How Will Blockchain Change Your Life 区块链将如何改变生活

韩聪

Like many new developments， the full ramifications of the Blockchain technology have taken some time to be appreciated. Many more changes we havent yet considered will surely subsequently be given birth to1. Were Uber and other ride-sharing2 competitors an obvious result of Google Maps technology？ Not to most but these apps and the multi-billion dollar market theyve created are powered by Google Maps data. We can expect the same， and potentially far more significant， changes to the environment we all live in to result from the increasing adoption and implementation of Blockchain technology in different areas.

Just a few of the main ways we can expect Blockchain technology to change our lives are：

Personal data ownership： the internet of information—the World Wide Web3—means that to a varying extent we all have a ‘virtual you. This is the sum of all of the digital crumbs we leave behind ourselves when we do anything online， particularly when that involves financial transactions. However， we dont own this ‘digital version of ourselves—our data is held by all of the intermediaries we go through online when making payments， transfers， inquiries and so on. Blockchain， by cutting out4 most intermediaries and allowing secure transactions directly between counterparties will mean in the future we should own our own digital identity. It will be less necessary to provide third party access to this personal data and only when and how we wish to provide it.

Online security： because Blockchain records are decentralized they cannot be hacked. Or it is at least hugely difficult to do so. Blockchain applications are infinitely more secure than even the heaviest online firewalls and security measures current systems use. Multiple copies of the same cryptographically-sealed5 records held simultaneously on millions of computers means that hacking a Blockchain is practically impossible. It would mean being able to simultaneously do so across more than 50% of potentially millions of copies.

Online records and personal data being held on Blockchain applications would essentially bring the era of identity theft， online fraud， and malicious hacking to an end.

Time and cost efficiencies： having full ownership and control of all of our own personal data has many potential applications. Processes from applying for a loan to replacing a lost driving license or disputing a property boundary would all be streamlined6. Verifying our own identities， financial history， and other records would no longer require the slow and inefficient process of compiling information from different central authorities. Everything could theoretically be contained in our own personal Blockchain record and convenient access provided to what is relevant.

Most of the transactions we conduct， from financial transactions to applying to a university， involve intermediaries. This both increases costs and processing time. Blockchain technologys potential to remove these intermediaries will slash costs and processing inefficiencies across the many trust-based commercial and administrative transaction processes we are part of almost every day.

What Blockchain means for the sharing economy

When we talk about the sharing economy we refer to companies such as Airbnb， Uber， and Lyft. However， while these companies have certainly opened up the opportunity for individuals to earn money by providing others the use of their possessions or time， they are not truly peer-2-peer7.

A Blockchain technology-powered alternative would mean a system like Airbnb could genuinely run without a company behind it. The trust required between the two counter-parties would be provided by the Blockchain records and Blockchain-based smart contracts. A company， or another form of organization， would still need to initially build the platform of course but it would then be able to run autonomously. At the very least this would hugely decrease the service fee costs for the two counterparties.

How Blockchains could change the world

Blockchain technology could also have a massive global impact in the form of protecting ownership rights， rule of law， preventing corruption and making politicians and other leaders more accountable. The single biggest cause of poverty in the world is not a lack of resources but corruption， poor management and weak rule of law.

Blockchain allows for8 permanent， immutable and auditable records. This provides transparency and keeps all parties accountable. Imagine the case of a major public concession such as building a motorway， hospital or school. A Blockchain-based record of each and every transaction within that process would make it impossible to cover up misuse or misappropriation of funds or inefficient work. How much was paid for what， when and to whom would be clear.

Blockchain technology also has clear application for supply chain management. This means a full history of building materials used， all the way back to the quarry or factory would also be possible. The use of cheaper inferior materials in construction is a huge element of fraud and misappropriation of public funds in many parts of the world. Precise records that cannot be tampered with9 would eliminate a massive percentage of the corruption and theft that has prevented many parts of the world developing in the way they should have.

Rule of law and protection of private property is another fundamental problem that has held back many parts of the developing world at different points in history. It is estimated that 70% of the worlds private property is held tenuously. A citizen may have a paper title deed to farmland or other property but if a dictator says that the governments computer says that property is actually owned by someone else， favored by the regime， what recourse does that citizen have to defend their ownership rights？

Blockchains immutability would mean that title deed records would not be corruptible at the whim of any government or central authority. Of course， a property could still be taken by force but there would be no way to dress up10 the action in front of the wider public or international community as anything other than direct theft.

Blockchain-based public record keeping， contracts， and supply chain management genuinely has the potential to eliminate the majority of theft， corruption， and lack of accountability for gross incompetence. And that would almost certainly take the handbrake off11 development in the parts of the world that have suffered the most from those things.          ■

像許多新的开发成果一样，区块链技术的全部影响过了些时间才被认可。更多我们尚未考虑到的变化必将随后产生。优步和与之竞争的拼车应用程序是谷歌地图技术的明确产物吗？虽然多数不是，但是这些应用程序及其所创造的数十亿美元市场是谷歌地图数据驱动的。我们可以预计，随着不同领域愈加广泛地采纳和实际应用区块链技术，我们所生活的环境也会发生同样的、甚至可能更为显著的变化。

以下是几种我们可以预计的区块链改变我们生活的主要方式：

个人数据所有权：信息互联网——万维网——意味着在不同程度上每人都有一个“虚拟自我”。这是我们在网上做任何事，尤其是涉及金融业务时，所留下的所有数字碎片的总和。然而，这一“数字”版本的自己并不归我们所有——我们的数据由我们在付款、转账、查询等时候所通过的所有网上中介掌握。通过舍去大多数中介并允许交易双方直接进行安全交易，区块链将让我们在未来拥有自己的数字身份。供第三方访问这些个人数据的必要性将会降低，只在我们希望的时间以我们愿意的方式可供访问。

网络安全：因为区块链的记录是分布式的，所以不会遭受入侵，或者说至少极难入侵。区块链应用程序甚至比当前系统使用的最强大的网络防火墙和安全措施都安全得多。数百万台计算机上同时保存着同样加密记录的多个副本，这意味着入侵区块链几乎是不可能的。入侵区块链需要同时入侵可能多达数百万份副本中的半数以上。

网上记录和个人数据保存在区块链应用程序中，将从根本上终结身份盗窃、网络诈骗和恶意入侵的时代。

时间及成本效率： 完全拥有和掌控我们的所有个人数据有许多潜在用途。从申请贷款到补办丢失的驾照，或对产权界址提出异议，流程都将简化。核实我们的自身身份、财务历史和其他记录将不再需要缓慢低效的各种中心化权威机构提供信息。理论上，一切都能装在我们个人的区块链记录中，而且方便访问调用。

从金融交易到大学申请，我们进行的大多数交易都涉及中介。这既增加了成本，又延长了处理时间。我们几乎每天都处理许多基于信任的商业和行政事务，区块链技术有望消除这些中介，从而削减处理成本，提升效率。

区块链对共享经济意味着什么

谈论共享经济时，我们指的是爱彼迎、优步和来福车等公司。然而，尽管这些公司确实为个人带来了赚钱的机会，即让他人使用自己的财产或时间来赚钱，但他们并非真正的个人对个人。

区块链技术驱动的替代方案意味着，一个像爱彼迎这样的系统背后不再需要一家公司来运作。区块链记录和基于区块链的智能合约将确保双方之间所需的信任。一家公司，或另一种形式的组织，最初当然仍需构建平台，但之后就能自主运行。至少，这将极大降低双方的服务费成本。

区块链如何改变世界

区块链技术还可以保护所有权、保障法治、防止腐败、让政客等领导人更可靠，以此产生巨大的全球影响。世界上，造成贫困的最大原因不是资源短缺，而是腐败、管理不善和法治薄弱。

区块链的记录内容永久不变并经得起审计。这种方式是透明的，参与各方各负其责。想象一下有大型公共特许权的情况，例如修建高速公路、医院或学校。该建设过程中，基于区块链的每笔交易记录将让资金的滥用或挪用以及低效的工作藏无可藏。什么时候向谁支付多少钱买了什么，都是清楚的。

区块链技术在供应链管理中也有明确应用。这表示有所用建筑材料的完整历史，可一直追溯到采石场或工厂。在世界许多地方，建筑中使用廉价劣质材料是诈骗和挪用公共资金的主要手段。无法篡改的精确记录将消除大量腐败和盗窃行为，正是这些行为让世界许多地方不能正常发展。

法治和私有财产保护是另一个根本问题，在不同历史时期阻碍了许多发展中国家的发展。据估计，世界上70%的私有财产持有状态不牢固。公民可能拥有耕地或其他财产的所有权证明，但如果一个独裁者说，政府的计算机显示该财产实际上归受独裁政府支持的他人所有，那么该公民靠什么捍卫其所有权呢？

区块链的不变性意味着所有权证书的记录不会被任何政府或中心化权威机构随心所欲地篡改。当然，财产仍可能被强行夺走，但在更广大公众或国际社会面前，这种行为无异于直接盗窃，根本没办法粉饰。

基于区块链的公共记录保存、合同和供应链管理真的有潜力消除大多数盗窃、腐败和对严重失职缺乏问责的现象。世界上很多地区的发展深受以上问题困扰，区块链技术定能消除这些发展掣肘。              □

（译者为“《英语世界》杯”翻译大赛获奖者;译者单位：郑州大学外国语与国际关系学院）

重要时政词语表述汉英选译

加强生态环保督察执法。

Inspections and law enforcement for environmental protection were streng-thened.

全面推进“互联网+”。

Internet Plus initiatives were advanced across the board.

“双随机、一公开”监管全面实施。

Oversight conducted through the random selection of both inspectors and inspection targets and the prompt release of results was implemented nationwide.

大力優化创新生态，调动各类创新主体积极性。

We greatly improved the innovation ecosystem to keep innovators of all kinds fully motivated.

将提高研发费用加计扣除比例政策扩大至所有企业。

We extended the policy on raising the proportion of additional tax-deductible R&D costs to cover all enterprises.

共建“一带一路”引领效应持续释放。

Joint efforts to pursue the Belt and Road Initiative are producing a pace-setting effect.