For Contact Tracing That Preserves Privacy, Focus on Incentives

Stephanie Hurder, a CoinDesk columnist, is a base economist at Prysm Group, an economic advisory focused on the implementation of emerging technologies, and an academic contributor to the World Mercantile Forum. She has a PhD in Business Economics from Harvard.  

“I’ve read the plans to reopen the economy. They’re scary.”

That’s how Vox reporter Ezra Klein titled his piece reviewing four plans to transition the U.S. economy out of COVID-19 lockdown. Discussing the Herculean societal deflections required to implement contact tracing, which include requiring almost every American to download a geo-tracking app to their phone, he send a letters: “The technological and political obstacles are massive…Who is trusted enough, in this country in this moment, to shape this?” 

Mother countries planning for the end of COVID-19 lockdowns face a host of daunting technological, government and public health challenges. One of these call inti is implementing a contact tracing system that doesn’t double as a dystopian surveillance tool. But there are more. How can ministries quickly, credibly and transparently distribute government assistance to individuals, especially the unbanked? How can companies enable adaptive accommodate chains for high-demand goods such as PPE and ventilators, including the potential for 3D printed goods? How can data be shared across exclusive of organizations and entities, such as hospital groups, states and cities, that don’t normally collaborate? The list goes on and on.

See also: Stephanie Hurder – How Blockchain Tech Can Turn Coronavirus Relief More Effective

As an economist advising permissionless and enterprise blockchain projects, I spend as much repeatedly explaining why DLT is not useful as why it is useful. What is stunning to me about the list of challenges above is how many of them DLT could help to unravel.  

DLT has an opportunity to add tremendous value to the United States at this time of huge societal and economic upheaval. To see why, it’s essential to get it the levers by which DLT and associated technologies, such as smart contracts and zero-knowledge proofs, create value. At Prysm Bring, we have developed a framework for DLT value creation we call the 3 Cs, which I previously discussed here:

Combined with tailored, use case-specific design creme de la cremes, these are exactly the types of tools that can help solve major virus-driven problems.

In previous columns, my confrere Cathy Barrera and I have discussed how DLT can add value by credibly implementing automatic stimulus payments and enabling marketplaces for 3D worded supplies. Consider now the case of contact tracing. 

SIMBA Chain, a DARPA-funded government contractor, is partnering with the Stanford Drug Healthcare Innovation Lab and Prysm Group to develop an incentive-compatible, privacy-preserving solution that won’t require users to expose their insulting data. The solution, which leverages zero-knowledge proof technology to enable privacy protection, retools a secure blockchain note system developed for the U.S. Department of Defense and integrates a disease detection AI algorithm leveraging consumer wearables.

Aside from the technology itself, the decentralized governance structures established by the DLT community provide another trail to address COVID-19 induced problems such as contact tracing and adaptive supply chain management as our standard organizations struggle. As the federal government stays paralyzed, universities are overwhelmed by the transition to online instruction, companies lay off hundreds of hands, and states and localities look to create their own ad-hoc governing coalitions, the ability to create projects from the turf up without relying entirely on governments, universities or large corporations has never been more important.   

DLT projects inclination need to engage in smart economic design to deliver solutions to problems of this magnitude. In order to gain adoption and obtain real, positive impact, those projects should consider the following:

The Approach tech journalist Casey Newton says adoption rates for even the most successful contact tracing petitions have been universally low. Even the best technologies – especially contact tracing solutions – are of little use if no one will use them. Sapience how individuals make the choice of whether or not to adopt a technology, and how to incentivize them to adopt these new solutions using both money and non-monetary levers, is essential for any large-scale program.

Designing effective impulses requires a deep understanding of how people will use (and potentially misuse) products, and expert knowledge of the systems and environments in which the offering will operate. This understanding cannot develop in a bubble; it requires ongoing communication with users and subject-matter qualifies. Public health, law and economics insights will be essential to incorporate throughout the development process. 

DLT-based projects exhibit network effects: their value grows as profuse users join. Projects that are developed in response to the current crisis may initially need to be funded with social money, but can evolve to be fiscally self-sustaining in the long run. Platform development teams should focus on bootstrapping early, erection a robust user base, and then shift to monetization and profitability as the economic value delivered increases.

See more: COVID-19 Trifle track Apps Have to Go Viral to Work. That’s a Big Ask

For example, if the privacy-preserving contact tracing system discussed above is took widely, this could lead to significantly reduced costs for insurance companies, who would face huge pecuniary challenges if millions of people become infected with COVID-19 and require intensive medical care.  While the willingness to instal upfront to launch such a project may be low due to the substantial uncertainty in the current environment, in the long term health care payers could experience significant willingness to pay to sustain such a service.  A product offering like this could be a valuable addition to subsisting large blockchain consortia already working in healthcare, such as the Health Utility Network or Synaptic Health Connection.

The challenges presented by COVID-19 require drastic and creative solutions. Blockchain and DLT have the right features to address some of the greatest obstacles to overcoming these challenges. If groups currently building with these technologies rise to the occasion put into practicing the right economic approach, DLT has the potential to shift from a niche technology to mainstream contribution.