Die waarheid rakende blokketting

Ooorspronklikke artikel in Engels - vertaal


HONG KONG (Reuters Breakingviews) - Deesdae word die vernuwing bekend as blokketting byna altyd in samewerking met twee dinge genoem. Eerstens, as die tegnologie wat die Bitcoin muntstuk ondersteun, en die tweedens as die breinkind van Satoshi Nakamoto, die anonieme persoon - of persone - wat die witskrif uitgereik het wat die kripto-munt vermoedelik ontwerp het.

Trouens, die konsep van 'n verspreide rekord van digitale transaksies is ouer en het baie breër

https://www.amazon.com/Truth-Machine-Blockchain-Future-Everything/dp/1250114578

toepassings. Dit is maklik om te vergeet, aangesien bitcoin se wilde pryswisselings in die eerste sewe en 'n half maande van 2017 gekenmerk word deur die uitreiking en nuwe besighede wat bykans $ 1,5 miljard ingesamel het. Die gedesentraliseerde aspek van die tegnologie is die eksistensiële vraag waar dit begin, Michael Casey en Paul Vigna argumenteer in “The Truth Machine: The Blockchain and the Future of Everything”.

Al in die 1990's het voorstanders van die blokketting-tegnologie begin met 'n alternatiewe status quo, waarin individue kriptografie kon beheer. Vir hierdie sogenaamde "Cypher-punks" het die idee revolusionêre aantrekkingskrag gehad. 'n Databasis wat iets van waarde op 'n "peer-to-peer" netwerk van rekenaars kan opneem, bied 'n onveranderlike rekord wat nie betwis of verander kan word nie. Dit was vanselfsprekend aantreklik vir libertyërs wat gretig was vir 'n wêreld wat vry was van die boeie van die regering en ander groot sentrale instansies en banke.

Casey, 'n senior dosent aan die MIT Sloan Bestuurskool, en Vigna, 'n verslaggewer vir die Wall Street Journal, vertel nie net die storie van bitcoin nie. Hulle beveel aan dat die leser dieper kyk na die talle toepassings van blokketting - die digitale waarheids serum van hul titel. Die boek beskryf die maniere waarop die tegnologie die potensiaal het om die manier waarop ons oor eiendomsbediening dink, op te los, aanbodkettings te ontwrig en eiendomsregte aan die annonieme eienaarskap te gee.

Die skrywers deel 'n paar wonderlike voorbeelde. In Jordanië, die Verenigde Nasies se Wêreldvoedselprogram se Azraq blockchain-vlieënier, koördineer voedselverspreiding onder 10,000 Syriese vlugtelinge. Intussen bied MIT Media Lab se Digital Currency Initiative, tesame met die Inter-Amerikaanse Ontwikkelingsbank, aan die Latyns-Amerikaanse boere die vermoë om krediet te verkry van kommoditeitspakhuise wat deur blokke-bewese rekords ondersteun word. Meer algemene toepassings sluit dienste in om betalings oor landsgrense te betaal, sowel as aanvangskapitaal wat kriptografies veilige, anonieme geldeenhede ontwikkel.

Die deugde van blokketting staan in kontras met die groot tegnologie-titane wat beheer - en soms misbruik maak van - persoonlike data, soos die nuutste Facebook-privaatheid debakel toon. Die skrywers beweer dat 'n blokketting-oplossing vir sosiale media een sal wees waar digitale munte uitgereik word en boodskappe deur gebruikers geverifieer word, wat 'n wêreld van slegs hoëgehalte inhoud behoort op te lewer. 'n werklike gedesentraliseerde oplossing wat toegepas word oor 'n groot aantal  nywerhede sal toelaat dat selfregerende individue as hul eie ekonomiese agente optree en die regte op hul data terug kan kry.

Dit lyk egter onrealisties dat hierdie idee die nodige kritieke massa kan bereik, veral omdat gebruikers toenemend afhanklik is van bestaande platforms. Daarbenewens is 'n gevoel van onderlinge verbintenis, sentraal tot die sosiale aanslag van sosiale netwerke.

Ten spyte van al die veronderstelde deugde van desentralisasie bly die meeste blok-gebaseerde oplossings embrionies. En die ontluikende projekte (ICO's) wat tans aan die gang is, is om die minste te sê, problematies. Desentralisering van enigiets neem werk, en verbruikers se gewoontes is moeilik om te verander. Daarbenewens is daar diep gegronde redes waarom mense finansiële rekords, mediese inligting en ander sensitiewe data aan bewaarders en regeringsliggame oorlaat.

Dan is daar die vraag oor watter organisasies die tegnologie toepas. Soos die skrywers erken, is sommige van die groot eksperimente in blokketting nou - enigswyd paradoksaal - deur die oorspronklike poortwagters wie se krag dit veronderstel was om te beperk. Finansiële instellings soos JPMorgan en Accenture het die hoofrolspelers van projekte soos die Enterprise Ethereum Alliance geword, wat ondernemingsgehalte-sagteware bied. Monex, wat in Tokio gebaseer is, het Vrydag aangekondig dat hy Coincheck sal verwerf.

Intussen het China 'n blokketting-navorsingsinstituut gestig en gespog oor die uitreiking van 'n soewereine digitale geldeenheid, terselfdertyd het hulle die aanbod van private munte verbied. Dubai sê dit wil die hele regering op blokketting hê in 2020. Mees onlangs het die direkteur van die Internasionale Monetêre Fonds, Christine Lagarde, aangevoer dat owerhede "vuur met vuur kan beveg" deur gebruik te maak van blokketting-innovasies om kripto-bates te reguleer.

Dit is sekerlik nie wat die oorspronklike Cypher-punks in gedagte gehad het nie. Terwyl sommige fantaseer oor 'n wêreld waarin selfregerende individue die enigste argitekte van transaksies is, is dit meer waarskynlik dat tussengangers en tradisionele poortwagters betrokke sal bly. Miskien is ons nie gereed om met vertroude tussengangers weg te doen nie. Miskien sal ons nooit wees nie.

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Sheeple 10:26 AM  No comment

IBM Blockchain - the Process of Digitization

“Blockchain is the answer to the 2008 financial and mortgage crisis." IBM Blockchain General Manager Marie Wieck

IBM Blockchain General Manager Marie Wieck

On the long-term potential of blockchain technology, IBM’s Marie Wieck has heard it all. The solution to net neutrality. The foundation of Internet 3.0. The basis for an over-hyped cryptocurrency destined to crash.During her more than 25 years with IBM, Marie Wieck has had a different technical and executive roles within IBM’s hardware, software, and services units. In January 2017, IBM named Wieck to her current position as general manager of blockchain. She is responsible for IBM’s participation in the Hyperledger project: an open blockchain ecosystem for developers and service providers.

“IBM got into blockchain believing that it would herald the next generation of transaction solutions,” said Wieck, general manager of IBM Blockchain. “In reality, blockchain is the answer to the process of digitization.”

IBM started working on a blockchain project about 3 or 4 years ago by forming a unit solely dedicated to the technology with more than 1,500 employees. Wieck noted that “We can’t get enough people with skills in Blockchain” to fill all positions. She indicated that the industry is hot and needs talent. “Despite all the benefits,” she continued, “blockchain is very hyped and still very misunderstood.”

However, despite being hyped and misunderstood, Wieck went on to say that “on a lighter note, my view is you know you have arrived in a technology when there are Dilbert cartoons about [blockchain]. You have now passed the point of the hype cycle and [blockchain] is now in the common lexicon.” A rather interesting note is that most people focus on blockchain’s initial entry point and use case, Bitcoin. They associate anything blockchain with Bitcoin and that is not right. There is so much more to blockchain than Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.

In Development: IBM’s Hyperledger

IBM entered into the blockchain world with the question: Is blockchain the next generation of transactions systems?

“What we have concluded from that,” Wieck explained, “is that, no, it’s really an answer to digitization and the process of digitization.” She continued that, “It’s important to understand the history of what blockchain is and what it isn’t.” She indicated that Blockchain has its origins in digital transformation and disruption. Wieck emphasized that “Blockchain is the answer to the 2008 financial and mortgage crisis. It gets at how you would create the same kind of model that you have in anonymous real-world trading but in a digital world.”

In other words, how can you have “cash” transactions on the internet? How can you reconstruct the market experience?

The real-world experience is that you go to a market and find a book, you know its value and you know the value of your money. You talk to the seller and come to terms, agree on the fair price, establish a value proposition, and then make the exchange. You did not need to divulge your identity, nor did the seller to make the transaction happen. The question is: How do you do that in the digital world? Today, you cannot do that anonymously because there is a mechanism that identifies you, your credit card, your wallet, etc. This is very true if there are cross-border transactions as there are more actors and agencies that will need to take part in your transaction. This is where blockchain comes in and eliminates the middleman.

Food Chain Supply Safety

Food safety is just one of the many ways blockchain will benefit society. The technology is now being used to transform processes and streamline transactions for everything from flowers, real estate and trade finance, to education, insurance and medical services. Walmart has partnered with IBM to build a map of the food supply chain to be able to track produce to promote safety in case of food-borne illness outbreaks. When outbreaks happen, it takes weeks to trace it back to the source. By using blockchain in completely connected supply system, it took only two seconds to trace the origin of the outbreak. For it to happen this fast, competitors will need to cooperate and share logistics information. Despite this need for industry-wide collaboration, IBM has been able to decrease the amount of time it takes to trace back the origin of outbreaks down to days rather than weeks without the blockchain technology in place.



Digital ID – How do you know it’s you in the blockchain?

Wieck posed the question: “How can you replicate going into a bank and producing an ID to transact digitally?” She pointed out, “If you think about it, by showing a driver’s license you are providing more information than you want to: address, date of birth, etc.”

IBM is working with Canadian SecureKey, which has a network of all of the major banks, the Government of Canada, and Rogers Communications to be able to verify digital identity. SecureKey is a triple-blind system that gives you ownership of your identity. If someone needs access to your identity to confirm a transaction, they will request only this specific information from you to transact. For example, you go to a bar, the bouncer will need to verify your age and showing a driver’s license gives away more information than needed. By using this blockchain, without providing more information than needed, your age would be confirmed. So, for other transactions, you would be able to provide only the information needed to transact and not more. Essentially, you take control of your own identity. Wieck drew a bigger picture by saying, “Imagine that you can control your own credit report and remove a third-party credit reporter that is vulnerable to hacks? It’s a much, much better system to keep your identity safe.”

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Sheeple 10:43 PM  No comment