Crypto as a Force for Good: How Blockchain Technology Enables Humanitarian Aid
Behind the buzz about bitcoin and non-fungible tokens, blockchain technology enables some serious projects. Global financial companies are waking up to the potential of decentralized management, while on the other side of the economic equation, non-profit organizations are using technology to protect cultural assets and collect and distribute humanitarian aid faster and more efficiently than is possible with traditional methods.
Over $60 million has been donated via the crypto-only donation page “Aid For Ukraine”. These funds help the Ukrainian government purchase medical equipment, field rations, protective equipment and military accessories, such as tactical backpacks and thermal imaging cameras.
“Individuals who don’t represent sovereign nations around the world giving in cryptocurrency don’t escalate tensions because it’s not money coming from a country,” said Brittany Kaiser (pictured), co-founder of the Own Your Data Foundation, explaining why she contributed to to launch the website “Aid For Ukraine”.
Kaiser spoke with CUBE industry analyst John Furrier at the Monaco Crypto Summit, during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s live streaming studio. They discussed the growing importance of decentralized technologies and using the power of data for good. (* Disclosure below.)
Data science is the fastest and most efficient way to solve global problems
If Kaiser’s name seems familiar, it’s because she was a whistleblower behind the Cambridge Analytica scandal and appeared in the documentary “The Great Hack.” In 2019, she published a memoir, titled “Targeted: The Cambridge Analytica Whistleblower’s Inside Story of How Big Data, Trump, and Facebook Broke Democracy and How It Can Happen Again.”
Although she learned the hard way that “data can be used for anyone, for any purpose,” Kaiser’s goal has always been to use data to prevent disaster and benefit humanity.
“I got into data science specifically because I believe that data science is going to be the fastest and most effective way to solve many global problems and also to be able to run impact campaigns and human rights initiatives in a more transparent and efficient way,” she said.
Today, Kaiser heads the non-profit organization Own Your Data Foundation and travels the world advocating for digital intelligence education. She describes her mission as “trying to explain to people how data protection, how transparency and tracking and tracing that we don’t get from older technology is actually enabled by a new form of cryptography that is decentralized and immutable.”
Sometimes this means explaining complex technological concepts to regulators and legislators who have no understanding of the digital world. But by showing them concrete examples of how decentralized technologies are already being used by public entities, Kaiser creates a connection on a level where they understand the benefits to their community.
The world is waking up to the benefits of blockchain
Only about 10 to 20% of the general population currently truly understands how these technologies work and is beginning to use them, according to Kaiser. However, she predicts that this number will increase sharply in the next couple of years.
“The only way to actually live life more successfully is to have a comprehensive digital strategy that brings in decentralization to make sure things can still work even when we’re in crisis,” Kaiser said.
Blockchain technology can provide more than a fast, efficient and non-political way to provide humanitarian aid. It can also be used to protect and restore physical cultural assets, as demonstrated by the Ukraine Heritage Hub, which aims to help preserve and protect the heritage of the Ukrainian people.
“We document all the national monuments, all the historic buildings listed by UNESCO and the Ministry of Culture, as well as antiquities, artifacts and art inside museums, so that one of the blockchains says that these things came from Ukraine [and] if something is broken or looted, we know where to get it back, she said.
The hub also stores an accurate digital blueprint of buildings and objects so that badly damaged or destroyed assets can be recreated or rebuilt.
“We’re able to use new technology that didn’t exist the last time this big problem came along to solve it in new ways and really do it quickly and do it in a way where the whole world can participate,” she added.
Here’s the full video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of Monaco Crypto Summit event:
(* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner of the Monaco Crypto Summit event. Neither DigitalBits, the sponsor of theCUBE’s event coverage, nor any other sponsors have editorial control over the content of theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)
