A research initiative from Stanford is compiling a master list of blockchain projects for social good, including from UN agencies, humanitarian NGOs and civil society. At the time of writing the list includes more than 235 projects (Masterlist: Blockchain for Social Good).
On the topic of blockchain, the UN Climate Change secretariat has launched the “Climate Chain Coalition”. The Coalition will support the use of blockchain distributed ledger technology for climate action. The UNCC secretariat has said that it “recognizes the general potential of Blockchain technology”, but the specifics of how the technology will be used are not yet clear (UNCC, UNCC).
Last bit of blockchain news for the week: Microsoft has officially joined the ID2020 Alliance, a public-private partnership which aims to help the estimated 1.1 billion people around the world with no form of legal identity. Microsoft and ID2020 plan to pilot an “open source, self-sovereign, blockchain-based identity system” in the coming year, beginning with refugee populations (Microsoft).
In another public-private partnership, MasterCard and USAID have announced a goal to turn refugee settlements into “digitally connected communities” through their Power Africa initiative. The planned 2018 pilot program will focus on connectivity, digital tools and energy access (Finextra).
The fallout continues from the discovery of a new mass cyber-surveillance campaign linked to Lebanese intelligence agencies by researchers. Seven organisations including Human Rights Watch have called for an official investigation into privacy violations (Human Rights Watch).
Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo shut down the internet again this week as unrest continues. The January 21st shutdown came in response to calls from Catholic priests for protests against the Kabila regime, and is the latest in a series of shutdowns in recent months. Local and international advocates have called for the government to respect the rights to freedom of expression and access to information (Internet Sans Frontieres, Quartz).
A report on using artificial intelligence for the common good has been released ahead of the World Economic Forum in Davos. The report includes contributions on modelling for fairness and the risks for humanitarian action which could be generated by the combination of new technologies and old ethical frameworks (World Economic Forum).
Simon Johnson wrote about the principle of minimum viable data, arguing that the over-collection of data by humanitarian organisations can pose unforeseen risks (Medium).
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