The future of money: are we buying convenience with our freedom?

Written by Dr Jamil El-Imad Special Situations Advisor, Astraea Group Honorary Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Biomedical Engineering - Imperial College

Until I was invited to speak on a panel hosted by the London-based Astraea Group on “The Future of Money,” I hadn’t given the topic deep thought. Like most of us, I had grown used to the pace of digital innovation and its steady transformation of daily life. But that event sparked a shift in my thinking. The conversations I had with my distinguished fellow panellists and prominent attendees stirred something deeper and somewhat philosophical: a realisation that money, once tangible, physical and private, is now at the frontier of something far more complex, something that may fundamentally reshape our ideas of privacy, freedom and even happiness.

The digital trade-off: control vs. freedom

Human history is a constant push-and-pull between control and liberty. States have always sought greater oversight; people have always resisted. The digital revolution, however, tilted this ancient balance. The internet began as a promise of decentralisation and democratised knowledge but, in exchange,…