u.today
Ethereum cofounder Vitalik Buterin points out Prediction Markets and Community Notes as two key innovations that are becoming the knowledge-based technologies of this decade. The cofounder highlighted notable features of these innovations that make them special technologies of the 2020s.
Unique characteristics of Prediction Markets and Community Notes
Specifically, Buterin highlighted that both Prediction Markets and Community Notes are truth-seeking and democratic. He added that these technologies were created with participation from the public rather than by preselected members of the upper echelon.
The founder concludes that he hopes to see similar technologies in the future. In a follow-up post, Buterin claims Prediction Markets complements Community Notes.
Prediction markets and Community Notes are becoming the two flagship social epistemic technologies of the 2020s.
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) July 2, 2024
Both truth-seeking and democratic, built around open public participation rather than pre-selected elites.
I want to see many more things like this.
According to him, the central idea of Prediction Markets is to encourage users to anticipate future signals and to disclose them as soon as feasible. As regards Community Notes, Buterin says the main complaint is that it pops up slowly.
It is worth mentioning that this is not the first time Buterin has endorsed Community Notes. In a U.Today report published last year, Buterin claimed the transparency provided by Community Notes aligns with crypto principles. He emphasized that this approach offers substantial value by preventing centralized manipulation.
Evolution of Community Notes and Prediction Markets
Community Notes gained notable prominence following the acquisition of social media platform X (formerly Twitter) in 2022. Initially introduced as "Birdwatch" in January 2021, the technology aims to tackle misinformation by attaching context and facts to tweets. Platform users have the sole responsibility of contributing and voting upon these notes.
Per Prediction Markets, the technology has seen steady growth in recent years. This growth has been propelled by the emergence of various platforms that allow users to buy shares in the outcomes of different events. For instance, Foreon Network (FRN) introduced the Cardano (ADA) blockchain as a technical basis for the Prediction Markets segment in 2023.
As more users flock to the market, only time will tell if these technologies are indeed worth looking out for.