Vodafones Digital Asset Broker (DAB) today announced it has demonstrated a proof of concept with Sumitomo Corporation, Chainlink Labs and InnoWave to address longstanding challenges in the $32 trillion global trade ecosystem.

The demonstration focused on the seamless exchange of crucial trade documents across diverse platforms and blockchains. The exchange of trade documents is often complicated by a fragmented system, especially where multiple inefficient or unreliable paper or digital platforms are present with poor interoperability across various sectors of global commerce.

Through their collaboration, the companies used Chainlinks Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) with DAB to provide security and interoperability across IoT devices at the edge of a network. This has the potential to provide a single simple interface that enables applications to securely exchange data and tokens across both public and private blockchain networks, as well as IoT networks. For example, a vessel detecting a cargo fire could autonomously relay data to smart contracts via DABs platform and CCIP, potentially triggering a marine cargo insurance process.

The concept shows the potential for DAB-enabled IoT devices and blockchains to provide secure, trustable, and tracible data for use in smart contracts and even blockchain and AI applications.

The companies will continue to explore the viability of global trade applications benefiting from DABs Economy of Things (EoT) platform. The platform can enable devices to act autonomously as a source of trusted data when supporting trade processes, while also utilising DABs capabilities for improved processing of financial transactions.

At SmartCon 2023 conference in Barcelona, Spain, the companies demonstrated the first step in how trading companies could avoid unnecessary delays in moving cargo by seamlessly transferring a digital bill of lading (a legal receipt of cargo) between multiple parties across several different blockchains. It is not uncommon for a bill of lading to pass through at least five organisations.

Jorge Bento, CEO of Vodafone DAB, said: Vodafone DAB and Chainlink are showing how their platforms can be combined to cut through this sea of incompatibility by bridging traditional markets with advanced decentralised platforms. This ensures seamless and secure exchanges of data and services across the global trade ecosystem, estimated to be worth over $30 trillion last year.

Central to making this happen is Vodafone DABs new collaboration with Chainlink Labs, a software services company and primary contributing developer of Chainlinks decentralised computing platform. The Chainlink platform is underpinned by decentralised oracle networks that deploy nodes, designed to connect smart contracts residing on a blockchain with real-world 'off-chain' events. This allows the contracts to securely interact with and respond to occurrences and data outside the blockchain.

Oracles are the bridge between a blockchain and any piece of data or system that exists outside of it. By becoming a Chainlink Network node operator, Vodafone DAB is playing a valuable role in helping enterprises and businesses to develop and deploy smart contracts, by securing and streamlining data exchange and computation.

The integration of IoT and blockchains has the potential to provide new monetisation opportunities for IoT devices. 3 billion IoT devices are forecast to be transacting in the economy of things by 2030. Securing consensus and validation between DAB and Chainlink will be important to drive this growth, said David Palmer, Chief Product Officer of Vodafone DAB.

Onboarding a world-class infrastructure provider like Vodafone DAB to the Chainlink Networks node operator ecosystem helps bring more secure off-chain data and computation to the Chainlink Network to support the wider blockchain economy, said Thomas Trepanier, Head of Capital Markets, Chainlink Labs.

Chainlink is the industry-standard decentralized computing platform powering the verifiable web. Chainlink has enabled over $8.5 trillion in transaction value by providing financial institutions, startups, and developers worldwide with access to real-world data, offchain computation, and secure cross-chain interoperability across any blockchain. Chainlink powers verifiable applications and high-integrity markets for banking, Decentralised Finance, global trade, gaming, and other major sectors.

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Vodafone DAB and Chainlink Labs Demonstrate the Transformation ... - Vodafone

By Simarpreet Singh

Since the advent of new technological advancements, both individuals and organizations have been profoundly impacted, resulting in a significant shift in their everyday operations. Amongst other high-end technologies, blockchain has certainly raised the bar high, spurring growth and transformation. The worldwide blockchain technology industry was valued at $11.14 billion in 2022 and is expected to increase from $17.57 billion in 2023 to $469.49 billion by 2030, with APAC areas dominating the growth, according to a study by Fortune Business Insights.

With improved security, better transparency, instant traceability, higher efficiency, and speed, blockchain technology is currently being welcomed by a wide range of industries with energy being no stranger to it. A promising option, blockchain offers the power sector a decentralized, secure, transparent, and dependable platform, essential to meet the needs of future power systems while addressing the constraints of existing models.

Replacing conventional centralized systems and eliminating transactional errors, blockchain technology has transformed the energy trading process. Redefining speed, cost efficiency, and transaction reliability, this cutting-edge technology has certainly streamlined energy trading.

Energy trading and blockchain

The process of energy trading has undergone a radical change, thanks to blockchain technology. Eliminating the need for intermediaries and guaranteeing greater transparency, this high-end technological breakthrough has substantially expedited the trading process by carrying out smart contracts on digital platforms. Additionally, peer-to-peer energy trading powered by blockchain has created a mutually beneficial transaction system by allowing individuals to directly offer their excess renewable energy to nearby consumers.

The days of centralized models with set energy pricing being ideal for reliable power sources are long gone. Since the introduction of renewable energy sources, centralized systems have lost their relevance since these sources disrupt such systems by delivering highly erratic power output in unforeseen spurts from faraway areas.

Addressing the challenges, peer-to-peer power trading came into being, which perfectly complements the decentralized energy model that makes use of blockchain technology to keep track of the underlying financial activities. By shifting from centralized to decentralized energy distribution paradigms, renewables can be seamlessly integrated into energy grids. Power traders can conduct the trading on mutually agreed prices and transact specific amounts of power at mutually agreed-upon times and locations. As a result, demand spikes and cutbacks can be effectively managed, pricing can be optimized, and the move to environmentally friendly energy can be accelerated.

Key advantages

Seamless trading: In contrast to traditional trading systems that required intermediaries and complicated settlement procedures, peer-to-peer trade facilitated by blockchain fosters direct engagement, removing middlemen and the possibility of errors. In addition, this cutting-edge technology encourages speedier transactions between manufacturers and consumers, which in turn encourages cost-efficiency.

Top-tier security: Ensuring integrity and privacy of every transaction, blockchain protects data using cutting-edge cryptographic methods. By reducing the dangers of cyber attacks, unauthorized access, and data manipulation, blockchain enables both producers and consumers to enjoy transparency and safety across the whole energy trading process.

Automated processes: Blockchain-based smart contracts simplify contract processes in energy trade, guaranteeing that payments and energy supplies are only carried out when certain requirements are met. Human errors, delays, and the possibility of conflicts are greatly reduced by self-executing agreements with established criteria that are supported by blockchain technology.

Improved transparency: Guaranteeing accuracy and greater visibility, blockchain transparently records every transaction. As a result, regulators and other interested parties can get true and accurate information about energy production, distribution, and consumption.

Grid Management: Blockchain technology enables decentralized energy generation, storage, and distribution by making it easier to integrate distributed energy resources like solar panels and batteries into an energy grid. In turn, this improves load management, grid stability, and energy efficiency, making energy trading an effortless process. Additionally, the open and verifiable data records on the blockchain enable authorized people to access real-time power grid data, streamlining grid operations and improving energy flows between generators and consumers.

All things considered

The advent of blockchain technology has proved to be no less than a blessing for various industries, including the power sector. Transforming numerous facets of the energy industry, including energy trade, management, preservation, and safety, blockchain technology has brought a multitude of benefits that go beyond conventional systems.

Fostering transparency, functionality, and sustainability, blockchain has certainly transformed the energy trading landscape. Further, as technology advances and novel innovations come to the fore, blockchain is expected to grow more sophisticated, positively influencing its use in energy trade and assuring a more secure, flexible, and reasonable power ecosystem in the near future.

The author is director and CEO, Hartek Group

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Blockchain and energy trading: Disrupting the power sector with decentralised systems - The Financial Express

Backed is pleased to announce that they have integrated Chainlink Proof of Reserve (PoR).

This development provides users with a transparent and trust-minimized means to confirm the collateralization of our tokenized assets.

Backeds implementation represents a significant step forward in how users can gain assurance that their assets are appropriately collateralized.

PoR introduces a way for users to independently verify the adequacy of collateral reserves on-chain at any time. This is crucial for maintaining the integrity of tokenized assets.

As explained in a blog post, heres how the proof of reserves solution works:

Adam Levi, Co-founder, said:

When we first set up Backed, we knew how important it would be to have verifiable, on-chain, transparent data that proved our assets were fully collateralized. Integrating Chainlink Proof of Reserve is a major milestone in achieving the companys goal of creating products that are verifiably backed 1:1 and fully composable.

According to the update, proof of reserves is important, because:

Proving legitimate asset collateralization has never been more important. We want to be trusted through transparency, providing independently verified data that is consistently updated and available on-chain. By providing this data, users can be confident that the amount of bTokens will be equal to the amount of the underlying asset held.

Chainlink PoR provides smart contracts with the data needed to calculate the true collateralization of any on-chain asset backed by off-chain reserves.

Operated by a decentralized network of oracles, Chainlink Proof of Reserve enables the autonomous verification of collateral in real-time, helping ensure user funds are protected from unforeseen fractional reserve practices or fraudulent activity.

Rather than forcing users to trust paper guarantees, Chainlink PoR is deployed for automated on-chain verification that gives users a superior guarantee of an assets underlying collateralization and generates a higher degree of transparency around asset collateralization.

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Chainlink Proof Of Reserve Now Active For Backeds Tokenized Real-World Assets | Crowdfund Insider - Crowdfund Insider

Researchers from Anthropic AI have uncovered traits of sycophancy in popular artificial intelligence (AI) models, demonstrating a tendency to generate answers based on the users desires rather than the truth.

According to the study exploring the psychology of large language models (LLMs), both human and machine learning models have been shown to exhibit the trait. The researchers say the problem stems from using reinforcement learning from human feedback (RLHF), a technique deployed in training AI chatbots.

Specifically, we demonstrate that these AI assistants frequently wrongly admit mistakes when questioned by the user, give predictably biased feedback, and mimic errors made by the user, read the report. The consistency of these empirical findings suggests sycophancy may indeed be a property of the way RLHF models are trained.

Anthropic AI researchers reached their conclusions from a study of five leading LLMs, exploring generated answers from the models to gauge the extent of sycophancy. Per the study, all the LLM produced convincingly-written sycophantic responses over correct ones a non-negligible fraction of the time.

For example, the researchers incorrectly prompted chatbots that the sun appears yellow when viewed from space. In reality, the sun appears white in space, but the AI models hallucinated an incorrect response.

Even in cases where models generate the correct answers, researchers noted that a disagreement with the response is enough to trigger models to change their responses to reflect sycophancy.

Anthropics research did not solve to the problem but suggested developing new training models for LLMs that do not require human feedback. Several leading generative AI models like OpenAIs ChatGPT or Googles (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Bard rely on RLHF for their development, casting doubt on the integrity of their responses.

During Bards launch in February, the product made a gaffe over the satellite that took the first pictures outside the solar system, wiping off $100 billion from Alphabet Incs (NASDAQ: GOOGL) market value.

AI is far from perfect

Apart from Bards gaffe, researchers have unearthed a number of errors stemming from the use of generative AI tools. The challenges identified by the researchers include streaks of bias and hallucinations when LLMs perceive nonexistent patterns.

Researchers pointed out that the success rates of ChatGPT in spotting vulnerabilities in Web3 smart contracts plummeted significantly over time. Meanwhile, OpenAI shut down its tool for detecting AI-generated texts over its significantly low rate of accuracy in July as it grappled with the concerns of AI superintelligence.

Watch: AI truly is not generative, its synthetic

New to blockchain? Check out CoinGeeks Blockchain for Beginners section, the ultimate resource guide to learn more about blockchain technology.

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AI systems favor sycophancy over truthful answers, says new report - CoinGeek

Blockchain technology might offhandedly be associated with cryptocurrency. However, as a decentralized digital record keeper, blockchain technology has the potential to revolutionize the insurance industry, spanning several markets with a handful of applications.

Blockchain technology is poised to change the insurance industry's future, primarily as it relates to smart contracts and claims processing.

In the health insurance industry alone, administrative services account for up to 30% of annual costs. Administrative waste is a critical burden across the insurance industry.

Companies using blockchain technology can reduce overhead costs, customer service delays, and customer turnover by offering controlled access via self-executing programs.

A client sets up a smart blockchain contract to execute a payout on a claim meeting key parameters. Personnel aren't required to the same extent to complete the contract or follow up with self-executing programs.

Now, insurance companies don't need to staff as many adjusters or administrative personnel to field phone calls, emails, and facilitate visits to confirm a valid claim.

Insurance claims processing can take anywhere from a few days to several months to process, depending on the complexity of the claim. For example, Progressive says the average wait time for most types of car insurance claims is several weeks.

Contracts between insurers and insured could be stored on a blockchain with specific transactions programmed to execute automatically after parameters have been met.

In the event of a travel delay, damage to a primary residence, or a car accident, insurance automatically refunds a client who submits a digital claim.

Clients don't need to wait to receive a payout several weeks or months after the fact.

According to the FBI, insurance fraud costs $40 billion per year, not including health insurance claims. This significantly harms insurance overhead and necessitates increased security measures and personnel to monitor for fraudulent activity.

Blockchain technology could be used to set up a digital history related to fraud data shared over a network between insurers.

Confidential and anonymous, insurance providers can, for example, review a database of insurance claims for any history of fraud associated with individual clients or companies.

Blockchain platforms are enabling the insurance industry to safely collect, store, and share data. a blockchain functions as a shared database that stores information via cryptography. These platforms are most commonly used as a ledger, and they are decentralized, which means there's not a single group or individual in control, but rather all users can control a given blockchain. This has the potential to allow several forms of information to be stored on the same blockchain in a digital fashion and accessed by those who need it.

The health insurance industry is relying on blockchain platforms to improve security and accuracy for medical data, which can be stored and accessed by several healthcare providers and customers in a confidential and secured environment.

Medicalchain has begun integrating a blockchain-based platform to store and share medical records in a confidential space accessible across any network. Such steps are pivotal in:

Reducing overhead administrative costs and administrative waste,

Making it easier for customers to submit claims,

Enabling the tracking of essential medical information,

Sharing data across several health care providers.

Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) has already begun implementing digital solutions via blockchain technology with a separate partnership via Coalesce Health Alliance. The company has begun streamlining data exchanges among BCBS partners with confidential blockchain technology.

In addition to securely storing data, blockchain technology in the form of smart contracts is helping to streamline the claims process, particularly where car insurance and homeowners insurance are concerned.

Smart contracts are self-executing, which means they can be programmed to initiate specific actions based on the fulfillment of predefined conditions.

Where insurance companies are concerned, smart contracts can reduce the cost and time associated with processing claims by automating the claims process. For example, in the event of a car accident, a smart contract could automatically process the rate of refund on a claim and release it to the policyholder once predefined parameters have taken place.

A blockchain has the potential to store information like:

Photos

Police reports

Accident reports

Receipts

Inventory lists

Once stored on the blockchain, set information can be shared with approved parties, reducing fraud by verifying authenticity, and expediting the amount of time it takes to access information and settle a claim.

Insurwave has begun integrating a blockchain platform for its claims process with great success.

Overall, blockchain technology gives clients control over their insurance data and provides a centralized location that is not owned by a single insurance provider or company. This offers opportunities to safely and securely store data. Tangentially, smart contracts can function in conjunction with blockchain platforms to enable self-executing contracts that expedite the claims process.

Capitalizing on this new technology will transform the insurance industry by reducing administrative costs, providing faster claims processing times, and increasing security and fraud management.

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How Blockchain Technology Is Being Used To Transform The ... - BanklessTimes