In recent years, a new model has emerged on the market based on the temporary rental of unused goods or the provision of services in order to obtain economic benefits – the sharing economy. Due to the relatively short time and rapid development of this economic model, as well as the lack of corresponding industry regulatory systems and methods, it faces a series of problems. The blockchain’s unique data storage mechanism and mode of operation can specifically address some of the current problems in the sharing economy (Hawlitschek, Notheisen, & Teubner, 2018).
The high cost of operation has been a lingering problem in the sharing economy business model, due to the huge investment costs in marketing, post-operation, product maintenance, and other aspects of the enterprise, resulting in the continued decline of many companies’ commercial profits, costs continue to rise, and even many companies have gone out of business because of cost issues. For example, bicycle-sharing companies, the production cost of their vehicles ranges from a hundred to a thousand yuan, and after putting them into operation, they are also responsible for maintenance and recycling, which requires a lot of financial and human support, resulting in very high operating costs. Service providers not only need to invest in servers and other infrastructure but also need to be responsible for the normal operation of these servers and invest a lot of human and material resources to ensure the security of business data, which will inevitably lead to high operating costs in the long run. If blockchain technology is used, the original centralised architecture can be removed, so that enterprises no longer need to invest huge amounts of money to build their own server clusters because the data is scattered and stored in different network nodes, each node is only responsible for maintaining the security and accuracy of its own data, and data updates are also broadcasted in the blockchain technology. The chain is released, thus reducing the day-to-day maintenance workload of the company, thus effectively reducing operational costs.
Traditional online systems of sharing economy operators usually use a centralised star-shaped network architecture model, in which the service operator provides services through a single point of a single server cluster, and ordinary users access the corresponding service nodes through the Internet and use the mobile applications provided by the operator to perform various types of business operations. In this model, business processing logic and operational data are stored in a single node, if the core node suffers a malicious attack or data tampering will trigger a single point of failure, so that the entire system immediately goes into a paralyzed state, all users of the client are unable to access services normally, and ultimately, the entire online system cannot function normally. The blockchain has a decentralised feature that can be a good solution to the risk of a single point of failure in the current sharing economy because all the data is scattered and stored in various nodes, the failure of any one node will not affect the normal operation of other nodes, so the introduction of blockchain technology into the traditional sharing economy can effectively avoid a single point of system failure.
Shared goods in the market operation, over time will accumulate a lot of information related to user, which brings data in many cases involving user privacy issues (Tang et al., 2018). Take the current more popular shared bicycle, for example, the user’s daily use data will include information on the user’s habits of using the vehicle, the beginning and end of the ride, ride route data, payment records, and bound bank card information, these data are closely related to user privacy. In addition, there are other information closely related to individuals, which are held by the service operators. If improper storage occurs in the process of use, or even if the data is used maliciously by people with ulterior motives, it will bring great security risks to users. Blockchain technology, due to the use of asymmetric encryption and decryption technology, can first encrypt the user’s information in the process of use before distributing it to each node for storage, and each node will only record the changing data on the blockchain without access to the specific meaning of the data. Therefore, the use of blockchain technology can maximise the privacy and security of the user.
At present, China’s sharing economy industry is rapidly developing, but due to the rapid development of the market, the establishment of relevant standards is obviously lagging behind, in which the most prominent is the urgent need to establish a standard credit system (Pazaitis, De Filippi, Kostakis, & Change, 2017). The authenticity and accuracy of the credit data collected in this way may have certain problems. It is precisely because the sharing economy has not yet formed a complete and unified credit evaluation system and still remains in the state where different manufacturers are doing things on their own, that credit data standards are not uniform, content is inconsistent, and cannot be shared and used, resulting in the further development of the sharing economy industry being greatly affected. By using blockchain technology, the negative impact of the lack of a credit system can be better resolved. Multiple sharing economy service providers can share the same set of blockchain data, and the credit data generated by users when using the products provided by any service provider can be stored in the same blockchain, thus providing a convenient way for service providers to share user information. Thus, a standard credit system can be easily established by leveraging the technical features of the blockchain.
As a medium of commodity exchange, money supports the normal operation of the entire economic system, which is also the case in the field of sharing economy. In the real market operation process, the user will usually use a third-party mobile phone payment platform, in the form of electronic money to pay. For example, before a user rents a shared item, the service provider first initiates a one-time payment request from the user, the user uses the payment platform to send a transfer instruction to the bank, requesting that the corresponding amount be transferred from his or her account to the account of the opposite end, and the operator receives bank information confirming the successful operation to provide the user with the corresponding goods rental service (Yi, 2019). It can be seen that although it is only a transaction process, the circulation of currency has gone through a number of complex links, and the frequent circulation of currency among different enterprises and financial institutions has not only increased the length of the currency transmission chain but also increased the process costs. The use of currency blockchain technology can effectively solve the shortcomings of the overly long currency transfer chain. Bitcoin, which has been developing rapidly in recent years, is a good example and worth learning from. The central bank can directly establish a currency blockchain and issue electronic currency based on the blockchain, while the participants in the sharing economy can directly complete the transfer of value through the currency blockchain in each transaction, only need to transfer the digital currency held by themselves to the recipient’s name through the blockchain to complete the payment process. The use of blockchain technology to complete the transfer of value can effectively shorten the length of the currency transfer chain and address the additional process costs incurred in the payment process.
Through this new model of multi-blockchain integration with the sharing economy, it can effectively solve a series of problems in the traditional sharing economy field, such as high operating costs, lack of data security protection mechanisms, lack of standard credit system, and inadequate supervision of the industry, and provide good technical support for the healthy development of the sharing economy industries.
Cloud computing is a large-scale, low-cost, web-based computing paradigm designed to provide users with reliable, customisable and secure information technology services. Over the past few years, cloud computing has evolved from a promising business concept to one of the fastest-growing areas of the IT industry (Gai, Guo, Zhu, & Yu, 2020).
As technology continues to evolve, users, while using the computing and storage services provided by cloud computing, are also demanding higher security of data stored in the cloud and reliability of outsourced computing, which is the main obstacle to the further development of cloud computing.
Unlike the traditional computing model where the user has full local control over data computation and storage, cloud computing requires that the user’s data and physical servers be centralised and managed by the cloud service provider. The subscriber retains only some control over the leased virtual machines. As a result, users are at risk of having their data integrity, security, and privacy compromised as they are no longer able to monitor and manage their data in real time. To address this situation, a mechanism is needed to remotely protect the security of stored data and data computations, and it must be done in a way that ensures the privacy of users. The de-trusting of blockchain technology, the Merkle hash data structure, and the broader distributed consensus mechanism can be used to address these issues.
The application of blockchain technology to cloud computing, combining the respective advantages of blockchain and cloud computing, builds a remote data integrity verification and secure multi-party computing solution based on blockchain technology (Memon et al., 2020). The solution can solve the problems of data security and computational trust in cloud computing from a technical perspective and apply blockchain technology to cloud computing to provide users with secure and efficient data verification and secure multi-party computing services.
The combination of blockchain and cloud computing skills, from a micro point of view, on the one hand, the use of cloud computing existing root service equipment or according to the actual demand to make corresponding changes to complete the development and application process to speed up, satisfy the future blockchain ecosystem, grass-roots enterprises, academic organisations, open-source organisations, and alliances and financial and other organisations of the blockchain application needs. On the other hand, on cloud computing, ‘credible, reliable, controllable’ is thought to be that the development of cloud computing will need to go over the ‘three mountains’, while blockchain skills to decentralisation, anonymity and data cannot be tampered with as the main features, and cloud computing for a long time. The objectives of the exercise are not coincidental (Nayak, Narendra, Shukla, & Kempf, 2018).
In terms of storage, storage within the cloud and storage within the blockchain both consist of common storage media. The difference is that the storage within the cloud computing acts as a resource, often independent of each other, generally using the method of sharing, selected by the application. And the blockchain storage is as the storage space of each node in the chain, the value of the blockchain storage does not lie in the storage itself, but in the block that is linked to each other cannot be changed, is a special storage service, cloud computing does also need such storage service. For example, in combination with the Safe City, data is placed in this type of storage, using immutability, so that video, voice, documents, and so on can be used as a legal basis.
In terms of security, the security in cloud computing is to ensure that the application can be safe, secure, and reliable operation. This security falls under the category of traditional security. The security within the blockchain is to ensure that each data block is not tampered with, the recorded content of the data block is not read by users who do not have a private key. Using this, if you combine cloud computing and secure storage products based on the blockchain, you can plan encrypted storage devices.
Blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI) are two of the hottest technology trends at the moment. Although these two technologies have highly different developers and applications, researchers have been discussing and exploring their combination. PwC predicts that by 2030, AI will add $15.7 trillion to the world economy, and as a result, global GDP will grow by 14%. According to Gartner’s projections, the business value from blockchain technology will increase to $3.1 trillion in the same year (Corea, 2019).
By definition, blockchain is a distributed, decentralised, and immutable ledger for storing encrypted data. AI, on the other hand, is the engine or ‘brain’ that can analyse and make decisions from the data collected.
It goes without saying that each technology has its own level of complexity, but both AI and blockchain are in a position where they can benefit and help each other.
Since both technologies are capable of influencing and implementing data in different ways, their combination makes sense and can take the use of data to new levels. At the same time, integrating machine learning and AI into the blockchain, and vice versa, can enhance the infrastructure of the blockchain and improve the potential of AI.
In addition, blockchain can also make AI more coherent and easy to understand, and we can track and determine why decisions are made in machine learning (Wang, Dong, Wang, & Yin, 2019). The blockchain and its ledger can keep track of all the data and variables used to make decisions under machine learning.
In addition, AI can improve the efficiency of the blockchain better than humans can. A look at the way blockchains are currently run on standard computers proves this point, requiring a lot of processing power for even basic tasks.
If you want to run the blockchain and all its encrypted data on a computer, you need a lot of processing power. For example, the hash algorithm used to mine Bitcoin takes a hard approach, systematically listing all possible candidates for a solution and checking that each candidate satisfies the problem statement before validating the transaction.
AI offers us an opportunity to get out of this rut and approach the task in a more intelligent and efficient way. Imagine a machine learning-based algorithm that can actually improve its skills in real time if given the proper training data.
Unlike projects based on AI, blockchain technology creates decentralised, transparent networks that can be accessed by anyone around the world in a blockchain public network environment. While blockchain technology is a ledger of cryptocurrencies, blockchain networks are now being used in many industries to enable decentralisation. For example, SingularityNET is specifically focused on using blockchain technology to encourage a wider distribution of data and algorithms to help ensure the future development of AI and the creation of decentralised AI.
SingularityNET combines blockchain and AI to create a smarter, decentralised AI blockchain network that can host disparate data sets. By creating an application programming interface on the blockchain, it will allow AI agents to communicate with each other. As a result, different algorithms can be built on different data sets.
The development of AI is entirely dependent on the input of data – our data. AI receives information about the world and what is happening in the world through data. Basically, data is the source through which an AI will be able to improve itself (Zhu, Gai, & Li, 2019).
On the other hand, blockchain is essentially a technology that allows for the encrypted storage of data on a distributed ledger. It allows for the creation of completely secure databases that can be viewed by approved parties. When blockchain and AI are combined, we have a backup system for sensitive and high-value personal data.
Medical or financial data is too sensitive to hand over to a company and its algorithms (Huang, Cai, & Zhang, 2009). Storing this data on a blockchain that can be accessed by AI, but only with the permission and through proper procedures, provides us with personalised advice while storing sensitive data securely.
Another disruptive innovation that can result from combining these two technologies is data monetisation. Monetising collected data is a huge source of revenue for big companies like Facebook and Google.
Allowing others to decide how to sell data in order to generate profits for the business suggests that data is being commercialised and to our detriment. Blockchain allows us to encrypt and protect our data and use it in any way we see fit. It also allows us to personally monetise our data without compromising our personal information if we wish.
The same applies to AI programs that need our data. In order to learn and develop AI algorithms, AI networks will be required to purchase data directly from their creators through the data marketplace. This would make the whole process much fairer than it is now, and no tech giants would be able to take advantage of its users.
Such a data marketplace would also be open for smaller companies. Developing and providing AI is very expensive for companies that do not generate their own data. Through a decentralised data marketplace, they would be able to access other data that is too expensive and privately held.
As AI algorithms become smarter through learning, it will become increasingly difficult for data scientists to understand how these programs come to specific conclusions and decisions. This is because AI algorithms will be able to process incredibly large amounts of data and variables. However, we must continue to vet the conclusions that AI draws because we want to make sure that they still reflect reality.
Through the use of blockchain technology, there is an immutable record of all the data, variables, and processes used by the AI in the decision-making process. This makes it much easier to audit the entire process.
With a proper blockchain procedure, all the steps from data input to conclusion can be observed and the observing party will ensure that the data has not been tampered with and it gives credence to the conclusions reached by the AI. This is a necessary step because individuals and companies will not start using AI applications if they do not understand the information that underpins their functionality and decision making.
The rapid development of Internet information technology, more industries are increasing investment in the industrial Internet. The continuous development of big data, blockchain, AI, and other high-tech, wisdom city was born. However, for wisdom city because of the data carrying capacity, the previous storage method has been unable to meet the underlying architecture required by the wisdom of the city because it does not have the flexibility to expand the storage capacity and cannot store a variety of data at the same time, security issues are also the focus of the wisdom of the city construction, blockchain its decentralised ideas and the need to combine big data, decentralised in a simple way to protect urban security, resulting in urban construction and more stable operation (Ibba, Pinna, Seu, & Pani, 2017).
The application of blockchain technology to big data makes it impossible to modify, add, or delete data on the platform at will, which makes big data extremely flexible, increases storage capacity, and provides both security and technology. The impact of blockchain technology on big data lies in the confirmation of data and data storage, providing a powerful technical complement to the big data platform (Singh, Sharma, Yoon, & Shojafar, 2020). Relying on the integration of big data and blockchain technology, highlighting the value of blockchain technology, making the stored data security and information are both true and convenient for later prediction and analysis. Blockchain is an important and indispensable technology in the era of digital economy.
With the socio-economic development as well as the increase in urban population, cities are facing a variety of pressures, urban management, traffic levels, public services, and other issues, the construction and development of smart cities then emerged (Sharma, Moon & Park, 2017). With the continuous development and maturation of big data, blockchain and other Internet information technology have become an important cornerstone in the construction of smart cities. Smart city contains intelligent transportation, intelligent consumption and intelligent environment and so on many fields, a variety of industries, and blockchain, big data is only a microcosm of Internet technology in the development of science and technology, only give full play to information technology to make the rapid development of urban wisdom to maturity (Chang & Chang, 2018).
In summary, the combination of blockchain technology and AI remain a largely undiscovered area. While the convergence of these two technologies has received considerable academic attention, there are still few projects dedicated to this groundbreaking combination (Pieroni, Scarpato, Di Nunzio, & Fallucchi, 2018).
Combining these two technologies together has the potential to use data in unprecedented ways. Data is a key element in developing and augmenting AI algorithms, and blockchain protects this data by allowing us to audit all the intermediate steps by which AI draws conclusions from the data and allows individuals to monetise the data it generates (Rahman et al., 2019).
AI may be incredibly revolutionary, but it must be designed with extreme care. And blockchain can help with this greatly. How the interplay between the two technologies will develop is anyone’s guess, however, its true disruptive potential is clearly there and developing rapidly.
Blockchain employs P2P technology, cryptography and consensus algorithms, and has characteristics such as data immutability, collective system maintenance, and open and transparent information. It provides a mechanism for information and value transfer and exchange in an untrustworthy environment and is the cornerstone for building the future value Internet. Through the combination with cloud computing, AI, and other technologies, it has a wide range of application prospects in the sharing economy, smart cities, and other scenarios. In future, the blockchain industry application will accelerate, giving rise to diverse technical solutions, and its performance will be continuously optimised, accelerating the landing from both technology and application directions.
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