similar to blockchain. Blockchain is just “another” electric skateboard: a powerful, innovative base with immense potential. But without a compelling use case—without the right body built on top—it’s just a platform waiting for something to happen. Especially since, like EVs, it has not yet reached full equivalence. Combustion engines and hybrids still, in day-to-day use, are often the better choice for practical reasons.

The reason people buy into EVs isn’t just about how advanced the engine is. Some choose EVs because they believe in the technofuturist vision. Others are drawn by the climate narrative—reducing emissions, moving toward sustainability. And some simply want the latest, coolest thing on the market. The motivations are different, but at the end of the day, underlying all of it, everyone wants just the same result: getting from point A to point B efficiently, with as little hassle (AI makes the work that driving takes away) as possible. Blockchain needs to figure out how to deliver similar clear value—it has to become part of how we navigate our daily lives as efficiently and practically as what we already have through centralized clouds and services too. In everyday life, ideology often isn’t good enough; to deal with impracticality, the pain needs to be massive (like hyperinflation); if not, the decision is purely ideological, based on beliefs, or treated as a toy or guilty pleasure.

The problem is that blockchain is still missing the everyday infrastructure it needs to truly take off. Just like electric vehicles needed charging stations on every corner, blockchain needs the same kind of practical, everyday support—a network of services and tools that integrate seamlessly into our lives. We need more than just the technology itself; we need the roads, the signs, the gas stations of the blockchain world—user-friendly apps, seamless integrations, and systems that fit into our routines without us even noticing. It’s about making blockchain as mundane and necessary as Wi-Fi or smartphones—part of the invisible fabric of our daily existence. But that shift isn’t happening overnight. And it needs to abstract and hide away all complexities and responsibilities that might come with that new technology. Day by day, we want things that disappear, not that add more work.

Blockchain needs its ‘Tesla 3 moment’—a breakthrough that doesn’t just prove the technology’s worth but makes it desirable and practical for the masses. That moment when blockchain isn’t just for the tech elite or the ideologically driven, or for those with massive real pain that makes them consider taking complicated, complex extra steps, but for everyone. Until then, it’s time to focus on building solutions that matter today, not just dreams for tomorrow. Because while we’re waiting for that breakthrough, let’s not forget that the Prius—a hybrid solution, bridging the old and the new—is still selling very well. The future of blockchain may well depend on finding that practical, user-friendly middle ground first, before we enter the giga factory territory at all.

Let’s not lose sight of what truly drives us in the mundane, everyday situations. It’s cool, inspiring, and necessary to think of blockchains as the electric skateboards under the hood—full of potential, but still needing the right vehicle to make their impact felt on the open road. The future may be filled with self-driving cars, but it’s the engine underneath that will determine how far and fast we can go. But for now, we are still in a transition period, and EV, hybrid, or combustion engines sit on a different level of decision than just wanting to get from A to B.