35. von Weizsäcker & Kossow on promises and perils to use blockchain for anti-corruption

We welcome Franz von Weizsäcker (@franzvw) from the GIZ (German Corporation for International Cooperation) Blockchain Lab and Niklas Kossow (@NiklasKossow) from the Hertie School of Governance. The interview takes a deep dive into how new technologies (ICTs), in particular distributed ledger technology like Blockchain can be used to curb corruption. Franz and Niklas first describe how they became interested in the topic of ICTs and anti-corruption and provide a basic introduction into how distributed ledger technology works. The interview then outlines the challenges that development projects that seek to make use of such technologies face but also highlights some positive examples. The interview closes with concrete recommendations for academic research that can help to fill knowledge gaps about the use of ICTs in the fight against corruption. Links & References If you are completely new to the topic of Distributed ledger technologies and Blockchain, this video provides some of the basics: https://youtu.be/SSo_EIwHSd4 Find out more about the GIZ Blockchain lab (https://www.giz.de/en/worldwide/67045.html) Niklas references a previous episode of Kickback with Irio Musskopf which you can find here: https://soundcloud.com/kickback-gap/33-irio-musskopf-on-using-artificial-intelligence-to-fight-corruption To find out more about the referenced Ukrainian public procurement system ProZorro: https://prozorro.gov.ua/en Niklas refers to the TruBudget Project: https://openkfw.github.io/trubudget-website/ More information about the education credential project that Franz mentions: https://www.giz.de/en/downloads/giz2019-en-concept-note-distributed-ledger.pdf More info about the referenced Corona App: https://www.dw.com/en/germany-launches-best-coronavirus-tracing-app/a-53825213 The infamous Dao hack: https://medium.com/@ogucluturk/the-dao-hack-explained-unfortunate-take-off-of-smart-contracts-2bd8c8db3562 How to use ICT to strengthen Anti-Corruption authored by Niklas and Viktoria Dykes: https://www.giz.de/de/downloads/giz2018-eng_ICT-to-strengthen-Anti-Corruption.pdf The potential of distributed ledger technologies in the fight against Corruption by the GIZ https://www.giz.de/de/downloads/Blockchain_Anticorruption-2020.pdf Niklas recent review article on Digital anti-corruption: hopes and challenges https://www.elgaronline.com/view/edcoll/9781789904994/9781789904994.00019.xml