re There's No Good Reason to Trust Blockchain Technology | WIRED

["Dave Farber" <farber () gmail com>]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Gregory Aharonian <greg.aharonian () gmail com>
> Date: February 7, 2019 at 9:27:44 PM GMT+9
> Cc: ip <ip () listbox com>
> Subject: Re: [IP] There's No Good Reason to Trust Blockchain Technology | WIRED
>
> Dave,
>
> I would like to offer another blockchain-trust example: "why there is no good reason to trust blockchain promoters".
> A recent Coindesk article reports on an IBM blockchain "breakthrough":
>
>       IBM completes a blockchain trial tracking a 28-ton shipment of oranges
>       https://www.coindesk.com/ibm-completes-blockchain-trial-tracking-a-28-ton-shipment-of-oranges
>
> IBM used blockchain to implement a secure electronic bill of lading.  Fantastic.  But compared to what?
> The article reports on how IBM is touting the "breakthrough":
>
> For the pilot, IBM created an electronic bill of lading, or e-BL, which helped
> reduce and speed up administrative processes “to just one second” as the
> document flow is automated, the company claims --- while the standard
> paper-based procedure takes five to seven days.
>
> This sentence is proof of why you can't trust some blockchain promoters.  For over 30 years, there has been an 
> international standard for the (secure) exchange of electronic business information - EDI - Electronic Data 
> Interchange.  IBM has been a key player in the development of this standard.  For example, here is a link to a 1991 
> European Patent owned by IBM dealing with a method to make it easier for businesspeople to use EDI:    
> https://patents.google.com/patent/EP0507717A2/en   (and there are thousands of patents dealing with EDI from the last 
> 30 years)
>
> One part of the EDI world is an ANSI standard for electronic bills of lading: ANSI X12 EDI 211.
>
> So the only honest comparison that IBM should be making is comparing the efficiencies/security of a blockchain-based 
> bill of lading with an EDI bill of lading.  But no, IBM companies a blockchain bill of lading with the centuries old 
> technology of paper bills of lading. That is a dishonest business economic comparison, because it is one of the few 
> ways to justify blockchain role in anything - via false comparisons.  Indeed, one of the defects of many blockchain 
> articles/books/talks, is the lack of mention of (secure) EDI.  Dishonest.
>
> Regards,
>
> Greg Aharonian
> Editor, Internet Patent News Service
>
>
>
>
> > On Thu, Feb 7, 2019 at 12:46 AM Dave Farber <farber () gmail com> wrote:
> >
> > https://www.wired.com/story/theres-no-good-reason-to-trust-blockchain-technology/
> >
> >
> > https://www.listbox.com
>
> This message was sent to the list address and trashed, but can be found online.



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