In May, 2018 we organized a high level expert meeting on the topic of Trust in decentralized data infrastructures. We discussed the role of markets, the government, laws, and society in governing trust on blockchain tech. These are the highlights:
- Contrary to the dominant discourse blockchain technologies are not trustless. In fact trust is a major, unresolved challenge related to the technology.
- Practical applications that are able to prove the worth of decentralized datasets are yet to emerge
- Extensive interdisciplinary education programs are necessary to facilitate the knowledge transfer among different societal domains, and to unlock the full potential of this technological innovation
- Blockchain policies should ensure that the technology does not interfere with justice and democracy, and should actively balance economic interests with fundamental rights
- The development of blockchain governance frameworks is probably the most important challenge in the short to mid-term.
- There is a potential of, and a need for multidisciplinary collaborations inside UvA, and with other partners in the Amsterdam region of these topics.