We are a world in crisis. Our news channels these days cover little else but climate change, political mayhem around the world, and ongoing waves of financial crises still lingering from 10 years ago. It’s become an acceptable level of turmoil it seems, which is, of course, totally unacceptable.

But fear not fellow blockchainers, for you hold the keys to secure the future of our planet. Your innovation through technology has the DNA building blocks of a new world order, of financial recovery, of redemption.

With just a select few words to reflect on this state of affairs, I’m unable to delve deeply into each area, but for now, let’s review the opportunities for the political mess we’re in – arguably the first thing that requires our attention before the other problems can receive the consensus necessary to prevail.

Blockchain and AI can offer the world of politics and government new avenues through which our democracies can be made more transparent, more accountable, and above all more trustworthy. Ironic then that we turn to technology that is described as ‘trustless’. But that’s the point – trust no longer comes into it, so those that can’t be trusted are weeded out, and we replace them with factual immutable information and process. It is logistical and logical.

Blockchain's elimination of fraud

Let’s start with the broken election process. Blockchain can virtually eliminate election fraud while increasing the electorate to maximum capacity. The indelible DLT can be implemented to give every citizen one vote that can’t be tampered with, available wherever they may be, on their smartphone, at any time of day.

This technology is already used in some states in the US, though unfortunately not at a national level. Serving US soldiers who are deployed abroad during scheduled elections can now vote for their political preferences from anywhere in the world.

In terms of making that choice, the entire electorate is currently undergoing a political tech lobotomy, with the aim of eradicating ‘fake news’, fake statistics, and we hope, eventually, fake presidents - quite a task considering the massive levels of manipulation that has landed us all in this mess before we realised! AI is being deployed like agents of truth to verify facts and dispel deep-fake evil geniuses, ensuring that corruption in election campaign messaging and manipulation of the electorate is policed more effectively, perhaps to be successfully negated from the voting outcome. But we’re not there yet. Technology is being exploited by both sides in this virtual war - one side for truth, the other for control. It’s up to us, dear innovators, to make sure the right side wins.

Personally I would like to see AI make our decisions for us, eliminating the partisan nature of the political argument, and opting for the most correct option in any debate. There’s no draw when it comes to binary results. You can’t have your cake and eat it, as the incorrectly used idiom poses.

But minds far superior to my own don’t all agree. Noel Sharkey, Emeritus Professor of AI and Robotics at the University of Sheffield, told me he worries: “About AI being used in politics”, not least because “we’re seeing a massive problematic area of algorithmic decision making, where it’s becoming very apparent that it’s gender biased and it’s also racially biased.” Not a good look for a saviour of the masses.

AI used in modern society's complex political and economic decisions

On the other hand, Ben Goertzel of Singularity.net, shares my cynicism, opining that “it’s pretty clear that the complexity of modern societies now goes beyond the ability of any human being to really track or comprehend or control. So an appropriately configured AI could be much better at political and economic decision making than human beings.”

He believes that “most of our politicians these days are talking heads, with armies of policy experts behind the scenes deciding what policies might appeal to the voting public”, adding that maybe “people will eventually realise that humans are just puppets and you might as well have AI be your elected official.”

Realistically it’s fair to say that’s a long way off, but the AI that’s available today could certainly streamline the basic processes of government and allow humans to spend more time and effort on the big decisions that really matter to the overall well-being of the planet and its global populations. 

Another expert in the AI field, Angelo Dalli, favours this scenario as a current option. He said: “I actually think that humans should be in control when it comes to decisions that impact a large amount of people’s lives.” He added: “AI can at least help us make informed decisions, so I see it as a tool that assists rather than replaces people.” 

So combining blockchain capabilities and some aspects of current AI tech might indeed be a solution for the governmental sphere in the short-term future. 

Lord Marland, long time British MP, chairman of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council, and advocate of blockchain technology, is looking to the innovators in cash-rich Middle East countries for insights on implementing such technologies. 

“Take the government of Dubai,” he imparts. “Their whole government is going to be run on a blockchain by 2020. It’s going to make a huge difference in terms of cost, in terms of access, in terms of speed of response, which is currently a real problem for governments – governments do not respond quickly.” He thus identifies one of the biggest barriers to progress – making decisions in a timely manner, instead of taking years to dilly dally through minutiae of details.

Ben Goertzel uses the example of educating our future generations to illustrate how painfully slow change can be in government: “You know, rolling out a radically more progressive and better way to educate our children – it’s taking decades and decades for our institutions to slog through that process. And this is because of various [partisan] interests and various groups being at odds with each other and a lot of friction in the works.”

Their whole government is going to be run on a blockchain by 2020- Lord Marland, British MP, chairman of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council, and advocate of blockchain technology

But there are parts of the world where progress can be made; a testbed can be implemented; success can be realised. It likely won’t be in the Western world, currently so regressive in its nature, oblivious to the benefits shown by emerging nations making strides towards a better future. 

In March 2018, Sierra Leone in West Africa successfully ran the first blockchain-based election. In nearby Senegal, Akon, the Grammy award-winning hip-hop artist, is spearheading philanthropic endeavours through blockchain and tokenomics to balance equality in society and transparency in government, with the support of the Senegalese president.

There’s exciting things happening in India. Devoid of the bureaucratic red tape encompassing Western self-interest and in-fighting, progress rolls forward with a more urgent impetus. We’re even getting there here in European Malta.

So, clever people, wake up to the opportunities, embrace the borderless international waters of blockchain and crypto-tokenisation, and make change happen. The future is in your hands – don’t let it be in someone else’s.