TechPlus+ | Technology & Development Redux
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Blockchain Mining Costs and Revenues
Read more: Blockchain Mining Costs and RevenuesIn a previous post, I pushed the idea that mining is part of the blockchain economy’s real sector. Unlike financial speculation, mining requires investment in hardware, electricity, space, human resources, etc. This also applies to small miners who will undoubtedly have to defray a lower investment amount but can join a mining pool to share…
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Checking ICOs, Again
Read more: Checking ICOs, AgainIt has already been three months since I last checked the ICO scene. At the time, I suggested ICOs were probably slowing down. New data seems to confirm this but all points to other trends not detected before. Figure 1 presents the latest data ending on 31 May. 159 ICOs were successfully completed between March…
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The Real Sector of the Blockchain Economy
Read more: The Real Sector of the Blockchain EconomyMost cryptocurrencies are now over 60% down from their December 2017 peak. While prices are still quite volatile, the trend for the last five months is decidedly downwards. While some still expect a recovery to the glorious days of last year, others see overvaluation all around accompanied by a financial bubble about to burst. Comparisons…
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Blockchain Mining Revisited
Read more: Blockchain Mining RevisitedBlockchain mining cannot catch a break when it comes to environmental sustainability. This is especially true for Bitcoin mining that seemingly has an insatiable appetite for electricity. A recent paper suggests that by 2020 Bitcoin mining will consume as much energy as Australia. While these estimates are not exempt from criticism, mining does not appear…
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Case Study: WFP Building Blocks Jordan Refugee Pilot
Read more: Case Study: WFP Building Blocks Jordan Refugee Pilot[I wrote this edited draft case study for a larger blockchain research project led by The GovLab. The final project report included a shorter version of my draft.] 1. Overview Launched in January 2017, the World Food Program Building Blocks blockchain initiative targets over one hundred thousand refugees living in the Azraq camp in Jordan.…
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Democracy and Capitalism: Friends or Foes?
Read more: Democracy and Capitalism: Friends or Foes?The post-WWII era can be arguably defined as the golden age of democratic capitalism – at least from the perspective of developed or industrialized countries. Rebuilding Europe and pumping capital into Japan triggered a prolonged economic boom until the 1980s, notwithstanding the 1973 oil crisis. The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 opened new…
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Algorithmic Inequality
Read more: Algorithmic InequalityDisruptive. One of the attributes that most use to describe in minimalistic terms the potential impact of new and emerging information and communication technologies (ICTs) in society. While its actual meaning can vary from one person to another, disruption is usually linked to dramatic short-term change where old and obsolete technologies, processes and institutions -not…
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Blockchain Technology is not a Monolith
Read more: Blockchain Technology is not a MonolithMany observers seem to assume blockchain technology is an immovable monolith. While such assumption does help when trying to explain how the technology works to the general public, this is not the case when describing the actual status of the technology. Rapid and agile innovation is one of the core traits of blockchains, backed by…
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Blockchains: The Patents Are Coming!
Read more: Blockchains: The Patents Are Coming!Open source is one of the core traits of blockchain technology propelling its rapid adoption and growth. The source code from the most popular platforms such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Hyperledger Fabric is freely available for download by anyone who wants to play with the technology. Granted, users wishing to deploy and use these platforms…
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Deconstructing the Gender-Equality Paradox in STEM, Part II
Read more: Deconstructing the Gender-Equality Paradox in STEM, Part IIIn the previous post, I detailed some issues that could help explain in part the gender-equality STEM paradox. Recap These can be summarized as follows: The Global Gender Gap Index (GGGI) measures gaps not levels. It is thus a relative indicator that takes stock of the gender gap regardless of the level or depth of…
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ICO Update: A Slowdown in Sight?
Read more: ICO Update: A Slowdown in Sight?ICO data for last February is now available and shown in Figure 1 below. We can immediately see that both the number of ICOs and the total investment volume has decreased. The latter, which amounted to 1.2 billion USD for the month, is 20 percent less than the total for January this year. The same…
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Deconstructing the Gender-Equality Paradox in STEM
Read more: Deconstructing the Gender-Equality Paradox in STEMA paper on the subject published a couple of weeks ago in the academic journal Psychological Science attracted plenty of attention thanks to some of its surprising conclusions.1 The paper is behind a paywall. Its main finding is that, contrary to all expectations, there is an inverse relation between gender equality and the number of…
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Blockchain Technology and Human Development revisited
Read more: Blockchain Technology and Human Development revisitedI was invited to Canada to discuss my blockchain technology paper. Here are my opening remarks at the panel organized by Government Affairs and IDRC. Speaking about a seemingly complex subject such as blockchains poses a challenge not only for me but also for you, the audience. More so when the time is scarce. It…
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The Pervasiveness of Efficiency
Read more: The Pervasiveness of EfficiencyWere 19th-century slaves working in the US Southern plantations more efficient than the free farmers of the Northern states? This was one of the critical questions two economists, one being a pioneer of cliometrics, studied in a book published in 1974. Based on extensive empirical research and data available at the time, their conclusion was…
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Chasing ICOs (away?)
Read more: Chasing ICOs (away?)Recent events seem to suggest the cryptocurrency bubble is finally starting to deflate. Bitcoin, Ethereum and most of their crypto cousins are significantly down while regulators in several countries are finally beginning to take action on the ground. Nobel laureate economists are also speaking up against the digital currency, arguing that the new currency cannot fulfill…