Digital journalists challenged the blockchain industry during a prestigious event in London yesterday, June 29, according to a Tech Direction report.
Speaking at the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee, which convened in Portcullis House near the Houses of Parliament, technology writer and author David Gerard suggested that blockchain technology lacks significant practical applications.
According to him,
“Blockchain technology provides security for things that don't need securing and are not a problem. A lot of the innovation started from the technology and then they wanted to find problems they could solve with it.”
Izabella Kaminska, founder of media company The Blind Spot, also shares the view that blockchain lacks meaningful applications. Kaminska pointed out that despite being immutable, blockchain does not guarantee data quality.
She explained that blockchain only records information fed into it. According to Kaminska, the only way to verify the quality of blockchain data is by employing trusted intermediaries to review it.
Asserting that the quality of blockchain data is only as reliable as its source, Kaminska stated,
“if garbage goes in, then garbage comes out.”
Gerard – author of 'Attack of the 50 Foot Blockchain: Bitcoin, Freedom, and the Fight for the Future' – believes in the concept of an immutable distributed ledger. Nevertheless, he echoes Kaminska's concerns about blockchain data. According to him, criminals can falsify data both digitally and physically.
While blockchain advocates promote its use in supply chain systems, Gerard argued that nothing can replace human inspectors who understand the industry and know how to identify potential fraud. He contended that if blockchain requires third parties to validate data entered into the system, it undermines claims that the technology is a viable alternative to traditional systems.
Although Kaminska stated she could not think of a single successful case study regarding blockchain, she acknowledges the technology is useful in low-trust societies. She cited Venezuela as an example, noting that the cryptocurrency industry has managed to transfer assets faster than traditional financial institutions.
According to her, blockchain can also benefit nations affected by hyperinflation of domestic currencies. However, she maintains that blockchain should not be the default standard in finance.
