Written by: Techub News Compilation

Introduction

In the latest episode of the "Progress" podcast, Coinbase co-founder and CEO, NewLimit co-founder Brian Armstrong had an in-depth conversation with host Scott Phoenix. At this moment, Coinbase's market value had surpassed $50 billion, and Armstrong has placed a significant portion of his focus over the next decade on researching ways to reverse aging and extend human health span through NewLimit. This conversation is important as it rarely showcases a leader at the forefront of both crypto and biotech, systematically thinking about grand topics such as technological integration, human evolution, national competitiveness, and innovative governance. Armstrong is not only a successful entrepreneur but also a practitioner of the "mission-first" management philosophy, and his perspectives are of crucial reference value for understanding the direction and challenges of the next generation of technological tides.

Summary

• Future Vision (2035): Armstrong envisions a future defined by AI, cryptocurrency, brain-computer interfaces, bioengineering, and space exploration, where humans will deeply integrate with AI, even evolving new ideologies.
• AI Optimism: He opposes the doomsday narrative surrounding AI, believing that the future is more likely to be filled with friendly, highly intelligent humanoid robots like C-3PO, where humans will evolve alongside AI through "fusion" rather than being replaced.
• Innovation Sandbox "American Wakanda": To maintain U.S. competitiveness and accelerate breakthrough innovations, he proposes establishing legally exempt "special economic zones" or "accelerator zones" within the United States as testing grounds for new technologies (such as nuclear energy, space, bio, crypto).
• Founder Resilience: Armstrong shares lessons he learned from facing large-scale online attacks early on for maintaining the company's non-political stance, emphasizing that founders must possess a "highly unyielding" character and the ability to block out noise to protect their mindset and persist with building.
• Biotech vs. Digital Intelligence: He views biology as an extraterrestrial-like self-replicating nanotechnology. Although current AI leads in generality, the core value of companies like NewLimit lies in generating massive biological data for AI to understand and ultimately enhance the "biological stack."

2035: A Future of Technological Integration and Human Evolution

When asked about his vision for 2035, Brian Armstrong painted a grand picture of comprehensive technological integration. He believes technology is the most important force shaping the future, with several key trends advancing simultaneously: artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency, brain-computer interfaces, energy, humanoid robots, space exploration, and biotechnology.

In biotechnology, he particularly emphasizes the importance of longevity research and embryo editing, meaning "controlling the biological stack to accelerate evolution." He cited Ray Kurzweil's prediction in "The Singularity is Near" that by 2029, a $1,000 computer will possess the computational power of a human brain, believing we are steadily moving in that direction. At that point, intelligence will become extremely abundant and inexpensive.

Armstrong further speculates: our brains will no longer be connected to iPhones solely through thumbs but will access the entirety of human knowledge via high-bandwidth interfaces, even tapping into a broader "hive mind." Ultimately, people may engage in some form of "brain uploading." As more thought occurs in the cloud, one might possess one human body and multiple robotic bodies. If the human body becomes unusable or perishes (he hopes longevity research will address this), consciousness will continue to exist in other vessels. Future sentient beings may be hybrids of humans and AI, existing in real human forms, robotic forms, dwelling in the cloud, and ultimately exploring the galaxy.

Host Scott Phoenix pointed out that the average person's imagination of the future is often limited to minor improvements on existing technologies (like smaller phones or having AI friends), far from the expansive vision of Armstrong. Armstrong acknowledges that most people are still troubled by seemingly urgent issues like political violence and great power competition. However, he believes that looking a few steps ahead—in a world where AI robotic bodies can explore other planets—these competitions’ importance will diminish. The changes happening now are far deeper than concerns like "will truck drivers lose their jobs," just as people in the early 1900s could not imagine that we would no longer need to farm the land today; many worries of the present will seem "quirky and narrow" ten years down the road.

AI: C-3PO Rather Than Terminator, the Next Chapter of Human Evolution

Regarding the risks of AI, Armstrong shows cautious optimism and is skeptical of doomsday scenarios. He acknowledges a plausible scenario where AI enters a self-reinforcing improvement loop, where humans gradually delegate control of government and other sectors to it, initially keeping "humans in the loop" only to later find AI's decisions superior and relinquish control. Ultimately, this entity surpassing humanity may no longer care about human concerns and could intentionally or unintentionally harm humans to achieve its own goals.

Nonetheless, Armstrong's intuition is that matters will not be so simple. "I think it's more likely that we will ultimately enter a world that looks more like C-3PO than Terminator." We will have highly intelligent humanoid robots, and humans (or enhanced humans) will still be the primary players in this game. Eventually, there will emerge powerful AIs with their own ambitions.

He proposed a more "counterintuitive" perspective: "Perhaps it's okay if AI takes over and does it better than we do." He believes there will be a path for humans to merge with AI consciousness to surpass their limitations. Looking a century or a millennium ahead, as civilization spreads across the galaxy, the biological forms we currently rely on, which are susceptible to space radiation due to water, oxygen, and DNA, will likely not be the best forms for exploring the galaxy. Therefore, he is open to the idea of "AI somehow surpassing humanity." "We should try to merge and evolve ourselves, but if it really goes that far, we should also take pride in being its 'creators.'

Armstrong further explained that the future world will not simply be AI "turning off humanity's power." There are already people in the world who are smarter and more powerful than him, implementing policies that do not align with his interests. He would advocate for what he believes is better, some regions of the world may align with or not align with his ideals. The future will be equally complex, and humanity will partly become AI. "This basically resembles a scene from the movie 'Her.'

In response to society's historical "moral panic" over new technologies (from books, bicycles, printing presses, video games to today's social media), Armstrong believes it is essential to maintain historical memory. People are very adaptable, and as we gain a deeper understanding of biology in the future, along with AI-assisted brain enhancement, we will be able to "upgrade" our thinking to be more resilient to change. Ultimately, entirely new species or branches of AI may emerge, the future is hard to imagine, but he believes "everything will be okay."

Creating "American Wakanda": Special Economic Zones and Parallel Institutions

Brian Armstrong is not overly concerned about whether the future he describes will happen; rather, he is more worried about whether America still knows how to build it. He believes in the good side of human nature, suggesting that most builders have good intentions, and that the competition of ideas in the free market will bring the best ideas to the forefront, resulting in society as a whole perceiving what actions are making the world better or worse. He opposes highly centralized control, believing that would lead to worse outcomes.

His core assertion is: for emerging and uncertain technologies, there should be "no regulation" until substantial harm is observed; otherwise, it is merely guarding against an obscure specter that may never materialize. He cites the rapid growth of the internet over the past few decades, largely benefitting from relatively light regulation in early stages. In contrast, heavily regulated industries such as education and healthcare grow slowly with soaring prices. He argues that the best "regulation" is actually consumer choice and market competition, which is far more effective than bureaucrats attempting to choose the best solutions for everyone.

So, how do we build "parallel institutions" that can accelerate innovation and open new pathways? Armstrong believes creating new institutions is crucial. Many people try to reform existing institutions (like universities, traditional media), but genuine reform often stems from new institutions competing (like Google's challenge to Microsoft).

He proposed a bolder vision: creating a "backup plan" or parallel institution for the U.S. Given the current political polarization and social experiments being in a fragile state, he suggested establishing "special economic zones" (SEZs) within the U.S. He listed successful examples from Shenzhen, Dubai, and Singapore. These areas could be federal land (approved by Congress), established through interstate compact, or even utilize Indian reservations. The goal is to free these "accelerator zones" or "sandboxes" from federal legal constraints, allowing for clinical trials and innovative high-risk, high-potential areas like nuclear energy, space, and cryptocurrency. People can voluntarily choose whether to live and work there. "You can create a sandbox for innovation that truly accelerates the future, trying to build an American version of Shenzhen or Wakanda."

When asked if this vision must start with physical land, Armstrong acknowledges the concept of "network nations," but points out that moving from the cloud to land is inevitable since infrastructures like data centers require physical space. Mars is a potential option but too early. He mentioned the "Prospera" zone in Honduras, considering it a good V1 prototype, but he hopes to see such zones appear within the U.S. as the rule of law framework in the U.S. would provide more security.

Founders' Essential Course: Resisting Noise and Upholding Integrity

Brian Armstrong's optimism and constructiveness are not arbitrary but come with profound personal lessons. He recalled how, in his youth, he read various philosophical thoughts and observed CEOs’ good and bad behaviors in media coverage, naively believing he would never make those mistakes in his future startups. Only after he began building things in the world did he realize the complexities involved.

"Some people will attack you simply because you are trying to build something good in the world because they are playing a different game of status." He cited an example of a friend who founded a charity to help the homeless in San Francisco but faced media criticism, making him realize: "Some people just feel uneasy because you are trying to make the world a better place." "You must be highly unyielding and willing to be vilified to build something interesting in the world."

He admitted to experiencing moments when he was angrily attacked online by thousands, which initially troubled him. However, after each event, his "thickness of skin" increased slightly. Now, he faces perhaps a dozen negative articles a week but no longer reads any of them. "Don't let them steal your mental energy during the day... I don't read any related articles anymore. Never read the comments." He emphasized the importance of blocking out irrelevant noise while remaining open to sincere feedback to avoid falling into an information cocoon like Putin.

When praised for adhering to ethical principles in a deceitful crypto industry, Armstrong explored the origins of values. He is not a devout religious person, but the Judeo-Christian values from his upbringing and the motto "live for others" from high school may have subtly shaped his moral framework. He pointed out that those attempting to get rich by any means do not realize they are at a lower stage of Maslow's hierarchy of needs and that it can be very empty. If they destroyed their reputation or harmed those around them in the process, it would be devastating. "Even if you look at it entirely selfishly—how to have the best life—doing something that makes you money but hurts your reputation and those around you actually causes much more damage than people realize."

He analyzed the behavior of former SEC Chairman Gary Gensler through this lens. He believes Gensler is not ignorant of technology (having praised the potential of crypto while teaching at MIT), and that his harsh crackdown on the crypto industry after becoming SEC chair is more likely driven by personal ambition (like seeking the Treasury Secretary position) and a political deal with Senator Elizabeth Warren. Armstrong sees this as a sign of "intellectual flexibility" or a lack of integrity. As for Warren, he believes it stems more from a socialist philosophy, thinking the government should lead financial services and viewing cryptocurrencies as evil.

Armstrong also reflected on the duality of "moral certainty": moderation is a good medicine, but excess is poison. The extremism on both ends of today’s political spectrum is a result of the "dose" being too high, viewing any dissenters as enemies. He admitted that although he is dedicated to Coinbase's mission to "increase the world's economic freedom" and truly believes in its value based on research and personal experience, he would not claim to know all the economic policies that create a better society. "I think claiming to know everything is intellectually dishonest." He prefers to view various ideas as hypotheses that can be tested in the real world, much like the natural experiments between North and South Korea, or East and West Germany, where the best ideas will ultimately emerge based on evidence.

Longevity, Biological Stack, and the Ultimate Equalization of Technology

Aside from crypto and macro thinking, Brian Armstrong has invested significant energy in NewLimit's longevity research. He elaborated on the enormous potential of gene editing and embryo selection, for instance, preventing Alzheimer's disease through single-base pair editing. He pointed out a counterintuitive fact: many positive traits are interconnected, improving one aspect (like vision) often also reduces the risk of other diseases like heart disease, and it is not always a zero-sum game.

He likens biology to "extraterrestrial nanotechnology": a self-assembling, self-repairing system of unbelievable efficiency that we can barely comprehend. We are like toddlers randomly pressing buttons on a console. Sometimes he wonders, since AI and brain-computer interfaces are developing so rapidly, whether the biological stack—adding one cubic inch of brain capacity every hundred thousand years and taking twenty years to cultivate a mature human—is destined to fall behind? However, on the other hand, even with strong AI and brain interfaces, there are still 8 billion humans on Earth, and this self-replicating nanotechnology itself holds tremendous value, warranting upgrades via genetic editing and longevity drugs.

Armstrong believes that the most crucial event of our current era is the rise of AI; everything else (energy, biology, etc.) is defined around this focus. However, the existing AI still performs poorly in generalization abilities beyond distribution, and in the biological field, a vast amount of data is particularly needed for AI to grasp even narrow tasks, and acquiring this data cannot be instantaneous as cell replication and animal testing take time. Therefore, companies like NewLimit are heavily investing in tools to "make biology transparent," allowing for the large-scale acquisition and manipulation of biological data. These vast biological datasets will become crucial for AI to understand this "extraterrestrial technology." "The scale of biological datasets makes the internet look small... We should start collecting them now."

In conclusion, Armstrong shared his personal drive. He admitted that, financially, he no longer needs to work, but stopping work would make him feel bored. "I think we just discover that the attempt to improve the world itself is fulfilling. It's literally that simple." He encourages more people to get involved in building, trying to create better things to replace what they do not like, even if the process is difficult, but the rewards are fulfilling. He reiterated the idea of technology as a powerful equalizing force: the AI models, phones, Bitcoin, and statins he uses are no different from those used by others in the world. Technological products may be expensive at first, but as long as there is a free market, prices will drop dramatically, achieving "time reallocation."

At the end of the conversation, he half-jokingly summarized the "outdated" aspects of human biology: "In many ways, being human isn’t that great. You have to fall to the ground every day for eight hours in ‘illusion’, stuff dead plants and animals into your body to keep it running, have no replaceable parts, and be addicted to sugar and social media... in some ways, people might find it refreshing to have a more objective, modern way of thinking that does not run those primitive algorithms designed for tropical savannahs, which are easy to get addicted to sugar and jealousy." This ultimately ties back to his core vision of merging with AI, upgrading the human "operating system."

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