Table des matières
Each generation experiences a grand phenomenon that revolutionizes the way the world operates forever. The most recent was the emergence and rise of Bitcoin as well as other subsequent cryptocurrencies. Blockchain Technology is the foundational element behind Bitcoin. As we approach the 3rd decade of the 21st century, the potential of this marvel technology transcends cryptocurrency. This article will explore these possibilities, with a minor focus on how it can help to break up big tech monopolies and create a fair decentralised tech space for all the internet users.
Blockchain is a decentralised system of storing information that preserves the provenance of original data. The name “Blockchain” is a combination of the words “Block” and “Chain”. A blockchain consists of packages of information known as “Blocks” that are each linked to the one before, thus creating the Blockchain illusion.
Ces blocs peuvent contenir une myriade d’informations sous forme numérique telles que des transactions financières, des registres de propriété, des contrats juridiques, des informations médicales et bien d’autres. Chaque bloc complet est lié à son nonce, un nombre arbitraire de 32 bits généré de manière aléatoire lors de la création du bloc, et à son hachage, un numéro d’identification de 256 bits généré par le nonce. Ce hachage peut être décrit comme l’équivalent numérique d’une empreinte digitale humaine, en raison de son caractère unique.
L’histoire de la technologie Blockchain remonte au début des années 1990, lorsque les cryptographes Stuart Haber et W. Scott Stornetta ont tenté d’établir un système avec des horodatages de documents infalsifiables. Cependant, la première utilisation pratique des blockchains n’a eu lieu qu’en janvier 2009, lorsque Satoshi Nakamoto, le(s) créateur(s) pseudonyme(s) de Bitcoin, a lancé la désormais tristement célèbre crypto-monnaie.
One of the prominent properties of blockchain technology is its ability to be used as a distributed ledger, as demonstrated by bitcoin. In this model, bitcoin is managed by a peer-to-peer network of devices (known as “nodes”) geographically spread all over the world. These nodes are operated by separate, independent individuals or groups, as opposed to a distributed database with a central administration or authority. This decentralization allows the blockchain to be resistant to any altercations to its previously recorded information, meaning the data recorded in the blockchain (in bitcoin’s case, transaction history) is irreversible.
On a public blockchain like bitcoin, the decision to add new information is made by consensus. When a majority of nodes on the blockchain verifies that the information is valid, it is added to the chain in the form of a block. Each block’s position on the blockchain is based on the chronological order of creation. Therefore, each block contains the exact timestamp of its creation, its hash, as well as the hash of its predecessor. If any changes are made to the information in a block, its hash and the timestamp also change automatically. This makes it impossible to tamper with the data on the blockchain. If a user alters their copy of the blockchain, other nodes on the chain could easily cross-reference their copies and identify the node responsible as well as correct the change. This fault-tolerance mechanism builds trust in each block in the history of the blockchain and gives the users the platform to interact with the data in real-time without relying on intermediary third-parties such as banks, lawyers, brokers, etc.
L’intérêt de l’utilisation d’une blockchain est de permettre aux gens – en particulier aux personnes qui ne se font pas confiance – de partager des données précieuses de manière sécurisée et inviolable.
Revue de technologie du MIT
Due to this transparent, decentralized nature of a blockchain network, any adjustment to the system operation or the data it contains requires consensus, which ensures these changes are made in the best interests of the majority (Blockchain distributed consensus model). Moreover each and every online transaction involving digital assets, past and present, can be verified at any time in the future. This brings us to the first point in our list of how blockchain technology can immensely underpin the way we do online activities in coming years.
Comment la technologie blockchain peut briser les monopoles actuels des grandes entreprises technologiques
We are currently witnessing the incessant rise and unparalleled dominance of big-tech giants. In 2019, Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, Facebook, and Microsoft generated combined revenue of $899.2 billion. For reference, if those 5 big-tech companies were to aggregate into a single country, it would be the 18th largest country in the world by GDP[1]. With the majority of the population now believing the tech companies should have their powers limited[2]. it has become evident that a technological solution to break up the tech giants stronghold on our society is just as needed as government-imposed regulations. This is where blockchain technology comes into play. Steem is a new kind of social media platform that’s powered by Blockchain tech and the competition in this space is heating up!
Protection de la vie privée
If there was a competition for the world’s worst kept secret, social media companies and search engines accessing our private data would be the odds-on-favorite to bring the trophy home! Everything from personal conversations to search queries we enter to advertisements we click on is tracked, recorded, and stored. A blockchain-based system could prove to be a fine antidote to this treacherous predicament. As cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and IOTA have demonstrated, combining cryptography and economic incentives can establish an unbreachable way of storing and accessing the private information of anonymous users. Blockchain networks with special cryptographic functions can enable the protection of information and manage who can access it by allowing varying degrees of confidentiality. Blocksurvey.io is an example of such a network. It implements a blockchain system that prevents your personal information from being shared when you’re answering a third-party survey.
Lutter contre les fausses nouvelles
Fake news and clickbait have infested our orthodox social media feeds. A survey held in spring 2020 showed that 60% of 16-to-24-year-olds in the UK had recently used social media for information about the coronavirus, and 59% had come across fake news on the subject[3]. The situation across the globe is not any better. A Reuters Institute report for the University of Oxford’s Study of Journalism accounts that 55% of readers are concerned about online misinformation. The related YouGov survey which featured 75,000 people from 38 countries across all continents has uncovered the disquieting fact that less than half of people (49%) trust the news media they use themselves[4].
So why aren’t these social media powerhouses not taking sufficient measures to tackle this? Is it because they are not equipped with a technique capable enough to mitigate and verify millions of pieces of information posted within mere minutes? Or is it because fake news and clickbait drive up engagement and more engagement equals more money? Well, it’s a bit of both. Here, the transparent nature of a blockchain ledger becomes the wildcard.
According to Avivah Litan, the co-author of the “Predicts 2020: Blockchain Technology” report, By 2023, up to 30% of world news and video content will be authenticated as real by blockchain ledgers, countering Deep Fake technology[5]. As blockchains continue to make swift and palpable moves through the world of technology, we might be heading towards a fake news-free social media networks.
Lutte contre la censure
Big tech oligarchs have been under increasing scrutiny lately regarding their enforcement of rigorous online censorship and demonetization. While the global conversation regarding the threat to free speech from big-tech monopolies gets heated, Chinese internet users have already deployed blockchains to resist the heavy censorship implemented by the governing Chinese Communist Party. Several blocked letters and reports have been published on the Ethereum blockchain by anonymous users. Since Ethereum transactions are permanent and distributed among many computers in public decentralized networks, anyone could read the materials, and the CCP was unable to tamper with the information or force ISPs to remove them[6]. While it must be noted that the Chinese state-led censorship vastly differentiates from the big-tech companies’ censorship, the principle of utilizing blockchains to fight online censorship can be adopted by any platform wishing to supersede current social media heavyweights.
Ouvrir de nouvelles voies pour être payé
Social media content producers have long been resigned to losing well-earned money to media platforms acting as the middle-man. A blockchain network that features a goal-based financial incentive system can eliminate this problem and allow individual creators themselves to gain agency over their content as opposed to a central media platform. A blockchain-based video sharing platform could rival YouTube in the future by adopting this theory.
Ranidu Lankage’s blockchain-based music streaming service Audius has already incorporated this idea to its core. The innovative Sri Lankan DJ’s platform will allow users to spend tokens to listen to songs as it seeks to cut out the middle-man in streaming and pay up-and-coming artists their fair share. À l’épreuve des mots and Initiative de musique ouverte are organisations that use blockchain tech as a way to protect copyrights of web content creators.
Furthermore, businesses could have the opportunity to streamline their transactions and payment processes using “smart contracts”, a series of programs that are stored on a blockchain and can be used to automatically exchange rewards based on certain conditions and criteria.
Conclusion
Alors que les titans de la grande technologie continuent de marcher sur une glace très mince en utilisant leur pouvoir incontestable, la mission des développeurs de blockchain de perturber et de paralyser ces monopoles et d’établir un Web plus décentralisé serait certainement à surveiller pour la prochaine décennie. D’où l’effet d’avalanche.
Examinons maintenant les applications de la technologie Blockchain
La technologie blockchain peut être utile dans de nombreux secteurs. Nous avons énuméré ici quelques-unes des applications courantes.
Applications dans le secteur gouvernemental
1. Mettre en œuvre un système électoral confié pour des élections démocratiques
With the hotly-contested 2020 US Presidential Election reigniting the age-old public discourse regarding voter-fraud, there has probably never been a better time to look into permanently applying blockchain technology to create a secure voting system. The immutable nature of the blockchain would guarantee the eradication of ballot-tampering as well as eliminate the need for manual counting, thus delivering faster election results. Moreover, the ability to cast your vote digitally in the form of a cryptographic unit or token would void the need to be physically present in order to vote. This will help boost voter turnout. Additionally, the transparency and traceability that blockchain offers will widely decrease public distrust related to the validity of the ballots and election results in general, and prevent the need for further audits. Needless to say, all things considered, a blockchain-based voting system would be a significant overhaul to the currently outdated traditional voting systems. Voatz is one such company that’s researching on this area.
2. Stockage des données publiques
Government databases are almost always the largest single record of information on its citizens. They record, store and manage individual’s data on a plethora of different factors from birth to death. This makes them very attractive targets for hackers and other bad-faith actors. A blockchain network can help reduce this threat significantly. The decentralization will not only provide resistance to a potential breach or data remodification, but it will also add better transparency to the database. Furthermore, a blockchain structure would help the general public navigates these databases more smoothly and efficiently.
Applications en finance
3. Réduire les coûts des transactions transfrontalières
Les transactions transfrontalières s’avèrent généralement coûteuses et chronophages. Cela est principalement dû au fait qu’il faut passer par les habilitations de sécurité et faire des arrêts dans plusieurs banques en cours de route. Une méthode inspirée de la blockchain comme le Bitcoin accélérerait ce processus et contribuerait à réduire les coûts et les frais de transaction. Cela signifie qu’il n’y a plus de dépendance à l’égard de PayPal !
4. Vérification des identités numériques
With 91 percent of banks, worldwide have started to invest in blockchain-inspired solutions, it won’t be long before they will be able to authenticate the identity of a unique customer using blockchain IDs. This will allow them to protect their institution as well as their customer from scammers and other fraudulent personnel. Plateforme hydrogène is a great example of an online source that uses blockchain properties to facilitate digital identification, among other financial services. Tout le monde is another company that provide similar service.
5. Financement participatif
A blockchain system that deploys smart-contracts will be able to eliminate the third-party platforms that currently run crowdfunding programs. This will allow the donors and recipients to deal directly with each other as well as save the intermediary fee.
6. Trading d’actions
En raison de la capacité des réseaux blockchain à vérifier et à confirmer rapidement les transactions, ils ont le potentiel de dépasser les plateformes actuelles de trading d’actions en offrant une expérience de trading beaucoup plus rapide à leurs clients.
Applications dans le domaine de la santé
7. Protection des données médicales et de la vie privée des patients
With a staggering 176 million+ personal health records being accessed by intruders between 2009-2017,[7] it’s fair to say that data security has become a major concern within the healthcare industry. Blockchain networks’ version of an immutable, decentralized patient detail log would be able to facilitate a significantly better and more secure healthcare database. BurstIQ (en anglais) is one of the companies that heavily research in this area.
8. Faire progresser la génomique
La génomique est une branche de la biologie moléculaire qui étudie la structure, la fonction, l’évolution et la cartographie des génomes. Alors que les scientifiques continuent de réaliser des percées cruciales dans ce domaine remarquable, les systèmes blockchain peuvent les aider en fournissant l’infrastructure numérique nécessaire pour stocker des milliards de données génétiques. Il peut également fournir des marchés open source où les gens peuvent vendre leurs informations génétiques cryptées aux chercheurs.
Applications dans l’industrie manufacturière
9. Surveillance des chaînes d’approvisionnement
The decentralized ledger format can be utilized to track containers during the shipping process. Every crew member in the supply chain has access to the information and they can perform their job accordingly. If used properly in a similar logistical function, this technology can drastically reduce the human effort and paperwork required to complete the task. IBM recently concluded an initial test of the application with favorable results. Chaîne de navires is a company that operate in this space.
10. Internet des objets
L’Internet des objets (IoT) fait référence à un réseau d’objets physiques connectés sans fil qui peuvent partager des données via Internet. L’idée d’une application blockchain pour vérifier l’intégrité des données et des appareils d’un tel réseau est très prometteuse.
11. 3D impression
L’impression 3D est une innovation intrigante en soi, cependant, l’utilisation d’une méthode blockchain pour gérer sa chaîne d’approvisionnement la fait simplement passer au niveau supérieur. La blockchain facilite chaque fonction du processus sans intermédiaire. Du cryptage du design à la négociation d’un contrat d’impression via des contrats intelligents, en passant par les informations sur le produit final et les détails de propriété.
Applications dans l’éducation
12. Faciliter un registre avancé des étudiants
Unsurprisingly, blockchain’s components can be harnessed for educational purposes as well. Using the immutable distributed ledger, administrators can establish and manage a database that consists of invaluable academic information on each student. This information can be accessed to identify the problems students experience, and put forth necessary actions or teaching techniques required accordingly. Even further, by using the decentralized structure of the blockchain, this data can be shared among parents, educators, and even multiple schools or universities. Apart from this, student data can be easily verified to ensure the accuracy of each student’s credentials and achievements.
13. Motiver les élèves grâce à un système de récompense basé sur des jetons
Les crédits numériques tokenisés, ou même les crypto-monnaies, peuvent être utilisés comme incitations pour les élèves et les enseignants afin d’améliorer leur moral et de faire progresser leur potentiel scolaire. Les enseignants peuvent présenter les meilleurs élèves avec un crédit supplémentaire (numérique) en guise d’encouragement et de cultiver un environnement d’apprentissage enthousiaste.
14. Création d’un portfolio de réussite scolaire
A blockchain network that stores students’ academic accomplishments and merits can help them build a transparent digital CV, which, when presented to a future employer, can be verified by checking with the school or university administrator. APPII is a blockchain-based recruitment platform that allows students to create their portfolios. Once the student enters his or her academic details and milestones, a blockchain network verifies the accuracy of the input credentials, and machine learning is occupied to match the data in the CV to relevant job opportunities.
Applications dans le secteur juridique
15. Fonction notariale
Blockchains are a great way to keep track of things over time while preserving original data and transparency, right? So, it is undoubtedly the perfect digital notary. Recording legal documents related to intangible assets like intellectual property, royalties, wills, art, copyright agreements, and patents on a blockchain network would make it extremely easy to confirm and verify the validity of those documents whenever necessary. Stampd.io is a website that allows you to add documents to a crypto blockchain, setting up the chance in the future to prove that it was added by you with an exact timestamp. A non-fungible token (NFT) is one of those modern investment asset class that’s popular among crypto traders these days. Most NFTs are part of the Ethereum blockchain so you need to have some Ethereum in order to get into this kind of investments.
16. Gestion des transactions immobilières
The information regarding tangible property registration and transfer of ownership rights can be efficiently managed through a blockchain ledger. Since the data stored on the blockchain is fully transparent and immutable, any conflict related to these “smart properties” can quickly be resolved. Propy is a company that utlize blockchain tech in this space.
17. Défendre les droits des travailleurs
According to the International Labor Organization, almost 25 million people work in forced labor around the industry globe. This may soon change for the better, thanks to a bit of help from blockchain technology. The US State Department and Coca-Cola have joined forces to form a blockchain consisting of protocols and smart contracts to verify unacceptable working situations and pressure their respective employers to honor the contracts of those workers[8].
Applications dans diverses autres industries
18. Faciliter le commerce de l’énergie
Energy microgrids built on blockchains can decentralize the production process and ultimately bring down the price of energy drastically. The first real-world experiment was recently conducted in Brooklyn, NY by LO3 energy in collaboration with Siemens[9].
19. Prévention de la fraude au compteur kilométrique
Odometer fraud has been a long-standing issue in the automotive industry. This is when fraudulent dealers mechanically tamper with a car’s odometer and reduce its mileage to make it appear less used, resulting in the customer overpaying for the vehicle. A blockchain-based smart odometer can counter this by consistently recording the vehicle’s mileage in the form of blocks. This would make it impossible to alter the mileage information and give digital quality assurance of the vehicle. This theory has now been adopted by Bosch’s IoT lab, and they have experimented with it on 100 cars across Germany and Switzerland.
20. Assurer la sécurité alimentaire
According to World Health Organization, roughly 420,000 people die each year due to food-borne diseases[10]. This mostly comes down to the difficulty of isolating harmful food. Blockchain method can be implemented to track food from raw materials or harvest to final production, with verified data regarding its whereabouts and condition from farm or factory to kitchen.
21. Faciliter le stockage numérique
Le stockage dans le cloud est actuellement la forme de stockage de données la plus utilisée. Cependant, la configuration centralisée de ces logiciels les rend vulnérables aux pirates. Un hébergeur décentralisé qui fonctionne sur un serveur blockchain peut être proposé comme une solution viable à ce problème.
Résumé
Blockchain – Ascending beyond cryptocurrency: the irreversible, unalterable, unhackable, uncheatable digital revolution of our generation; a pragmatic technology that’s reshaping tomorrow – one block at a time. The future is now.
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