Blockchain is one of the essential tools Protectedby.AI uses in its suite of solutions. There has been a lot of confusion and misinformation about this breakthrough use of technology, so we are here to provide clarity and context.
A Blockchain is a digital, decentralized, trustless, indelible ledger in which transactions can be recorded, stored, queried, and retrieved.
But what does that mean?
Essentially, a Blockchain is a database (i.e., a structured set of digital data held in a computer in a way that allows information to be recorded, stored, queried, and retrieved). But a Blockchain differs from traditional databases in a few critical ways; specifically, with respect to the remainder of our definition of Blockchain: “…decentralized, trustless, indelible ledger…”.
To understand these aspects of a Blockchain, consider the example of a Microsoft™ Excel™ workbook.
If you were to record a transaction in an Excel sheet, you might have a succession of columns to accommodate information for each of several rows - as illustrated below:
Note: With a database, columns are referred to as fields, and rows are referred to as records.
In this example, there is a unique identifier in the first column (field), followed by information regarding the individual transactions, recorded along each row (record). This is, essentially, what a Blockchain database would look like.
There are distinct differences between a Blockchain record and an Excel™ sheet:
- Blockchain records are simultaneously shared with all authorized members of a network. While traditional databases are maintained by a central authority, the decentralized nature of the Blockchain means there is no central authority that must be trusted; all participants are able to simultaneously validate all records.
- Blockchain records cannot be edited, changed or deleted. They are a permanent record - also known as an indelible ledger.
- The unique identifier is a hash function (a mathematical algorithm that maps data of arbitrary size to a bit string of a fixed size and is a one-way function; that is, a function which is practically infeasible to invert). In the case of Blockchain, the information that is used to generate that hash value comes from a combination of the current transaction and the hash function from the preceding transaction. This clever trick means that changing even a single character in the sheet, would cause all subsequent hash values to have to be changed. The inability to reconcile those values causes the rejection of any changes or deletions.
A block of information, like the table illustrated above, can then be identified with another unique hash value. That value can then be connected to a subsequent block, ad infinitum. Indelible blocks chained together by unique identifiers. Block Chain.
Smart Contracts, Artificial Intelligence, and NoSQL Databases
In addition to being a vehicle for cryptocurrency transactions (e.g., Bitcoin), Blockchains can be used in other interesting ways; most notably, to enable Smart Contracts.
A smart contract is a computer protocol that can be used to digitally facilitate, verify, or enforce the negotiation or performance of a contract. Like all other uses of Blockchain, Smart Contracts enable the performance of verifiable inviolable transactions without third parties. Smart Contract transactions are trackable, irreversible, and automatically executable.
With Smart Contracts, the provenance of any product, part, or parcel can be indelibly established and traced. From dustbins to diamonds, an infinite amount of any kind of information can be appended to the Blockchain record (as indicated by the “Other” field). This information can, of course, include additional unique identifiers which can, in turn, be collected, collated, queried, analyzed, and reported in Artificial Intelligence enabled SQL and NoSQL databases. This combined approach allows for near-zero latency in querying and tracking — as well as incomparable capabilities for forecasting, pattern identification, and anomaly detection.
AI-Enabled, Blockchain-Based, NoSQL, Smart Contract platforms are, in short, a near-perfect panacea for the perennial challenges posed by traditional approaches to Supply Chain Management.
Our SmartChain product automatically detects patterns, trends, and anomalies in the supply chain and automatically alerts you to potential dangers, delays, and friction while simultaneously surfacing insights for optimization SmartChain combines Blockchain technology, SQL/NoSQL Databases, and AI-Enabled querying capabilities to provide you with previously unimaginable insights and controls.
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