Technoutopian

Buenos Aires-based Correspondent Pedro Solimano reports from Aleph, a monthlong conference on frontier technology.

Four Argentine lawmakers convened in Buenos Aires to champion blockchain and artificial intelligence as the key solution to a lot of Argentina’s problems.

One catch: keep the government out of it.

“How much power do we want to give the state over our lives?” asked Damián Arabia, a national deputy, during the panel at the month-long Aleph conference on March 11.

Another panelist reckoned that the entire political system stands to benefit if blockchain and AI get implemented across the country.

Both technologies “have everything to make our lives much better, in terms of democracy,” argued Juan Fernández, congressman for the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, with few caveats about guardrails or consumer protection.

The consensus revealed a techno-libertarian streak that’s running through Argentina’s blockchain-curious political class. For them, code and markets can solve problems better than government oversight, creating the necessary conditions for direct democracy, easier and more efficient bureaucratic processes, and even a better health system.

Argentina is fertile ground for these types of ideas. The country is riddled with corruption, plagued by hyperinflation, and trust in institutions has largely eroded after decades of economic crisis.

Whether blockchains can actually deliver on those promises, however, remains an open question that the lawmakers never addressed. Especially with the lack of real-world examples of government implementing these emerging technologies at scale.

The anti-regulation spectrum

Among the group, Fernández, a Buenos Aires city deputy, took the most absolutist position.

Arabia, a national deputy, framed his position as “smart regulation” but immediately undermined it by questioning how much power the state should keep when implementing new technology.

Darío Nieto, a Buenos Aires city legislator, also invoked “smart regulation” while making clear he favours deregulation. Martín Yesí, a national congressman, toyed around with the fact that all the panelists shared the same opinions.

Javier Milei, the sitting president of Argentina since late 2023, is a self-proclaimed libertarian and has vowed to dismantle many of the social services and government agencies in the country.

What solutions?

The lawmakers, who spent the session pitching blockchain-and-AI-first solutions for education, healthcare, and governance, have to square up their claims with a stubborn reality: very few governments have actually implemented blockchain solutions at scale.

Indeed, after over a decade of pilot programs and proof-of-concepts, blockchain in government remains largely experimental.

Estonia is often cited as a success story for using blockchain-like technology in its digital identity system. But that implementation has been disputed by technologists who argue the country uses traditional databases with cryptographic verification, not blockchain.

Dubai is another example. The country announced plans in 2016 to become the world’s first blockchain-powered government by 2020. That deadline came and went. While the city put a bundle of blockchain pilots for land registry and visa applications into effect, the promised transformation hasn’t materialised.

Then there’s Switzerland. The canton of Zug accepts Bitcoin for some government services but immediately swaps that into Swiss Francs.

In 2018, the region piloted a blockchain-based e-voting system using uPort, which is built on Ethereum. But it was non-binding and only 200 participants voted. After that, Switzerland became even more cautious about e-voting due to security concerns.

The pattern repeats itself across timezones.

None of the four lawmakers made any mention of these botched blockchain-based solutions. Instead, they ended the panel proclaiming that the future is bright, and any crisis facing Argentina is actually an opportunity.

Techno-utopianism at its finest.

Pedro Solimano is a markets correspondent based in Buenos Aires. Got a tip? Email him at psolimano@dlnews.com.