Watson and CDC Research Blockchain
December 29, 2017
Oh, Watson! What will IBM have you do next? Apparently, you will team up with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to research blockchain benefits. The details about Watson’s newest career are detailed in Fast Company’s article, “IBM Watson Health Team With the CDC To Research Blockchain.” Teaming up with the CDC is an extension of the work IBM Watson is already doing with the Food and Drug Administration by exploring owned-mediated data exchange with blockchain.
IBM chief science officer Shahram Ebadollahi explained that the research with the CDC and FDA with lead to blockchain adoption at the federal government level. By using blockchain, the CDC hopes to discover new ways to use data and expedite federal reactions to health threats.
Blockchain is a very new technology developed to handle sensitive data and cryptocurrency transactions. It is used for applications that require high levels of security. Ebadollahi said:
‘Blockchain is very useful when there are so many actors in the system,’ Ebadollahi said. ‘It enables the ecosystem of data in healthcare to have more fluidity, and AI allows us to extract insights from the data. Everybody talks about Big Data in healthcare but I think the more important thing is Long Data.’
One possible result is that consumers will purchase a personal health care system like a home security system. Blockchain could potentially offer a new level of security that everyone from patients to physicians is comfortable with.
Blockchain is basically big data, except it is a more specific data type. The applications are the same and it will revolutionize the world just like big data.
Whitney Grace, December 29, 2017
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