Steemit Crypto Academy Contest / S2W3 - Blockchain in our lives by @beckie96830
Hello everyone, welcome to the 3rd week of season 2 of the steemit engagement challenge contest. I'm happy to be participating in the inclusiveness initiative to encourage active participation and engagement of users, and the growth of the steem Blockchain.
The crypto academy community wants participants to discuss and review the effect of Blockchain technology in our daily lives.
Question
Blockchain is changing everyday life for everyone, what is your opinion on the matter?
Blockchain Technology in Our Everyday Lives
The concept of Blockchain and its relating technology was introduced by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009 when the first Bitcoin transaction was manifested. Ever since this event, the efficiency and security of blockchain technology have been emulated and adopted across multiple areas of our daily lives and across different key sectors, some of which include DeFi transactions, supply chain, Agriculture, healthcare systems, voting systems, Internet of things (IoT), gaming, organizational structures, etc.
The adoption of Blockchain technology in some of these areas has further improved the benefits and usability of data in such areas as it introduces the concept of decentralization as a primary element in the systems, making them more secured and trustless.
For instance, the adoption of Blockchain technology in gaming has improved the rewards for passionate gamers, as there is an opportunity for gamers to earn a token reward for playing games, and collect valuable in-game collectibles that can be traded with other gamers, this is achieved by the use of NFT technology. Also, the decentralized nature of Blockchain technology allows gamers to own in-game gears, abilities, tokens, and collectibles without alteration from the host company (game developers), as it is secured and owned by the gamers.
In my opinion, the adoption of technology in relevant areas has impacted the everyday lives of most individuals involved positively. This goes to show the importance of Blockchain technology is revolutionizing the centralized systems used in these areas.
Question
What are the main advantages and disadvantages, in adopting the use of blockchain in everyday life
Advantages of Blockchain technology in Everyday Life
1- Privacy
The issue of privacy in the digital space is of great concern as public companies and cooperations access user data unrestricted. But the adoption of Blockchain technology in major areas has improved the anonymity of users as on-chain information is encrypted and secured using hashing algorithms.
2- Security
The security feature of blockchain technology is one of its core strengths. Advanced technologies and algorithms are used in securing the Blockchain and data generated from related on-chain activities. This makes Blockchain technology a better alternative than privately owned and secured systems that a built on trust.
3- Improved Accessibility
The use of Blockchain technology makes it easier to access data within any system adopting the technology, as every connected node has access to every recorded transaction on-chain. This accounts for transparency and accountability reliance on Blockchain technology, as given access doesn't allow for alteration of recorded transactions.
Disadvantages of Blockchain in Everyday Life
1- Immutability
Blockchain technology has the property of Immutability, which implies that any recorded transaction cannot be altered or removed. This can be proved to be problematic in adopting Blockchain technology in an organization's payroll system, or health care record system.
2- Unrestricted Access
Using Blockchain technology in sensitive areas like healthcare systems can result in patients having unrestricted access to their files, treatment, and diagnosis results which sometimes is ill-advised because it tends to put the patient under pressure and stress, which has negatively affected the treatment processes.
3- Network Congestion
The adoption of Blockchain technology in DeFi transactions has proved that the technology still suffers from the problems of scalability and bottlenecks. This results from the increased number of users active in the network per second. This creates slow processing of on-chain data transactions that can impact the overall performance of the system.
Question
Discuss the future of blockchain, and how this technology is impacting the world.
Future of Blockchain Technology
The future of Blockchain technology is still in its development phase as the technology is yet to be adopted by a majority of large institutions like banks, governments, etc. But I must say that Blockchain technology has a bright future. Taking a sample size of the performance of Blockchain technology in sensitive areas like DeFi transactions, gaming, and healthcare systems, it's safe to say that the technology has proved to be of great importance and strategic in delivering what is required.
Following the statistical numeration quoted on Yorksolutions.net, there are projections that by the year 2026, the added value of adopting Blockchain technology by enterprises and organizations across businesses will increase to over $360 Billion, which is over 3000% increase to what is obtained today which figures around $10 Billion. This stands as a positive indication of what is achievable using Blockchain technology.
I'd say that Blockchain technology is by far one of the most unique discoveries of the 21stcentury, and I believe the future of Blockchain technology will further improve human lives if given the chance across multiple sectors.
Blockchain Technology Impacting the World
There is no doubt that Blockchain technology is revolutionizing some major areas by providing reliable solutions to problems in these areas through Blockchain projects. I'll discuss this across multiple sectors.
1- Internet of Things (IoT):
The concept of the Internet of Things (IoT) simply refers to a network (mostly in-house) of daily used devices that communicate within the network (through data generation and transfer) to enhance the living experience. The practical application of the Internet of Things (IoT) spans many aspects of daily usage, from human-to-device communication via voice control systems, automated home appliance systems via smart homes, home security enhancement via CCTV automated security features, health data collection, for example, calculating calories burnt during exercise via smart wristwatches, etc.
A Blockchain project called Filament created in 2012 has championed the growth and synergy between Blockchain technology and IoT. Filament creates hardware and software enterprise solutions using Blockchain for IoT devices. This is achieved through the creation of their embedded products (development blocklets) that support the use of blockchain technology within the Internet of Things (IoT) network, where IoT data transactions are generated and managed without experiencing the problems of delayed process time, and data security.
2- Decentralized Finance (DeFi):
The adoption of Blockchain technology in finance is the most crowned achievement of Blockchain technology as it provided an alternative way of handling financial transactions through cryptocurrencies. The ideology of cryptocurrency and its relating technology was created to combat the effects and drawbacks of a centralized finance system which is controlled by governments and central banks that bring about financial control, regulations, manipulations, and a trust-based system. The controlled centralized financial system has been maintained for centuries as a centralized body is tasked with the creation and issuing of currencies, giving unlimited financial power and control to such entities.
The cryptocurrency ecosystem has grown tremendously in recent years, with an estimated value of over $1 Trillion worth in transactions and holdings across multiple exchanges and crypto-wallets. This speaks to the wide acceptance of cryptocurrency and its technology. Though the growth hasn't been easy, centralized systems move to impose regulations and control on the decentralized asset class. Another deterring issue is that of theft and scam, as dubious individuals create various means and avenues to steal from inexperienced individuals using the system.
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3- Gaming
The gaming ecosystem before the advent of Blockchain-based gaming systems is a large centralized system with a lot of subscribers, that barely reward users except through hosting online gaming competitions, and the use of a third-party platform like Twitch and YouTube streams. Blockchain-based games have created the opportunity for gamers to earn a token reward for playing games, and collect valuable in-game collectibles that can be traded with other gamers, this is achieved by the use of NFT technology. Another standout feature of Blockchain-based games is their decentralized nature, this enables gamers to own in-game tokens, and collectibles without alteration from the host company (game developers).
Question
What is your opinion about the implementation of blockchains in the health sector? Has the implementation been positive or negative? Explain a use case.
Blockchain Technology in Health Sector
The Health Sector is one of the most essential sectors in the world today, this is because of its significant role in human growth and developmental emphasis on providing science-based solutions to natural problems, some of which include, epidemic disease cure, artificial human science (use of AI in treatment eg: Prosthesis), fertilization research, genetics, human-science fusion (implant of electronic chips in the human brain to enable efficient communication), etc. These vast areas of specialization in the health sector generate a huge amount of data that is centralized, unorganized, and less secured, which creates a looming problem that hinders the exploration, acceptance, and authenticity of research results obtained from various sources. This is where the adoption of Blockchain technology can greatly impact the healthcare sector.
Implementing and using Blockchain technology in healthcare systems rely on the interoperability of generated data by healthcare organizations. This results from how generated data is stored on-chain, such that nodes (health personnel) can easily access, investigate and verify the on-chain patient's data regardless of the organizational level without altering previous records and medical history.
In my opinion, the implementation of Blockchain technology has impacted the health sector positively and negatively. Positively, I believe Blockchain technology has improved the efficiency and record keeping of medical organizations and also has improved patient treatment by creating projects that execute instructions using smart contracts for treatments. But Negatively, there are certain limitations of Blockchain technology that can affect the patient's response to medical treatments. For instance, patients have unrestricted access to their files, treatment history, and diagnosis results which sometimes is ill-advised because it tends to put the patient under pressure and stress, which ha negatively affects the treatment processes.
Usecase of Blockchain technology in the Healthcare Sector
1- The "Doc.AI" project
The "Doc.AI" project is a blockchain healthcare project launched in 2016 by Walter and Sam De Brouwer. The project combines Natural language and Blockchain technology to securely store patient medical records. Although it's still in a trial mode, it allows patients to keep a record of their healthcare visits in a secure decentralized way.
2- The FarmaTrust project
The FarmaTrust is a supply chain-based project that allows connected nodes to monitor the supply-chain activities of pharmaceutical companies. Although the project is still yet to be deployed, it aims to eradicate the circulation of counterfeited drugs within the chain of distribution. FarmaTrust plans to achieve this by creating a direct link between the pharmaceutical companies, suppliers, wholesalers, pharmacies, logistics, and pharmacies, over a network to promote transparency within the industry.
Conclusion
Blockchain technology has no doubt improved our day-to-day livelihood as its adoption across multiple sectors ensures improved security and efficiency of the system. The healthcare sector is yet to fully embrace blockchain technology and its benefits. The limitations of the current healthcare system create problems of data inconsistency, insecurity, reduced integrity, and a trust-based system. But with the introduction and adoption of blockchain technology in the healthcare ecosystem, data security and interoperability are guaranteed through the use of cryptographic algorithms and decentralization of on-chain data.
Thanks for reading!
In my opinion, they needn't give it a chance rather with time, they would know it they cannot thrive smoothly without the technology of blockchain.
Well, I believe Blockchain acceptance by powerful institutions will pave way for other sectors to accept it as well. Timing could work as well.
Yes this have really helped the gaming industry as more and more people who are not interested in gaming are now highly interested in playing games because of this rewards. Previously parents didn’t also what their children taking gaming as a full time job but with the introduction of these type of tokens I think the idea behind it will be diffident.
Well I think I never thought of this as a negative to that. This is surely a I’ve disadvantage as sometimes the patient will have to go through concealing before the result of his test or his medical condition is revealed to him or her.
The security of medicines and their cost seems to matter a lot to the pharmaceuticals a lot. I’ve heard and seen different projects that are still in their testing phase and they are meant to keep track of tue medicines; mainly their expiring dates, where they are going to, and how they are prescribed to patients.
I think with this it can help eliminate expired drugs on the market and also help tue pharmaceuticals to cut their loses.
Yeah, the application of Blockchain technology in the health sector can help curb the impact of fake drugs hence saving more lives. Thanks for reading.
Yes the main goal of the blockchain is to provide security. And there is no doubt that the blockchain technology is very secure and private.
I am 100 percent agree with you at that talk. As we all know that blockchain Technology is new and no so much popular nowadays but its future is bright. Now many institutes are left that will adopt blockchain in the future. And there is no doubt in it that blockchain technology will also solve the problems of these institutes.
For example if we go to the bank then we have to ask from the cashier that please tell me how many amount is in my account in this way we need a third party and if we apply blockchain technology in banks then we dont need to ask from the Cashier. Because with the help of blockchain technology we are able to check our bank balance on blockchain. So imagine how helpful blockchain is in banks and other fields.
Yes it is a great innovation of this century and its future is very bright. Thank beckie for your information. Waiting for my warm entry soon.
Greetings 🇵🇰
Yeah, Blockchain and its relating technologies will improve many sectors indeed. Thanks for reading.
Hello friend @beckie96830
I am really glad to have read your entry, to be honest you really did well.
You have analysed and give your opinion on how the blockchain technology will affect the health sector, and I love the points you gave.
Another aspect of your post I enjoyed was the advantages of blockchain that you explained.
And the little I'll love to add is that I believe that blockchain is the future of our world.
Wish you all the best in this contest.
Kindly drop your review on my engagement contest
Yeah, Blockchain technology has the ability to change so many things in our daily lives if it's given the chance.
This is very true. I can remember how my friend sometime ago earned lots of cash, by selling is picture in the NFT market. He even has collectibles. This is to show that blockchain has really invade lots of sectors and it’s improving the life of the people. Kudos!
Yeah indeed, I agree. Blockchain technology will change a whole lot if given the chance by centralized systems.
Thank you for publishing an article in the Crypto Academy community today. We have accessed your article and we present the result of the assessment below
Comments/Recommendation
You have explained every section in detail. Thank you for participating in this contest.
Total|9.3/10
Blockchain technology requires technical knowledge of the individual and this has always been a great drawback for full implementation of blockchain technology especially in Africa.
Blockchain technology requires technical knowledge of the individual and this has always been a great drawback for full implementation of blockchain technology especially in Africa.
Hello, you have written an interesting post as always.
Blockchain is to me the mother of all technology. And so I agree with your statement above about the importance of Blockchain technology in our day to day life.
This is really an educative contest. I heard of Mediledger and Medichain .now it's Doc.AI. I am sure I will be very educated at the end of this contest.
Good luck in the contest.