imagine a world of absolute trust one in
which you can trust the person sitting
to your left the person sitting to your
right and even the person sitting
halfway across the planet unfortunately
this is not that world in fact our
society functions largely because we do
not trust one another we regulate our
food and our pharmaceuticals because we
think we will be taken advantage of by
those working in favor of their own
personal gain we distrust strangers
because we think in terms of their worst
possible motives people cannot trust
other people but perhaps people can
trust a system this system that I’m
referring to is the revolutionary
technology known as the blockchain and
it carries the potential to place every
digitalized piece of information ever
recorded about you at your fingertips
secured completely and displayed at your
discretion we can start to understand
the blockchain by first understanding
what makes it unique its manageability
its visibility and its security
so let’s first imagine we have a filing
cabinet but instead of paper files this
filing cabinet is made up of briefcases
there is a network of people each of
whom have their own copy of the filing
cabinet and all the briefcases
whenever information is added everyone’s
copy is updated to match in order to add
information to a to a briefcase the
briefcase must first be opened and in
order to open a briefcase we must have
the key needed to unlock it briefcases
just don’t go around unlocked waiting
for someone to open them rather they are
secured with a lock and key system
our briefcases here are no exception of
course additionally once information is
added to a briefcase it cannot be taken
out by anyone ever now let’s imagine
there is a restaurant the restaurant is
run by person a who wants to rent a
building that the restaurant will go
into from person B after some
negotiation a document is drawn up
citing the monthly payments the document
is reviewed once it is deemed valid it
is added to a briefcase
the only person a and person B have the
key to unlock everyone else just sees
the briefcase
even if person C comes along looking for
that information they will be unable to
access it because they do not have the
key that person a and person B have what
I just described was how digital records
get added to the blockchain the
briefcases represent blocks on the
blockchain
each block holds information that
designated people can see additionally
each block holds information about the
block in front of it this means that by
looking at a single block you will know
the identity of the following one in our
briefcase example perhaps each briefcase
has the serial number of the one next to
it carved into its front this system
does not allow for the removal of any
briefcases because removing one will
disrupt the entire series this quality
of not being able to remove things is
referred to as immutability so our
filing cabinet links these briefcases in
a chain of information the blockchain
does the same only in a digitalized
world connectivity doesn’t just describe
the relationship that the blocks have
with one another the users on the
network are also connected
the community that the blockchain
creates functions as a decentralized or
peer-to-peer network in a centralized
network there is a single entity that
holds all of the power or information in
the system in a decentralized network
such as the blockchain however this
information is distributed over a number
of different locations every user on the
network has their own copy of the
blockchain that looks the exact same as
it does on all the other computers also
called nodes on the network whenever
information is added never taken away a
new copy of the blockchain is passed to
all of the nodes
this means that all nodes can see the
presence of all information going back
to our briefcase example everyone can
look into their own filing cabinet and
know that the briefcases are there but
they cannot open them and access the
documents inside unless they are
directly involved and therefore have a
key if everyone can see everyone else’s
briefcases
it seems unlikely that this is the
secure system that we’ve been looking
for however it is exactly because of
this transparency that the blockchain is
so secure which brings me to security
since every node has their own copy of
the blockchain if someone tries to
change any existing documents they’re
only changing their own copy one copy
different from the other 50,000 1
million or however many nodes are on the
network will alert algorithms built into
the system and promptly be corrected to
change the block chains history you
would have to change a majority of the
copies so that what you are trying to
edit agrees the majority of the system
this means hacking into at least 51% of
all of the computers on the network
all at once in between a time it takes
to add a new block this is not feasible
this part of the blockchain security
that guarantees that’s immutability is
only half of the equation the other half
is related to a type of code writing and
code breaking called cryptography this
makes it so the briefcases are locked
the nodes that see information know what
comes from whom but they can’t actually
understand it a series of passwords
authorize interactions so that
participants of the passing of
information are the only ones that can
see that information to everyone else
this appears as a series of seemingly
arbitrary letters and numbers without
the special passwords or keys needed to
unlock the briefcases attempting to
guess these strings of characters would
take lifetimes even with all of the
computing power in the world
so the blockchain is an incredible tool
and unsurprisingly it has many different
applications one you might recognize
bitcoin is the volatile cryptocurrency
that recently has been shaking the
economy and making appearances and memes
the blockchain was first introduced as
the data structure behind Bitcoin in
2009 by a programmer behind the
pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto bitcoins
blockchain stores records of
transactions that have occurred between
users one thing that makes people want
to use Bitcoin is the fact that that it
has no central authority like a bank or
a corporation for example instead
bitcoin is decentralized because it
implements the blockchain for
any centralized power screams corruption
so bitcoin is a welcome alternative
another financial application can be
found in the remittance industry a
remittance is any sum of money sent by a
foreign worker to their families back
home often these are not huge sums of
money however with the current system
processing fees add massive expenses
with the implementation of the
blockchain these fees would be
negligible there are a number of startup
companies that offer the service to
convert one currency to another and use
the blockchain in between these
companies have not caught on to the
mainstream yet but they give us hope as
to what a future with blockchain
remittance would look like healthcare as
an industry is constantly trying to
improve patient access ability and
privacy the blockchain as it turns out
offers both of these things for one it
could be used as a massive database for
every patients records each time someone
went to the doctor they could grant
their doctor permission to access every
test result or condition ever recorded
about them or just what’s relevant to
the appointment seeing a cardiologist
and then an orthopedic surgeon would be
easy both for the patient and the
specialist ease and appointments would
make for less time spent on each patient
which means doctors could see more
patients in a day help more people get
better and save more lives all because
of the blockchain privacy is a very
important part of healthcare so it makes
sense that these sensitive documents
should be stored on a secure of a system
as possible and it’s not just for people
either the blockchain can be used to
track medical technology and
pharmaceuticals as they go through each
point in the distribution process
medicine could be tracked at each point
via the blockchain this would prevent
pharmaceuticals that are not real for
making their way into the supply chain
additionally companies would be able to
provide verification documents to their
customers without risking sharing
sensitive corporate information this is
a win-win for both the patients and the
companies because the patients will be
able to trust the companies and and
therefore will give them more business
so it seems the blockchain has many
practical applications in industries we
interact with in our everyday lives
however there are more luxurious uses of
the blockchain a london-based company
called ever ledger is working to
digitalize all information about
individual diamonds this includes color
shape weight measurements and origin all
combined to form what they call a
digital thumbprint the diamond industry
is constantly working on dealing with
counterfeit diamonds just as the
healthcare industry is working on
dealing with counterfeit pharmaceuticals
implementing the blockchain would
prevent these counterfeit diamonds or
those that were mined in war zones from
making their way into the supply chain
again the industry implements the
blockchain again the blockchain improves
the industry so in a world of distrust
what can the blockchain do well there
really is no limit to what it can do
we’ve understood how the blockchain
functions its public functionality
allows us to trust that whatever
information we’re passing through it
will go where we want it to go it’s
visible nature allows for our
information to be verified and
cryptography allows for that information
to be secured
a shift to where we would rely on the blockchain would completely just disrupt
blockchain would completely just disrupt the way we transfer information and not
the way we transfer information and not just how we interact with money almost
just how we interact with money almost all industries have countless documents
all industries have countless documents whether it be the remittance industry
whether it be the remittance industry the healthcare industry or the diamond
the healthcare industry or the diamond industry introducing these these
industry introducing these these industries to the blockchain could allow
industries to the blockchain could allow for easy access it could allow for easy
for easy access it could allow for easy verification it could allow for trust so
verification it could allow for trust so when we can’t trust one another we can
when we can’t trust one another we can trust the blockchain the world’s
trust the blockchain the world’s industries are ready to adopt the
industries are ready to adopt the blockchain are you thank you
blockchain are you thank you [Applause]
which you can trust the person sitting
to your left the person sitting to your
right and even the person sitting
halfway across the planet unfortunately
this is not that world in fact our
society functions largely because we do
not trust one another we regulate our
food and our pharmaceuticals because we
think we will be taken advantage of by
those working in favor of their own
personal gain we distrust strangers
because we think in terms of their worst
possible motives people cannot trust
other people but perhaps people can
trust a system this system that I’m
referring to is the revolutionary
technology known as the blockchain and
it carries the potential to place every
digitalized piece of information ever
recorded about you at your fingertips
secured completely and displayed at your
discretion we can start to understand
the blockchain by first understanding
what makes it unique its manageability
its visibility and its security
so let’s first imagine we have a filing
cabinet but instead of paper files this
filing cabinet is made up of briefcases
there is a network of people each of
whom have their own copy of the filing
cabinet and all the briefcases
whenever information is added everyone’s
copy is updated to match in order to add
information to a to a briefcase the
briefcase must first be opened and in
order to open a briefcase we must have
the key needed to unlock it briefcases
just don’t go around unlocked waiting
for someone to open them rather they are
secured with a lock and key system
our briefcases here are no exception of
course additionally once information is
added to a briefcase it cannot be taken
out by anyone ever now let’s imagine
there is a restaurant the restaurant is
run by person a who wants to rent a
building that the restaurant will go
into from person B after some
negotiation a document is drawn up
citing the monthly payments the document
is reviewed once it is deemed valid it
is added to a briefcase
the only person a and person B have the
key to unlock everyone else just sees
the briefcase
even if person C comes along looking for
that information they will be unable to
access it because they do not have the
key that person a and person B have what
I just described was how digital records
get added to the blockchain the
briefcases represent blocks on the
blockchain
each block holds information that
designated people can see additionally
each block holds information about the
block in front of it this means that by
looking at a single block you will know
the identity of the following one in our
briefcase example perhaps each briefcase
has the serial number of the one next to
it carved into its front this system
does not allow for the removal of any
briefcases because removing one will
disrupt the entire series this quality
of not being able to remove things is
referred to as immutability so our
filing cabinet links these briefcases in
a chain of information the blockchain
does the same only in a digitalized
world connectivity doesn’t just describe
the relationship that the blocks have
with one another the users on the
network are also connected
the community that the blockchain
creates functions as a decentralized or
peer-to-peer network in a centralized
network there is a single entity that
holds all of the power or information in
the system in a decentralized network
such as the blockchain however this
information is distributed over a number
of different locations every user on the
network has their own copy of the
blockchain that looks the exact same as
it does on all the other computers also
called nodes on the network whenever
information is added never taken away a
new copy of the blockchain is passed to
all of the nodes
this means that all nodes can see the
presence of all information going back
to our briefcase example everyone can
look into their own filing cabinet and
know that the briefcases are there but
they cannot open them and access the
documents inside unless they are
directly involved and therefore have a
key if everyone can see everyone else’s
briefcases
it seems unlikely that this is the
secure system that we’ve been looking
for however it is exactly because of
this transparency that the blockchain is
so secure which brings me to security
since every node has their own copy of
the blockchain if someone tries to
change any existing documents they’re
only changing their own copy one copy
different from the other 50,000 1
million or however many nodes are on the
network will alert algorithms built into
the system and promptly be corrected to
change the block chains history you
would have to change a majority of the
copies so that what you are trying to
edit agrees the majority of the system
this means hacking into at least 51% of
all of the computers on the network
all at once in between a time it takes
to add a new block this is not feasible
this part of the blockchain security
that guarantees that’s immutability is
only half of the equation the other half
is related to a type of code writing and
code breaking called cryptography this
makes it so the briefcases are locked
the nodes that see information know what
comes from whom but they can’t actually
understand it a series of passwords
authorize interactions so that
participants of the passing of
information are the only ones that can
see that information to everyone else
this appears as a series of seemingly
arbitrary letters and numbers without
the special passwords or keys needed to
unlock the briefcases attempting to
guess these strings of characters would
take lifetimes even with all of the
computing power in the world
so the blockchain is an incredible tool
and unsurprisingly it has many different
applications one you might recognize
bitcoin is the volatile cryptocurrency
that recently has been shaking the
economy and making appearances and memes
the blockchain was first introduced as
the data structure behind Bitcoin in
2009 by a programmer behind the
pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto bitcoins
blockchain stores records of
transactions that have occurred between
users one thing that makes people want
to use Bitcoin is the fact that that it
has no central authority like a bank or
a corporation for example instead
bitcoin is decentralized because it
implements the blockchain for
any centralized power screams corruption
so bitcoin is a welcome alternative
another financial application can be
found in the remittance industry a
remittance is any sum of money sent by a
foreign worker to their families back
home often these are not huge sums of
money however with the current system
processing fees add massive expenses
with the implementation of the
blockchain these fees would be
negligible there are a number of startup
companies that offer the service to
convert one currency to another and use
the blockchain in between these
companies have not caught on to the
mainstream yet but they give us hope as
to what a future with blockchain
remittance would look like healthcare as
an industry is constantly trying to
improve patient access ability and
privacy the blockchain as it turns out
offers both of these things for one it
could be used as a massive database for
every patients records each time someone
went to the doctor they could grant
their doctor permission to access every
test result or condition ever recorded
about them or just what’s relevant to
the appointment seeing a cardiologist
and then an orthopedic surgeon would be
easy both for the patient and the
specialist ease and appointments would
make for less time spent on each patient
which means doctors could see more
patients in a day help more people get
better and save more lives all because
of the blockchain privacy is a very
important part of healthcare so it makes
sense that these sensitive documents
should be stored on a secure of a system
as possible and it’s not just for people
either the blockchain can be used to
track medical technology and
pharmaceuticals as they go through each
point in the distribution process
medicine could be tracked at each point
via the blockchain this would prevent
pharmaceuticals that are not real for
making their way into the supply chain
additionally companies would be able to
provide verification documents to their
customers without risking sharing
sensitive corporate information this is
a win-win for both the patients and the
companies because the patients will be
able to trust the companies and and
therefore will give them more business
so it seems the blockchain has many
practical applications in industries we
interact with in our everyday lives
however there are more luxurious uses of
the blockchain a london-based company
called ever ledger is working to
digitalize all information about
individual diamonds this includes color
shape weight measurements and origin all
combined to form what they call a
digital thumbprint the diamond industry
is constantly working on dealing with
counterfeit diamonds just as the
healthcare industry is working on
dealing with counterfeit pharmaceuticals
implementing the blockchain would
prevent these counterfeit diamonds or
those that were mined in war zones from
making their way into the supply chain
again the industry implements the
blockchain again the blockchain improves
the industry so in a world of distrust
what can the blockchain do well there
really is no limit to what it can do
we’ve understood how the blockchain
functions its public functionality
allows us to trust that whatever
information we’re passing through it
will go where we want it to go it’s
visible nature allows for our
information to be verified and
cryptography allows for that information
to be secured
a shift to where we would rely on the blockchain would completely just disrupt
blockchain would completely just disrupt the way we transfer information and not
the way we transfer information and not just how we interact with money almost
just how we interact with money almost all industries have countless documents
all industries have countless documents whether it be the remittance industry
whether it be the remittance industry the healthcare industry or the diamond
the healthcare industry or the diamond industry introducing these these
industry introducing these these industries to the blockchain could allow
industries to the blockchain could allow for easy access it could allow for easy
for easy access it could allow for easy verification it could allow for trust so
verification it could allow for trust so when we can’t trust one another we can
when we can’t trust one another we can trust the blockchain the world’s
trust the blockchain the world’s industries are ready to adopt the
industries are ready to adopt the blockchain are you thank you
blockchain are you thank you [Applause]
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