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Is Blockchain the New Frontier for Human Sexuality?

1983’s sci-fi movie Brainstorm featured a device that could record an individual’s physical sensations and emotional feelings, and transfer these onto a tape-like medium, so they could be shared with others.

The more mundane experiences of rollercoaster rides, high-speed chases, etc., inevitably give way to one of the human being’s most basic instincts: the sexual urge. Soon, the device becomes the catalyst for more thrilling, daring, and ultimately dangerous experiences on the fringes of sexuality and death.

Technology and sex have been closely intertwined throughout history. The use of the former to enhance the latter can be traced back thousands of years. You might have heard the apocryphal stories about Egypt’s quintessential beauty queen Cleopatra using a hollowed-out piece of gourd filled with bees to gratify herself. Probably not true, but a good, inspiring story all the same.

And so the story goes from the historically implausible, to the downright bizarre, and everything in between. From Victorian torturous-looking, steam-powered devices designed to induce pleasure, to modern-day USB aids and silicon-based toys, the world of sex has always looked at technological evolution for its next thrill. But there’s always a what next question floating within the realm of sexuality. What’s the new frontier to be crossed? What new sensations lie ahead?

And so the cycle of technical innovation to enhance human sexuality continues with blockchain, a relatively nascent technology with a decentralized twist.

Blockchain’s role in fostering relationships

Blockchain technology has often been described as a solution in need of a problem. Blockchain has been around for just over a decade, which may sound like a lot, but it’s really a mere drop in a bucket in terms of technological evolution. Blockchain does have a long way to go before realizing its full potential.

Up to two or three years ago, the use of blockchain was restricted as the technology underlying cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin et al. But slowly, the tech has found its way into other industries like shipping, automotive, aerospace, etc.

And just like in Brainstorm, these mundane and strictly professional applications of blockchain technology are slowly giving way to more social and, shall we say, personal purposes.

Establishing lasting relationships in today’s world is something of a Sisyphean task. One must work tirelessly at it, only for the relationship to fail for one reason or another, sending everyone back to the bottom to start all over again. Dating apps like Tinder have warped the dating scene, creating a definite bias towards a certain social echelon. Not only that, but the amount of fake profiles seems to grow exponentially with every passing month. In other words, one can never be certain of who we are chatting to. And worse still, apps like Tinder have one fatal flaw: A centralized nature. Tinder regulates the platform and does as it sees fit. In other words, what Tinder wants, Tinder does. The users are just along for the ride (or lack of it).

Blockchain technology features some inherent traits that may herald a new era for dating applications. Immutability and transparency, for instance. Blockchain creates environments where data is shared while remaining anonymous. And the data that is shared is visible to everyone and verifiable on the chain, which helps reduce the number of fake profiles. More importantly, data is immutable, so it cannot be tampered with.

Blockchain is of course not a magic dating bullet. Users will not be able to establish solid relationships just because they participate in a blockchain-based dating app. But at least users know that—a) their data is secure; b) the profiles they see are legitimate; and, c) records are immutable and auditable. The relationship part, well, that is very much down to the laws of human attraction, and that is beyond the scope of blockchain or any other technology, for that matter.

Sex on the blockchain: Breaking the boundaries of reality

Sex is, for the most part, a private endeavor. Most people want to keep this aspect of their lives away from prying eyes, be it for legitimate or illicit reasons. But this is not always the case.

The spectrum of human sexuality is as varied and infinite as the constellations in the night sky. For many people, privacy is not such a chief concern when it comes to sex, seeking enjoyment, satisfaction, and fulfillment instead.Blockchain may stand at the vanguard of a second sexual revolution, this time relying on technological advancement to nurture new sensations for the human user.

One of the oldest axioms in the economy is that sex sells. It sells stories, magazines, media, and of course, toys. The sex toy industry is certainly worth a pretty penny. The global market is forecast to grow to around $29bn by 2020. With all that money up for grabs, blockchain technology offers a great opportunity for business.

The forbidden blockchain fruit might soon be ripe for consumption by the most adventurous out there, in the form of sensory-enhancing devices that enable remote sexual interaction with the perception of reality.

Let’s take a moment to delve into this concept. What makes reality real? Well, according to Morpheus from that revered piece of cinematic history that is The Matrix, “if you’re talking about what you can feel, what you can smell, what you can taste and see, then real is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain. This is the world that you know.” Such an explanation, while simple, is perfectly acceptable.

The concept of reality goes well beyond such boundaries though. It’s the perception of reality that truly matters. What’s real for you (your experiences, dreams, visions, etc.) remains a fantasy for me, and vice-versa, as I will never attain or experience what you have, or what you have seen or dreamt about, and the same can be said about you. Throw in a set of experiences designed and molded by a computer system, and the concept of reality becomes rather slippery. In this age of turmoil and technological decadence, reality indeed is in the eye of the computer. As Morpheus said, ‘welcome to the desert of the real’.

So this new generation of sex toys might provide a version of sexual interaction that may feel real to the participants by means of state-of-the-art technology such as haptics, creating remote sexual experiences using blockchain as the carrier.

The sexual landscape of the future: A decentralized fantasy

Always in motion, the future is, according to Master Yoda. In simple words, we cannot tell what’s going to happen tomorrow, and hence this conclusion is purely speculative.

The decentralized nature of blockchain and the integration with technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), machine learning, together with future advances in sensory technology might combine to create a global playground where people can ‘meet’ and indulge in their inner desires and fantasies, without ever leaving the comfort of their own homes.

One could argue that such a level of technological advancement might lead to the dehumanization of sexual activity, and that is a valid point. Sex is a great means of communication between people, and the bond that keeps a relationship together, so turning sexual interaction into a mechanized activity might create its own issues. But these are arguments for a follow-up piece.

Blockchain in itself does have the capability to open up a brand new world of possibilities in the realm of human sexuality, and as they say, the best is yet to come.

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China Updates Smart City Infrastructure with Blockchain-Based City Identification System

Since President Xi Jinping’s call for an acceleration of blockchain development in China, the Middle Kingdom has not taken a backward step in the technology’s integration.

As reported by the Global Times on Nov. 4, China has integrated an independently developed blockchain-based identification system for its cities into its smart city infrastructure. The new identification system was jointly launched by three institutes in the city of Shijiazhuang.The blockchain-based system aims to improve the connectivity and data sharing between its developing smart cities. Specifically, these smart cities will be assigned a global digital ID, for which applications opened last Sunday.The foundation of the new system, which is based on blockchain, was developed within China. One of the developers, Zhang Chao, Director, Zhongguancun Industry & Information Research Institute of Two-Dimensional Code Technology offered comment saying, “The system will be independently distributed and managed by China, with a unified distribution rule, a resolution of distributed storage and tamper-resistant code.”

China’s smart city code system is based on node code, in line with international standards and will assign unique, global digital identification to cities.

He Kejia, Vice President of China Research Society of Urban Development explained the impetus for the unified code, “There was no unified code for industries and departments in today’s rapid development of the internet and emerging information technology, causing problems of data interoperability and application incompatibility.”

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Blockchain as a Solution for Data Management in Clinical Trials

Data management in clinical trials

Clinical trials are essential to determine the safety and viability of new drugs intended to enter the market or to find alternative uses for drugs that are already commercially available.

Pharmaceutical trials generate a vast amount of data, and meaningful collection and interpretation of such data are crucial to determine the integrity and validity of the outcomes.

The problem arises when trying to manage medical records, patient-reported data, drug safety and dosage parameters, data arising from biological samples, and data coming from many other sources. There is a lot of information available, and investigators are partial to taking the somewhat misguided ‘more is better’ route. This blunt approach often places a burden on trial participants in the form of countless and repetitive questionnaires, multiple sample taking, and other annoyances at times when the subject’s health may be in serious jeopardy. Furthermore, much of this data might never be looked at, analyzed, or used in any way.

The collection, analysis, and validation of clinical data is, therefore, an inherently complex and costly process that involves a lot of moving parts, which quickly becomes its own Achilles’ Heel. There are simply too many sources and many ways in which data can be misinterpreted or maliciously altered or misused.

Current inefficiencies

Take Case Report Forms (CRFs) and patient diaries, for example. These are usually paper-based data collection methods that are still widely used today. CRFs typically are specific to each trial and are utilized by hospitals, or whatever institution is running the trial, to collect patient data. Patient diaries are given to study participants so they can record medicine intake times and doses, any worsening of symptoms, etc.

CRFs and patient diaries are perfect examples of the inefficiencies currently faced by clinical trials, as both methods rely on hand-written notes from either patients or study staff. Either way, these notes can contain ambiguity, which might lead to being misread or misinterpreted, potentially compromising the study outcome and patient safety. Paper-based data is costly and awkward to store and manage, and can easily be misplaced or tampered with, which casts heavy doubts about its validity and reliability in a clinical setting.

Overall, only one in ten drugs being tested actually makes it to the market. This is a huge failure margin, which means a lot of time, effort, assets, and data being wasted in the process.

Blockchain as a solution to clinical data management

Clinical trials pose challenges due to their very nature. Blockchain technology can address some of them.

At its core, blockchain is a decentralized ledger that does exactly what it says on the tin. It is a chain of blocks that stores transactional data. All existing nodes in the network validate the transaction, which becomes immutable, i.e., it cannot be changed. Simple yet incredibly powerful and versatile. Many industries such as manufacturing, Fintech, entertainment, supply chain, and many more have already benefitted from blockchain-powered platforms.

The current workflow of data during the lifespan of the clinical trial is fundamentally flawed, for the following reasons:

Data is created from multiple sources (hospitals, clinics, the study participants themselves, and so on). This data is entered into a centralized database management system, which is usually proprietary for each of these organizations. This amalgamation of data is then collated and analyzed by yet another set of specialized agencies that store it and manage it in their own preferred format. This means that the same data might be analyzed and presented to regulatory authorities in different ways and formats, creating confusion. The current data workflow hinders collaboration.

Blockchain offers a single, homogeneous, cohesive platform where all stakeholders can share and validate data through smart contracts and a consensus algorithm that ensures that all nodes (stakeholders in this setting) are in agreement before data becomes immutable.

But the potential benefits of blockchain in a clinical trial setting go far beyond data management. Blockchain can also improve efficiency in the subject enrollment process. By storing a patient’s medical record on the blockchain, sponsors can quickly access it and determine the patient’s suitability for an upcoming trial, for example. An additional benefit of this is that the participant can be issued their due compensation via blockchain, without the need for costly third-party institutions such as banks.

Conclusion

Blockchain is fast emerging as the go-to piece of technology that enables a transformative leap for many industries, opening up new ways to do business and creating revenue streams.

When applied to clinical trials, blockchain can remove the current inefficiencies found in the flow of data during the trial, streamlining data management and sharing, and ensuring data transparency and immutability.

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Ontology Teams Up with Chainlink to Solve the Oracle Problem by Creating Externally Connected Smart Contracts

In an effort to foster the Ontology network, the platform has announced its decision to collaborate with Chainlink to build data-driven smart contracts with end-to-end security and reliability, which is centered on solving what they identified as the oracle problem.

An oracle being a gateway to the external world, allows off-chain data inputs to come into the smart contract and also allows output data to be pushed out on to external systems. It permits a link and has control over the connection between two different systems, just like the Internet Service provider does.

By being able to control how the smart contract responds to what it sees, it has a problem, which is about developing the same rate of tamper-proof security for the real world connection that exists presently on the underlying blockchain. This then means that when an oracle is compromised, its smart contracts are also compromised. In that case, having a centralized oracle model is dangerous and unreliable because it does not support the merits inherent in end-to-end decentralization.

However, Ontology’s partnership with Chainlink will effectively address the oracle problem by providing a new option that will allow the creation of externally connected smart contracts.

The report noted that Chainlink’s solution decentralized oracle network, which has the potential of giving smart contracts secure and reliable access to data providers, enterprise systems, payment systems, web API, cloud providers, IoT devices, other blockchains and so on.

With this partnership in place, the Ontology network invites more developers to follow them and make great use of the excellent tools Chainlink provides, which will help to secure smart contracts.

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Ex-Cambridge Analytica Employee Confident that Blockchain Can Help Protect Personal Data

Brittany Kaiser, the Cambridge Analytica scandal whistleblower, discussed in an interview at the World Economic Forum that blockchain technology could be an essential tool to address data protection issues.

The Cambridge Analytica scandal broke out in 2016 when it revealed that the data of over 87 million Facebook users have been reaped through a personality quiz. Cambridge Analytica was involved in US President Donald Trump’s election campaign, as well as the Leave.EU Brexit campaign, where Kaiser appeared on behalf of the firm at a press conference. The consultancy firm said that they never signed a contract to work with the British campaign, Kaiser alleged that some work was done to an extent.

Kaiser is now serving as the co-founder of Own Your Data Foundation, a digital intelligence startup. In her interview, she said, “In my opinion, it’s really blockchain tech and blockchain entrepreneurs that are going to solve a lot of problems of the data protection crisis.”

Kaiser believes that personal data is one of the most valuable assets in the world, and blockchain can help people to protect their personal data. She added that Germany and Switzerland are currently two of the best countries in terms of data protection. On the other hand, the United States, her native country has had almost no data legislation or regulation. She concluded that the US, however, has been working on data privacy initiatives.

US Law Firms Had Data Stolen and Encrypted by Hackers Demanding Crypto Ransoms

There has been a recent report of an online breach in five United States law firms as it has been compromised by hackers demanding two 100 Bitcoins (over $933,000 at the time of this report) from each firm. The ransom demanded by the hackers was expected to be paid in parts, one to allow access to the data and another to delete the hackers’ copy of the data instead of selling it.

From the information coming from cybersecurity firm Emsisoft, Maze, the hacker group had already begun to execute their threat as they had started publishing some of the data they had stolen from the firms in parts. Two of the five firms had already been hacked on Feb.1.

The articles containing the stolen data had already been published on two sites, which remain undisclosed to protect the firms involved. Maze group has said that they would continue to reveal the stolen data as proof in increasing order of sensitivity with time until a response has been made from the firms before the leaks would stop.

Callow had said that the group had gone ahead to make the published data in Russian hacker forums with a note saying that the information should be used in any nefarious ways that they want. As a result of this, he believes that more data will be released with time unless the hacked firms pay. He also explained, “It seems highly unlikely that a criminal enterprise would delete what it may be able to monetize at a later date.”

Callow went further in his explanation to state that not only had the ransomware group been responsible for just encrypting data in the past, they had also been stealing them while exploiting their victims in the process.

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G20 Leaders Demand Digital Tax By End of 2020, US Minister Maintains Current Proposal is Discriminatory

The Group of 20 met in Riyadh last weekend with senior officials expressing alarm at the delay in plans to implement new digital taxes on American technology companies.

The New York Times reported on Feb. 22, that after two years of economic fallout from a trade war, leaders of the G20 feel that if a deal is not made in the coming months, European countries will begin collecting levies on the US tech giants, which could lead to US retaliation.

G20 Summit Osaka 2019 Tax Proposal

In 2019, the G20 leaders agreed that crypto-assets could bring significant benefit to the financial system and the broader economy, according to the “G20 Osaka Leaders’ Declaration” released following the G20 summit in Osaka last June. Within the declaration was also a proposal to implement a digital tax system for the global era.

The proposals would have lead to higher tax bills for some of the world’s most valuable companies, like Google and Facebook, but would also redefine the basic foundations of international tax for a world where economic value is derived from data rather than physical goods.

Britain and France were most vocal about the tax proposals last year, advocating a focus on making it more difficult for large technology companies to shift profits to low tax jurisdictions, and to introduce a minimum corporate tax.

At the 2019 G20 Summit, France’s finance minister, Bruno Le Maire said, “We have a new economic model based on digital activity that is based on massive sales and exchanges and data usage. For now, there is no fair tax for this new economic model.”

Taxation Tensions

Last Sunday in Riyadh, Bruno Le Maire addressed reporters at the sidelines of the G20 meeting. He said, “There is a consensus to build a solution by the end of 2020. Let’s be clear – either we have at the end of 2020 an international solution… clearly in the interest of all countries and digital companies, or there is no solution and … then it will be up to the national taxes to enter into force.”

The G20 leaders have also encouraged further work by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on the global rules to tax digital giants like Google, Amazon, and Facebook. The OECD wants to agree on the technical details of such a tax by July.

Despite companies like Amazon making global headlines for not paying taxes, United States Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin has expressed that he is hoping for a resolution on the digital tax by the end of 2020. He did note that Washington would strike back if France or others were to try and enforce such a tax without their consensus. He told Reuters, “We’ve been very consistent in saying we think the digital services tax is discriminatory in nature against digital companies, and specifically a handful of US companies.”

An agreement is expected to be reached by the year’s end that will define the global ruleset and hopefully avoid the resulting fragmentation of localized digital tax regimes.

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Algorand's Blockchain Based COVID-19 Global Survey Shares Real-Time Public Pandemic Data

Algorand, the first pure proof-of-stake (POS) blockchain created by cryptography pioneer and Turing award winner Silvio Micali, has launched a global Coronavirus (Covid-19) survey.

The company published a blog post on March 27 announcing its ‘IReportCovid’ survey app. The aim of the survey is to compile a public database to share information on the spread, status, and symptoms of the COVID-19 pandemic and give updates in “real-time.”

Global Blockchain database to fight COVID-19

According to Algorand, there is limited data coming directly from the general public about how COVID-19 is affecting them in real time, which could be useful data for studies on the pandemic as well as for public knowledge.

The survey is not invasive and asks for basic information that one would usually find on a doctor’s appointment card, such as age and gender, with the added a section to confirm if the respondent has been exposed, treated or tested for the coronavirus and their isolation status.

As the responses will be publicly posted on the Algorand blockchain, the information shared cannot be changed or tampered with, only updated by respondents if their situation changes. Algorand is encouraging everyone to take part in the survey, “even if you do not have symptoms and update when changes happen.”

Dr Tal Rabin, Head of Research, Algorand said that the IReport-Covid distinguishes itself from other applications and sources of information on coronavirus through “the combination of anonymous self-reporting and the constant retention of information on the blockchain.” She added, “Very little information is coming directly from the people in the community. I hope more people in the world will respond to the questionnaires in our app so that we can gather meaningful information.

After publishing aggregate statistics in the near future, Algorand plans to introduce tools for the community to build applications leveraging the collected data.

Algorand – First Blockchain to Defeat Trilemma

The blockchain trilemma was a term given to the pain points of trying to establish seamless transactions while maintaining all three critical properties—decentralization, security and scalability—which was originally believed to be impossible.

In an interview with Blockchain.News, Jing Chen, Chief Scientist of Algorand discussed how Algorand has solved the blockchain trilemma with its Byzantine agreement which would make it the first known platform to have all three critical properties optimised.

Chen said, “The alleged ‘trilemma’ says that among three important properties – decentralization, scalability and security, a public blockchain can hope to achieve just two of them, at most. This is not a mathematically-proven impossibility. Rather, it is used to emphasize the difficulty of achieving all three simultaneously. We believe it’s important for a public chain to achieve all three, and the Algorand blockchain does just that.”

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Chinese President Advises the Government to Use Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence for Epidemic Prevention

During a recent inspection in Zhejiang, Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasized the necessity for the various decisions and arrangements of the government to plan for prevention and control of the coronavirus outbreak and economic and social development work.

He pointed out the importance of the implementation of epidemic prevention and control as well as the resumption of production work to strive for the year’s economic and social development goals.

The coronavirus pandemic which was believed to have originated in Wuhan, in the Hubei province in December 2019. The spread of the virus has led to the lockdown of many cities, especially in the province of Hubei. Production has slowed down as many Chinese citizens have not been able to go to work.

The Chinese President also visited the city of Hangzhou to review demonstrations of digital governance and digital epidemic prevention. To be able to advance in the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity, the Chinese President emphasized the requirement for deploying blockchain, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and other disruptive technologies to promote innovation and smart cities.

Smart city infrastructure with blockchain

China has integrated an independently developed blockchain-based identification system for its cities into its smart city infrastructure. The new identification system was jointly launched by three institutes in the city of Shijiazhuang.

The blockchain-based system aims to improve the connectivity and data sharing between its developing smart cities. China’s smart city code system is based on node code, in line with international standards and will assign unique, global digital identification to cities. The foundation of the new system, which is based on blockchain, was developed within China.

Blockchain zone in China

The first provincial blockchain zone has been established in China, in the central Chinese province of Hunan. The “Wanbao” blockchain zone is located in the city of Loudi, marking the first blockchain zone in China, according to a local Chinese report.

The province currently plans to build three major blockchain zones, including blockchain industrial parks in Wanbao district in Loudi, and other zones in Jingkai and Gaoxing in the city of Changsha in the Hunan province.

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Facebook Sues Bangkok 'LeadCloak' Software Developer Over Alleged Crypto Scams and Bogus COVID-19 Data

Facebook Inc has taken legal action against a Bangkok-based Indian man for developing and selling software that helps bad actors to bypass Facebook’s automated advertising review systems and deliver prohibited ads to users.

Software Cloaked Bad Actors

Facebook announced that they were taking action against Basant Gajjar for allegedly selling his “LeadCloak software” to bad actors who have been hiding the true contents of ads and delivering deceptive information involving crypto investment scams and bogus data about COVID-19. The malicious cloaking software allowed users to present deceptive ads on the surface newsfeed of the Facebook platform and prevented the social media giant’s review process from identifying the fradulent or improper ads.

Advertisers used the “LeadCloak software” to conceal websites and promote links for cryptocurrency investment scams, deceptive diet pills, pharmaceuticals, fake news, and even misinformation regarding the COVID-19 outbreak through the “cloaking” technique. Such shady ads showed on both Instagram and Facebook.

Gajjar’s unregistered business is based in California. The business has been providing cloaking services since 2016, targeting other technology companies, including WordPress, Oath, Shopify Inc, and Alphabet Inc’s Google.

With the lawsuit filed in the US district court in California, Facebook also intends to uncover the identities of Gajjar’s customers and take further legal action against them. While Facebook is currently suing one individual, it appears that the firm is attempting to make an example of ad spoofers who have attempted to manipulate the market.

Facebook Relaxed Blockchain And Crypto Ads

Facebook lifted its ban on blockchain and crypto ads in May 2019. But most of them still have to be pre-approved by moderators before they can appear on the platform. The $491 billion firm has been trying to deal with crypto scams for years. Scammers are known to use fake pages and call-to-actions as distraction tactics to trick users into giving sensitive data such as their credit card information.

Last year, Dutch billionaire John de Mol won his lawsuit against Facebook after the social media giant failed to take down fake cryptocurrency ads, which used his name for promotion. Recently, billionaire Wissam al Mana filed a lawsuit against the social media company, demanding the firm to identify individuals behind ads selling Bitcoin scams using his image. However, Facebook announced that it remains committed to using filter technologies to get rid of fake ads linked to cryptocurrency scams carrying images of prominent personalities.

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