A review of SmartCon 2023 and why Smarter Contracts was in attendance.
Between the 30 September to October 3, Wayne Lloyd and Tim Clifford attended SmartCon 2023, which took place in Barcelona.
We sat down with Tim, Director of DevSecOps, to learn more about the event, why Smarter Contracts was in attendance and to understand some of the key takeaways that the Smarter Contracts team have taken away and how those takeaways will be used to inform the future development of Pulse®.
Tim, I understand you had a nice trip away to Barcelona - not a bad way to start your first week at Smarter Contracts! Sun aside though, why did Smarter Contracts attend SmartCon 2023?
Tim: It was very sunny and it turned out to be the best first week ever at any company. Smarter Contracts have definitely lived up to their name! Sun aside though, there were a number of reasons why we attended SmartCon 2023.
To get a better understanding of the recent innovations from the Chainlink team, which is a project that Wayne believes can accelerate the potential of some of our future state products.
We always feel it’s important to stay up to date with what is currently happening in the whole Web3 and data privacy space. To better understand how the industry is thinking about smart contracts in general, particularly some of the known limitations that we have been working on overcoming. We wanted to learn more about Chainlink’s recently launched product - CCIP, a framework that allows any blockchain to access any chain off-chain data, which bridges the gap for data sharing between the Web2 and Web3 worlds. It was important for us to build relationships with members of the Chainlink team and other protocols. Ultimately, as a data privacy company, we’re concerned about how this data is accessed in a permissive way. We wanted to find out if there are any solutions out there that’s helping in this space.
So plenty of good reasons to attend then! Were there any interesting conversations with the other attendees?
Tim: There was definitely purpose to the trip, which made it all the more worthwhile. The energy of the event was amazing and we spoke to many different people. It provided us with a platform to discuss Pulse® to a whole new audience, whilst giving us the opportunity to find out how it would integrate directly with other platforms building in this space.
Perhaps the most interesting conversations that we had were with individuals that didn’t quite understand the need of requiring permission to use data, which was concerning. As such, one of the key outcomes for us was that data-privacy education is a critical to the growth of Web3. Most of the people we spoke to; however, understood what we were offering and saw the value in Pulse® so it was great to hear their feedback.
Interesting. What were the key takeaways from this year's event?
Tim: Overall, the event was really reassuring as it showed we’re in the right space, that our offering spans traditional and non-traditional markets and that there is no one else doing anything remotely close to what Pulse® does or thinking about what we do, in the way we are doing it.
To list out the biggest takes aways in a bit more detail; however, we know that:
The future of the web is verifiable
Chainlink are constructing a verifiable web ecosystem, where all data, transactions, and contracts are not only processed and accessible but also verifiable. The importance of trust and transparency was a major focus, and the keynote highlighted Chainlink's role in reshaping Web3 information and smart contract interactions.
We really enjoyed the talk with Eric Schmidt, former Google CEO and Chainlink Advisor. He emphasised the critical importance of AI in our current era and illuminated a significant concern: the challenge of data authenticity in the new AI-driven era. As we increasingly rely on AI, the need to ensure we process trustworthy and reliable data becomes paramount.
Continuing on from that, Schmidt argued that blockchain technology can play a crucial role in mitigating these risks given that by combining cryptographically verifiable truth with AI leads to a more accountable ecosystem. We also believe this, which is why I believe Pulse is going to be such an important component for organisations that are using AI. Pulse can be used to guarantee the integrity of AI training data and enable trustworthy audits of these systems, ensuring that false positives and biases can be checked and prevented along the way. It becomes an indispensable option for making AI systems safer, more trustworthy, and more accountable.
We’re very excited about the potential of their universal connectivity layer for Web2 and Web3: Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP).
CCIP aims to bridge the gap between on-chain and off-chain data securely. It introduces a standard that ensures all smart contracts have a tamper-proof and trustworthy access to real-world third-party data. This cross-chain innovation opens many possibilities, from finance and healthcare to supply chain management, reducing the friction between Web2 and Web3 worlds, whilst we believe that it could serve to accelerate some of the future products and services that we intend to launch in the coming months ahead.
Pulse®: The Need for Trustworthy but Permissive Data
Sergey Nazarov, Co-Founder of Chainlink, emphasised the need for a verifiable web to counter manipulation in financial markets and products, enhance transparency through cryptographic truth, and enforce accountability when promises are unmet and again. this is where Smarter Contracts and our Pulse technology come into play.
Pulse stands as a powerful enforcer of verifiable permissive data, instilling confidence in organisations that their data processing is permissioned and adheres to the highest ethical standards. By elevating data privacy and championing transparency, Pulse aligns seamlessly with Chainlink's mission to cultivate systems that are resilient, secure, and transparent. Pulse empowers users to exercise control over their data permissions and preferences, fostering trust in data-sharing experiences. Furthermore, Pulse actively promotes permissive data usage, ensuring that businesses can harness data responsibly while respecting individual data rights, which we believe presents a clear alignment with Chainlink's goal to promote user-centric innovation and equitable global data access.
Traditional businesses are now taking this technology seriously.
The Swift, ANZ, Euroclear and Vodaphone announcements demonstrate that this is a promising and transformative driver towards not just a better decentralised financial world but for all markets and ecosystems.
Its great to hear how passionately you feel about this and that it was a worthwhile event to attend. How would you summarise the experience and what are the next steps for Smarter Contracts?
Tim: Both Pulse® technology and the Chainlink ecosystem stand as beacons of hope for verifiable and permissive data privacy. Together, these innovations promise a brighter future, not only for the decentralised financial world but for all markets and ecosystems, where trust, transparency, and data privacy reign supreme. The journey has begun, and the possibilities are boundless. For us the next steps are to continue building, follow up on the relationships we have built and remain committed to delivering on our targets and business objectives.
To find out more about Pulse®, speak to a member of the team at hello@smartercontracts.co.uk
