Blockchain: a waste of resources, or the future of networking?

Blockchain is a technology gaining wide interest. From their cypherpunk origins in the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, blockchains now provide generic distributed ledgers, smart contracts, registration of physical assets and peer-to-peer micropayments. This substantial industry had peak market capitalisation over $800 billion in January 2018 and 1,500 listed coins and tokens in April 2018.

It is not without its controversary, in particular the ethics of recent initial coin offerings (ICOs), high-profile exchange thefts, illegal uses, and the environmental cost of mining digital coins. Yet big names are investing in it, including Andreessen Horowitz, IBM, Microsoft and Sequoia Capital. Ericsson and others even propose its use in the Internet of Things (IoT).

Speakers:

Toby Simpson, Co-founder and CTO, Fetch.ai (https://fetch.ai)

Toby is a pioneer in AI, autonomous agents and shared virtual world technology. He produced the cult hit Creatures series and was one of the initial team at DeepMind looking at nature’s contribution to Artificial General Intelligence. It was the investigation into P2P distributed ledger technology and blockchain which led to the realisation that the Fetch’s vision is within reach.

Antony Rix - CEO and Founder, Granta Innovation (https://granta.io/)

Granta Innovation focuses on helping enterprises benefit from new technology. AI, communications, data systems and IoT are already transforming the way we live and work, and there is much more to come. What key opportunities does blockchain offer investors, companies and ordinary people?

At this event we hope to cut through the hype to consider what blockchain is good for, and if it’s any good at all.

Full Agenda:

17:30 Registration and networking over refreshments
18:00 Introduction to event from Chair
18:05 Toby Simpson, Co-founder and CTO, Fetch.ai
18:30 Q&A
18:35 Antony Rix - CEO and Founder, Granta Innovation
19:00 Q&A
19:05 Open Forum
19:25 Closing remarks
19:30 Refreshments and networking
20:30 Event closes

With the permission of the speakers, presentations will be loaded to the CW website on the day following the event.