So what made you decide to write your book? Its about whether you are in control of your data. Its mostly good, but the bad is serious enough that it needs conscious and direct countermeasures. Owing to Intels newfound openness, hyperscale cloud providers like AWS would be given access to their chip designs. Blockchain Technology Explained: The Ultimate Beginners Guide. The scenario is that some people buy a food product at the store and get ill. So you feel strongly theres a role for regulation and the law, and it was about getting the argument across for that? It is a futuristic outlook about the decentralised services and software applications and businesses should imagine new opportunities around this emerging technology. Again, I recommended it not because I completely agree, but because I think hes a serious critic. Theres the famous Lawrence Lessig phrase, code is law, this idea that software and the architecture of online systems can regulate behaviour the same way law does. There are real systems using real money, but they are almost without exception fairly small. But its something we need to deal with. The Bonsai Brain is a low code AI component that is integrated with Automation systems. And today, there are very few things that ordinary people need to do or want to do which require cryptocurrency. Thats in part because of what we discussed before, that its building upon a whole variety of assumptions in several different domains. They, to their credit, talk about the downsides and try to address them but I still think we need to start in a different place. For those who are interested in learning about Blockchain, this article will talk about a selection of the best Blockchain books which will help in understanding the emerging technology and its related concepts. Blockchain for Beginners: The Complete Step by Step Guide to Understanding Blockchain Technology by Mark Watney. Its the best clear, basic introduction Ive found that doesnt dumb things down too much. So that, to me, starkly illuminates the potential benefit of this technology. This is the best book Ive found that doesnt shrink from talking about the technology and getting into some of the detail, but does it in a very clear and structured way, so that someone without any kind of background can understand it. Well, the issue of trust. Weve seen all of these systems (like Facebook, Google and so on), which originally seemed like a way out of the problems with traditional institutions, now themselves becoming the problemin some cases, an even worse problem than what they replaced. But its challenging. In my book, I argue that the technology is one thing that can regulate; the law is another. That database just wouldnt get implemented, whereas the blockchain potentially will, because it allows everyone to maintain their own control. Do you understand money? The Bonsai Brain focuses on adding value to various Autonomous and AI systems. They are very thoughtful. As the title denotes, this is another beginners guide to Blockchain by Alan T Norman. We can say we want to stop; we can log off. In the end, the book also shines a spotlight on Blockchain and its defining role in reimagining data governance. Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more. Someone needs to track and figure out which farm grew the produce thats the source of the contamination. Theres been a swing back and forth based on financial speculation and the valuations of the currencies. Its more complicated than that. The book is a good starting point for those who want to learn practical examples to understand Blockchain and mining, design, test and deploy secure contracts and learn how to build Blockchain applications in Ethereum Blockchain. The Economist several years ago called blockchain a trust machine. I think the authors of this book wanted to avoid using that term, but theyre talking about something similar. Even a big company like Walmart has this challenge. The book also talks about how Blockchain can be used for science, especially for data-mining personal health record storage, or giving access to genomic data. They explain the possibilities of blockchain and hone in on the broader potentialthis idea of a truth machine. So all the funds are locked irretrievably. Hes worried about people not understanding blockchain. Is there anything practical you can do online to get a greater understanding of how it all functions? These novels, he notesas with many others from West and Central Africaare united by a common search for identity in post-colonial Africa. Every year, the Walter Scott Prize highlights the best new historical novels. We may have the ability to say Show us the data that you have on us, or to correct it upon request. If we want to make sure that people who are buying investment products have the right information to make good decisions and appropriate recourse if they are cheated, then we can start to get into the kinds of mechanisms whereby a cryptocurrency-based token might be able to do that. These warnings are really important because the other thing is that were talking about money here. I think we all need to know about itnot becauseits so important today, but for two reasons. Moreover, the book also highlights technical topics with relevant examples such as code snippets and with use cases. Yes, and also that its nuanced. It was a year and a half ago now that I wrote my book. How to automate finding the optimal learning rate. The question is, What percentage of those who become attracted to these kinds of systems are people who are untrustworthy or who want to engage in illegal or fraudulent activity? Its not zero, but its certainly not everyone, and in most of these cases its not even a substantial percentage. Tell me more about it. The Ethereum leadership and the underlying blockchain community eventually agreed to fork the whole network. Its a group of companiesinitially it was a group of banks, but theyve broadened outthat have a blockchain-like platform for doing distributed transactions. Someone basically stole money, but then stated they hadnt stolen it, that they were just adhering to the code. The other set of literature that is really helpful is about governance, in particular Elinor Ostroms work. And whats his background? She is an avid reader, mum to a feisty two-year-old and loves writing about the next-gen technology that is shaping our world. Antonopoulos gives an overview of the technical foundations of Bitcoin, the basics of cryptography, cryptocurrencies, understanding of network protocols and consensus mechanism including mining. Then we gave them a set of assignments to do various things with it. Im concerned that thats going to take us too far. If youre interested in questions about law and how law relates to computerized network systems and look at blockchain from that perspective, then yes, Lessigs work is absolutely foundational. Theres also a set of situations were blockchain may actually fill in gaps, issues that the legal system is failing to address. We live in a time of a great crisis of trust. Theres much more consolidation than people realize in terms of whos in control of the system. In 2021, Neuralinks former president Max Hodak resigned from his role at the company, only to invest in Synchron a few months later. The blockchain system creates one shared ledger. There are a number of examples currently in production. So, for example, people get excited about the fact that with blockchain, you dont have to rely on a bank to hold your money. So the second book on your list of blockchain books is The Truth Machine by Michael Casey and Paul Vigna. Their prior book,The Age of Cryptocurrency, was much more focused on Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as payment technologies. The award-winning Cameroonian novelist Mutt-Lon selects five of the best recent novels from Francophone Africa, including Mohamed Mbougar Sarr's Prix Goncourt-winning La plus secrte mmoire des hommes. Theyre in a different part of the blockchain world than, say, Bitcoinbut in the book, hes writing about much more than just the part hes involved in. Then, on the other side, theres a community of people saying, This is all just a community of scammers and lawbreakers and criminals.. Can you tell me what the book is about and why you chose it? We need to start by thinking about out how to harmonize them and the set of public policy concerns. Several people got sick and they had to pull every single head of romaine lettuce off every grocery store shelf to protect the public, because they couldnt tell quickly enough where the contaminated ones came from. People have already lost a lot of money based on various problems with these systems. Is that why people get so excited about blockchainbecause there are so many different areas to think about? Elizabeth Laird, one of the judges, talks us through their choices this year. There hasnt been a good effort to systematically go through and look at whats out there that may not be trying to publicize itself. The book sheds light on core concepts and functionality of Bitcoin and Blockchain and how can be an enabler for automated tracking of all digital. If I had, I wouldnt have written a bookI would have written an article! These two authors are both legal scholars. Blockchain is about eliminating central points of trust, but what weve seen with these technologies is that middlemen have a way of reappearing. Learning rate controls the amount of information to be learned. Calling blockchain a truth machine is quite a strong statement. But hes always been a critic and warned about the larger societal implications of the technological decisions we make. Almost no one brings the requisite expertise in all these different areas, so it leads to a lot of misunderstandings where people think they understand whats going on, but only see one part of it. It comes up in your blockchain book and some of the others, the case of the DAO. Is there an example of one of blockchains applications you particularly like? Yes. Its a problem when people who can contribute to this debate dont feel like they understand whats going on. I have a fairly balanced view of this, I think, which is that theres a lot of good and a lot of bad. Those are the three main reasons why people fall in love with this technology. Still, if you ask me, I probably wouldnt be quite as skeptical as he is, that an ordinary person can get a sufficient level of understanding to appreciate the potential and the dangers. Now people are just excited about the general applications of blockchain. This book is one of the best reference guides on Ethereum platform, smart contracts, cryptocurrencies, DApps, and decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs). Once everything is on that one platform, its just a database lookup. So the six and a half days became about two and a half seconds. We ask experts to recommend the five best books in their subject and explain their selection in an interview. We all use Facebook, but its in control of our data, whereas on a blockchain, the end userthe one who actually provides the datamaintains full control.. So number four on your list is the Attack of the 50-foot Blockchain, which is quite funny. Then things broadened out, with Ethereum being the starting gun for that process. There are many people who, unlike this book, talk about the idea of code as law in the blockchain and completely ignore the downsides. What are the benefits and what are the risks of that kind of system?. Its something that was incredibly exciting: in just two weeks, a group of people contributed $150 million to this decentralized, self-operating, crowdfunding system. At one point he says, power will go disproportionately to those who understand it and that its the first technology hes come across in his adult life that is fundamentally difficult for intelligent people to understand. Do you agree with that? Its also a useful corrective. Hes based in Singapore and works for R3, which is one of the enterprise blockchain software systems. I think its important but I see it as only one part of it. No. I also thought that there wasnt much material that really put blockchain in the context of the business value propositionnot just telling the story with a bunch of examples, but saying, What is it that this does for people in the firms that use this technology above and beyond the surface things, like Im using it to pay or Im using it because Im investing in something that I think will go up?, I also felt there wasnt enough of a conversation about the legal, regulatory and governance questions. I think the fact that it is so multidisciplinary is actually more of a challenge for people than what gets them into it. Theres a trade-off there in terms of the degree to which the system is truly open to anyone and decentralized. It has been pegged as a starting point for bitcoin enthusiasts and who want to understand the underpinning technology behind smart contracts. Hes a very cheeky critic who is making fun of it, but he is an IT professional, a technically sophisticated guy. The Business Blockchain: Promise, Practice, and Application of the Next Internet Technology, Inside Googles Quest To Become A Cloud Computing Giant, Intel Unveils Roadmap To Recover Lost Glory, Majority Of Tech Leaders Think Their Workplace Is Inclusive, Research Says Otherwise, Europes Proposed AI Law Could Cost Its Economy $36 Bn, Big Tech Sees Record Growth In Revenue In Latest Quarter, Meet The Winners Of TheMathCompanys Data Scientist Hiring Hackathon, Bonsai Brain A low code platform to build AI agents. This is a book thats focused purely on the legal questions. A system like the Walmart one is whats called a permissioned blockchain: it allows for the obscuring of certain information to respect privacy. It was just a matter of doing a query on one system. Theyve been covering the blockchain world for a very long time. bitcoin cryptocurrency investing norman mastering starters mining alan technologies trading Other books say, Were going to just ignore the technology entirely; wouldnt it be great if this would happen, or that would happen. I dont think thats very helpful. Its also something I talk about in my book. To at least considerwhat a world might be like if you could have trusted value exchange without trusted third parties is an important exercise to undertakeeven if the ultimate conclusion is that the blockchain systems we have today fail to live up to that promise, and may never live up to that promise. Blockchain is being used to help feed people in refugee camps and allow voting in Estonian elections. Again, this comes from the work of earlier scholars like Lessig. In all those situations, its not a black-and-white case; we need to understand whats going to happen with these different mechanisms. This book discusses the politics embedded in these technologies. Perhaps I can guess your answer, but would you say that blockchain is now so important that we all need to know about it and read these blockchain books youve recommended? This book by Melanie Swan talks extensively about cryptocurrency, smart contracts. There are a number of people who have written about the concept of trust thoughtfully that are useful. But yes, there was an initial period where it was basically just Bitcoin and some derivatives of Bitcoin. bitcoin busters faqs myth beginners answers questions much tips guide visit site This beginners guide is one of the best ways to get acquainted with Blockchain technology and its present and future usage. This book is also great for those who want to dive into upcoming Blockchain roles such as a programmer, technical support specialist, system admin, or security specialist. For example, it doesnt give you an understanding of how the consensus system of proof of work works on Bitcoin. She looks at how communities and organizations can successfully govern themselves without formal legal enforcement at the base. Theyre journalists who are good at telling a story. As I said before, I really think we in the legal and policy community can learn a lot about other things from studying what is happening in the blockchain world. The examples they point to are good ones: the Syrian refugee camp in Jordan is really interesting and promising, as is the food safety one that Walmart has been conducting with IBM. Yes, you mentioned via email that you find the argument provocative, but are not entirely convinced. What we really need is for these systems to operate in parallel. This is a system called IBM Food Trust, which is basically about provenance for the supply chain. Was there a gap in the blockchain book market you were looking to fill? She also highlights how the public ledger can be used effectively across the domain including health data, finance, real estate, public projects and be a channel for decentralised records for the registration, inventory, and transfer of all assets. If you're enjoying this interview, please support us by donating a small amount. Its so easy to get caught up in the excitement and the celebration of new technology that we really need people like him saying, Whoa, whoa, whoa. Its not trivial to understand and it behoves people to go a little bit below the surface. Join us at the Oracle AI Summit 2022, a virtual short-format conference that aims to bring together business leaders & innovators to discuss a detailed framework that can help organisations to take the next step in their AI journey. You refer to it as a blockchain for dummies, written for non-dummies. We all use Facebook, but its in control of our data. But there is an extent to which the conversation within the blockchain community gets far removed from something that even most fairly sophisticated people, who understand finance and business and law, can grapple with and thats really a problem. Five Books aims to keep its book recommendations and interviews up to date. This book is by two journalists; one was formerly at the Wall Street Journal, the other still works there. First, it has the potential to be so important in the future. The Cyclic Learning rate method finds the rate automatically. Its a thoughtful criticism. Its human nature: there are bad people out there wholl take advantage, and its not the case that the problem can be solved with game theory, which is what some people in the cryptocurrency world think. In an age when trust in banks and other traditional institutions has been undermined and all our personal data is in the hands of the new tech giants, can blockchain help us take back control and restore trust? They often write, in the book, about using blockchain to cut out the middleman, not only traditional ones like banks, but also Uber and the new technology giants. These miners are deliberate, intentionally self-motivated entities. We had an incident here in the United States recently, where there was E. coli contamination of romaine lettuce. It goes far beyond Brexit and the issues of the US government. The exercise is not just to say, Can blockchain serve as a new kind of law-like mechanism? The real question is, Should it?