Page 5 - Logistics News July 2019
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Thought Leadership
the potential described by many pundits. One anonymised on the blockchain and its anonymity
very common argument is to say that AI data safeguarded by the distributed ledger. It could
is not suffi ciently secure and that it could be then be run through AI algorithms in a centralised
hacked. However, most data is not sensitive and fashion in order to receive necessary insights.
thus not worthy of the expensive protection of Although their amalgamation still lacks mass
the blockchain. roll-out, pioneering initiatives break ground.
Take the Internet of Things (IoT) as an DeepMind, a London-based AI start-up owned
example. All kinds of chip-equipped devices by Google, which has access to sensitive data
are permanently radiating reams of data, but thanks to a deal with The British NHS, announced
is the energy consumption of your fridge really it will now use a kind of centralised blockchain to
information you want to protect at all costs? And ensure a robust audit trail. A public, immutable
the costs can be overwhelming, especially when ledger called the ‘Verifi able Data Audit’ should
you are using decentralised blockchains. make visible what data has been used for which
purpose by the AI algorithm. The initiative isn’t
Reason #3: Blockchain and AI have opposing as advanced as DeepMind had assumed, but it
tenets is characteristic for the most likely way to wed
Despite the fi rst impression, blockchain and AI blockchain and AI.
are no natural fi t. Blockchain’s decision-making The problem is not that the two technologies
mechanism is decentralised, AI’s is centralised. cannot be combined, but rather that too many
The former is immutable, the latter probabilistic innovators in the blockchain-AI complex appear
and adaptable. The blockchain is transparent and to be the hammer that makes them perceive
tamper-proof, the decision-making process of AI every problem as a nail. But, if the potential is to
is often a puzzle. be exploited, use cases and problems must be
Of course, each of these dimensions brings crystal clear. Encrypted number crunching comes
with it advantages and disadvantages. However, at a cost, and with the current state of blockchain
the idea to remedy the weaknesses of one technology, there is a big cost diff erential to
(AI) with combining it with an opposite tech traditional databases.
(blockchain) doesn’t really work out because it Thus, an AI-blockchain merger is not the be-
would change the very nature of the technology. all and end-all for AI’s shortcomings. Yet once
If, for example, AI ceased to be probabilistic, it both technologies become more effi cient and,
would be AI no longer. above all, once their combination starts to answer
pressing business problems, the merge could be
A possible road ahead done rather quickly. After all, tech behemoths such
That is not to say that the two technologies have as Google, Amazon and IBM are leading players
no synergies, nor that they cannot be combined. in both fi elds. Those giants have all necessary
But rather than merged, they should be applied resources under one roof – large data centres,
sequentially. For instance, sensitive data can be armies of coders and abundant data pools. •
July 2019 | Logistics News 3
