Skype Creator Will Use the Blockchain for ‘World Problems’

Skype creator Jaan Tallinn has announced he will use the blockchain to create “co-ordination mechanisms” for world problems in a new enterprise.

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Skype Creator Sees Bigger Picture

Tallinn, whose pioneering P2P calling service was bought by Microsoft in 2011 for $8.5 billion, told UK newspaper the Telegraph he has already been working on the concept for a year. He explained:

The interesting thing about blockchain is that it has made it possible for humanity to reach a consensus about a piece of data without having any authority to dictate it. Imagine if you could use this to solve bigger problems that require global co-ordination.

Tallinn has not yet given details as to what form the project will take, its direction or method of operation.

He was inspired, he says, by a blog post suggesting major world problems are only not being solved because no party has the power to assert meaningful change in a particular direction.

“They are all locked in an equilibrium where the players cannot change the outcome of the game,” he explained.

‘Shaming Doesn’t Change Behavior’

Tallinn added that decentralized consensus mechanism available with blockchain-based applications allows more than just a move away from top-down control. They are more effective because they can be engineered to be mutually beneficial without a particular party profiting more than another.

“Shaming people into being virtuous doesn’t change behaviour,” explained the Skype creator. “Incentive schemes, whereby people who have done the most good for humanity are rewarded 20 years into the future would create the expectation that doing long-term good is valuable.”

The implications of adding incentives to inspire ‘charitable’ deeds may need to be discussed further, and Tallinn is currently active at the International Festival for Business being held in Liverpool, UK.

Tallinn’s native Estonia meanwhile has become something of an uncertain environment for Bitcoin and blockchain-based enterprise. While the country is markedly ahead of the majority in terms of digital freedom and progress with schemes such as e-Residency, recent legal battles have served to create a less favorable atmosphere for outfits such as exchanges.

Nonetheless, in February, the e-Residency project collaborated with Nasdaq to issue blockchain shares.

Nasdaq president Hans-Ole Jochumsen said at the time the organization was “excited to see the development of this project over the coming months” and that it was “looking forward to working closely with the government of Estonia to set a transformative example of the future of governance.”

What do you think about the potential of Tallinn’s blockchain project? Let us know in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of delfi.ee, hollandfintech.com

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