The changing climate, poverty, identity theft, voting fraud and fair trade.
These are global challenges and complex issues which form part of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals but they also have something else in common according to UTS Law’s Dr Philippa Ryan.
Blockchain technology can be applied to all these ‘wicked’ problems – and help solve them.
Dr Ryan has co-authored a ‘bold’ new book on the multiple uses for ‘distributed ledger technology’ with Dutch speaker and author, Mark Van Rijmenam.
Called ‘Blockchain: transforming your business and our world’, the book makes a series of ambitious claims and predictions about just how far Blockchain can go both regionally and globally.
It can contribute to solving climate change, reduce voting fraud, fix our identity systems, improve fair trade and give the poor an opportunity to improve their lives.
With Fair Trade for example:
Distributed ledgers can support Fair Trade by enabling transparency in the treatment of those who produce and distribute food and resources.
Standards Australia Policy Manager, Dr Jed Horner launched the book at UTS and evoked the opening lines of Star Trek:
This is a bold book – it goes where others have not gone before.
Dr Horner says Blockchain has come a long way since Bitcoin.
It’s no longer just about young gamblers making a quick buck off crypto.
In fact, it has enormous potential tor social good in helping to address some of the most complex global problems,
As the authors say
With the advance of technology, we have the potential to create a world in which technology is used for good, while ensuring that the privacy of consumers is respected, a world where data is owned by individuals and used to improve the lives of all—essentially, a world that is better for all.