Would you trust a Blockchain that works for a Central Government? Cardano is doing just that designing a Digital ID system for the Government of Ethiopia. The irony of a Decentralized system creating Centralized control is obvious.
Using the same Blockchain network for business and entertainment while a Central Government utilized the same chain to track citizens leaves me feeling uneasy. I believe that a Public Blockchain that has a Central Government as a client is no longer Decentralized.
Cardano's response was they believe the Ethiopian Government is trustworthy and wouldn't weaponize the Blockchain Identification system against it's citizens. Charles Hoskinson, Ethereum co-founder defends Cardano's position with the following quote from Yahoo Finance:
"In relation to the ongoing conflict in northern Ethiopia’s, the ADA founder was quick to defend the project’s continued assistance to the Ethiopian government.
Regimes like China or Saudi Arabia have an onerous record of very significant institutional violations,” he argued.
“There, it makes no sense to build identity solutions or blockchain solutions. Because there’s a high probability that those solutions are going to be abused and weaponised against the population.
“You have to balance every deal – you look at first the country level and then you work your way to the facts and circumstances."
“Things change – and in some cases you have to leave, even after you spent years working in a country.”
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/cardano-plans-build-national-id-073828481.html
Recent news is Cardano's plan for a National Blockchain ID System for Ethiopia is starting with the public school enrolling 5 million children on the Blockchain, This Digital ID will document the school childrens entire academic life.
A report on current progress with Cardano's ID sytem for the Ethiopian School system by Crypto News:
"John O'Connor, Director of African Operation at Cardano development firm Input Output Global (IOHK), commented on the team’s progress in the African nation, telling Cryptonews.com that,
He added that the Cardano team expects the Ethiopian education ministry to have issued “decentralized identities and digital credentials” for at least 800,000 students in the country by “the end of the year.”
Blockchain Technology has the ability to be weaponized, and the issue of using a Blockchain to track and govern people should set off an alarm. Cardano's real ambition is a national ID System for the entire country of Ethiopia, I wouldn't want the Blockchain I reside on responsible for enabling Tyranny despite good intentions. What demands made by the government on the Chain Operators would be followed for the sake of business? Could people be broken into the ultimate catalog whereby rewards based on belief systems can be given or taken away with a mouse click?
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