Blockchain and the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Blockchain and the Fourth Industrial Revolution Name Institution Affiliation Blockchain and the Fourth Industrial Revolution Blockchain technology is an emerging technology that involves sharing and distribution of ledgers or data structures, which can securely store digital transactions in a decentralized system (Knezevic, 2018). Blockchain can be alternatively viewed as databases that allow several users to make crucial changes in the data structure simultaneously, which can lead to multiple chain versions. Rather than a single trusted center controlling the ledger, each member in the network has a copy of the record and various members can reach a consensus on the valid state of the ledger (Knezevic, 2018). The technology has the potential to become a powerful tool for transactions and tracking that can both minimize corruption, reduce friction, empower users, and increase trust. Blockchain technology has a huge ability to transform the world into the imminent Fourth Industrial Revolution. There have been four industrial revolutions in the world’s history, all of which had unique marks (Philbeck & Davis, 2018). The First Industrial Revolution, which began in the 18th century, was characterized by the use of water and steam to power different machines such as cars, trains, ships, and industrial systems. The Second Industrial Revolution was marked with the invention of electricity, whereas the third was characterized by the discovery of the Internet, both happening in the 20th century (Philbeck & Davis, 2018). It is worth noting that in the past few decades, humans have been living in the Third Industrial Revolution, which is now being slowly transformed into the Fourth Industrial Revolution where important technologies such as blockchain, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and internet of things are taking the helm. The world is in a transition stage into a new era called the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Thus, the Fourth Industrial Revolution is in its infancy phase, with the integration of emerging technologies (Philbeck & Davis, 2018). There is a strong link between the blockchain technology and the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Philbeck & Davis, 2018). Majority of the environmental problems existing today can be traced back to industrialization, especially since the era of great acceleration in international economic activity that occurred in the 1950s (Philbeck & Davis, 2018). Although this led to massive gains in the world’s progress and prosperity, it has also contributed to unprecedented climate change, consequences such as deforestation, harmful levels of air pollution, freshwater and fishing stocks, soil and water pollution, increased levels of land wastes from industries, and loss of biodiversity, among other things. Thus, the Fourth Revolution is bound to have an impact on human lives. Such an impact will be brought by emerging technologies such as blockchain, artificial intelligence, and the internet of things. These technologies will play a huge role in correcting the adverse effects brought about by the previous revolutions (Philbeck & Davis, 2018). Blockchain technology could have several applications in Fourth Industrial Revolution such as allowing the transition to be more efficient and cleaner, decentralized systems, supply-chain management and transparency, natural capital, peer-to-peer trading of resources, and the realization of environmental outcomes. Blockchain technology is bound to have a huge effect on the Fourth Industrial Revolution technology in several ways that will be described in the following paragraphs. During the Fourth Industrial Revolution, transactions will become a crucial component of human lives (Knezevic, 2018). As indicated earlier, blockchain technology is a decentralized electronic ledger system that creates a cryptographically immutable and secure record of transaction values. Transaction records created include those involving money, goods, work, votes, and property, among other things. One of the areas during the Fourth Industrial Revolution where blockchain technology is expected to bring massive changes is organizations’ supply chains (Marr, 2018). Technology has a huge potential to create undeniable transparency in the supply chain. With blockchain technology, it will be possible to record transactional information of the entire supply chain. Moreover, creating immutable provenance records offers the potential for full and easy traceability of products from the source to the store (Marr, 2018). With such transparency, organizations will be able to build resilience and improve supply and demand management, which will ultimately enable them to have more sustainable productions and logistics. Another area where blockchain technology could play a crucial role is in the sustainable management of resources (Le Sиve, Mason & Nassiry, 2018). The technology has the ability to reinforce the transition to decentralized systems at a large scale. Blockchain platforms could help in effective collection and organization of the di...