It wasn’t that long ago that blockchain, Bitcoin, and other related technologies carried an air of unfamiliarity, if not outright suspicion. While a small group of people have always embraced and welcomed these ideas, many others are only now becoming acquainted with them. Blockchain City, a documentary by Ian Khan, seeks to further enlighten people about what this evolving technology can offer to both communities and individuals. It’s an inviting, non-technical, and illuminating look at how blockchain is currently being implemented, and also where it might go in the future.
Khan is a passionate advocate for blockchain-based technologies, as are the diverse handful of people whom he features in the film — including the co-founder of Ethereum, Joseph Lubin, and Dr. Aisha Bin Bishr, a pivotal figure in Dubai’s ambitious initiative “to enable a blockchain-based government by 2020.”
Not surprisingly, then, there’s a tremendous enthusiasm for blockchain’s world-changing capacities presented in this film. It’s certainly not subtle about the amazing things this technology may bring to our future.
Yet the documentary is, on the whole, an evenhanded look at the power of blockchain as well its shortfalls and uncertainties. Khan concedes that it’s still a nascent technology with many questions surrounding its practical (and successful) implementation. But undoubtedly the focus of the film shines most brightly on blockchain’s transformative power to radically change lives.
Nearly all of us have heard such a claim made about a new technology, and the skeptics among us rightly ask if blockchain’s game-changing potential has been vastly overblown. Can this arcane technology really change people’s lives in a meaningful, substantive way?
Khan’s documentary makes a convincing case. Indeed if prior to watching the film one wonders just how, exactly, a decentralized and distributed ledger-based system can affect “normal” people on an everyday basis, by the end of the film one might very well share the excitement that Khan and others feel about blockchain’s very real presence in the lives of those already experiencing it.
From the ultra-modern city of Dubai to struggling third world countries, from labyrinthine bureaucracies to the music industry, Blockchain City shows viewers a panorama of the myriad ways in which blockchain technology is already being used — or might soon be used — in order to better the world.
The examples are far more tangible than one might think. And they demonstrate that the practical benefits of blockchain are not for a select few ardent technologists, but all of us.
Consider the case of Dubai. In a city which has implemented blockchain perhaps more than anywhere in the world, the tedious and time-consuming process of reconciliation transactions are now a thing of the past. As Dr. Bishr tells us, what once took well over a month can now be achieved in less than a day. This change in efficiency is incredible, and there’s a wide array of similarly laborious procedures that have been — and certainly can be — improved with the use of blockchain.
Advocates of the technology get particularly excited by the blockchain’s adaptive power; it can be applied to a wide range of demands, including smart contracts, better currencies, and more favorable IP rights for artists. Moreover, the more innovative we are with blockchain technologies, the greater and more profound effect it can have on our lives.
For some of us, this may translate into much more efficient work or business ; for others it may mean a much safer and secure way to navigate an increasingly digitized world. Likely it will be all of the above and a great deal more. Indeed if the technology continues to progress at its current rate — and countries like Estonia show just how rapid and real the pace is — then in a couple decades blockchain might very well touch every area of our lives — from the relatively mundane to the exceptionally valuable.
Consider an example that falls into the latter category: voting by means of blockchain technology. The reality might be far away, and for many countries it may not be something even worth implementing. But for citizens of other countries it could be genuinely life-changing. Khan is exactly right when he says in the film that “[blockchain-based voting] could have a deep impact on countries where equality, transparency, and true democracy is just a notion.” Technology doesn’t always equal progress, but in a case like this, it unequivocally equals progress.
The values of blockchain, then, are numerous and powerful. But if the technology is to improve the world to the degree it seems capable of, it will take communities, cities, and countries to bring this about, not mere individuals (no matter how smart).
Blockchain City emphasizes the importance of collaboration and communication. If the full dreams of blockchain are to be realized — especially those which involve seeing our fellow human beings have their lives enhanced in profound ways — it will take a joint effort on a global scale. This will demand greater harmony between governments and bureaucracies, both within a country and outside of it. That alone might be one reason to think blockchain has a rough road ahead — but we can hope.
Spectatio 