Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Markets.
Hailed as the next wave of the technological revolution and the building blocks of artificial intelligence integration into the everyday, blockchain technology is reformulating established industries in unimaginable ways. Borne out of the cryptocurrency exchange, blockchain is an open-source data management system that allows multiple users to create and access information in real time, securely, and without replication. The technology is now being utilized in banking systems, healthcare, agriculture, genetic coding, and dozens of other areas where user data is essential and can be managed directly by the user themselves.
The most fascinating trajectory of this technology is in its convergence with AI, and particularly in key people-centered industries in emerging markets. The ability to trust the personal information shared and make sure the technology is secure is blockchain’s main role in catapulting AI technologies. According to Osayi Igharo, Managing Partner at Ripple VC, an early-stage venture firm focusing on AI across Africa, the question becomes “how do you extract and derive new insight from data and deliver more value to customers?” He emphasizes that a lot of investors don’t fully understand the importance and urgency of AI in Africa, and the need to break down barriers to accessing data. Igharo points out that so little of the continent’s NGO activity, which often takes place in remote, rural areas, is being captured and transformed into raw data that should be aggregated in ways that can positively impact people and the economy.
In Nigeria, Azuri Technologies uses AI to bring renewable energy solutions into remote, rural markets. Run on a lease-to-own strategy, their core product offers individuals with no access to a power grid the ability to move from nonrenewable energy-burning generators to clean solar power. Here, AI technology helps record the habits of the user and then uses that information to “teach” the panels just how much solar energy to capture on a daily basis. Similar innovations can be applied to other sectors as well, a new way for Big Data to be utilized on an individual consumer level.
A company that recently went public, Project Shivom, aims to create “the largest genomic data hub on the planet.” They will do this through the use of AI and blockchain technologies that allow “contributors” to own and control the right to access their genetic information. Henry Ines, CEO, believes that blockchain and distributed ledger technologies will play a key role in the secure storage and sharing of highly sensitive information, such as patient records and, in the case of Shivom, genomes. With enhanced security protocols, enterprises and institutions will be able to more effectively control access to and share information, which will serve to unlock siloed proprietary databases globally. Artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies will be essential for analyzing large, complex datasets and ultimately significantly advancing efforts to better understand the consequences of particular genetic mutations and variations. This, in turn, will further the development of precision medicine and new, more effective diagnostic tests and treatment paradigms.
These applications are only the beginning as blockchain is a young, emerging technology, and its marriage with AI is even younger. The potent pairing is applicable to almost anything that requires both data and security, and with one quickly becoming a standard of modern technology and the other rising as a necessity. The two technologies together create a vast frontier that the tech world has only just begun exploring. KSW seeks to collaborate with companies that look to turn this technology into real-world application, and to communicate the benefits of these applications in emerging markets.
For more, check out Medium.com’s take on AI and social impact.