Blockchain, Governance and Trust, Part I

Can blockchain put an end to election fraud? Can it help us rebuild trust in distant institutions and companies that handle our data? How does blockchain actually work? Join us for this podcast on the inner workings and implications of blockchain for governance and society. The Guests Dr. Grammateia (Matoula) Kotsialou and Dr. Luke Riley are postdoctoral research associates at King’s College London working on the applications of blockchain in voting and collective decision-making domains. As computer scientists with expertise in game theory and artificial intelligence, they are here to answer all of your questions about blockchain and its future in society. For more information about their work, check out the Volt Project. Send us Your Questions for Part II Send us your blockchain questions for our follow-up podcast with Matoula and Luke by May 31, 2018 at [email protected], or drop us a line on facebook or twitter (@csgskcl). Skip Ahead 0:40 What is blockchain? 1:07 How does bitcoin work? 7:38 How does blockchain help us secure our transactions with others? 8:49 How vulnerable is blockchain to hacking? 9:54 What’s stopping blockchain from taking over the world right now? 11:50 Why did the stock price of bitcoin drop? 13:52 Is blockchain just an ideology or is it the next great disruptive technology of our time? 15:07 How does blockchain voting work? 18:58 Can blockchain prevent election hacking by third parties? 20:27 What security issues do modern electronic voting systems face? 24:38 How can technology help us improve democracy? 28:14 Can we use blockchain to build trust with companies that use our data? 31:29  Can I sell rights to my data on a blockchain social media account?