How do you see the impact of blockchain evolving? What’s next?
The goal of the blockchain technology is to build a "World Computer" that can support immutable public records, consensus on event order, and precommitment to business logic. These happen to be the properties that can be used to support digital currencies (such as bitcoins), but the most exciting aspect of the blockchain technology is actually the "Application Software" running on such a world computer, which is what we call smart contracts or dApps (decentralized applications). Unlike today's centralized cloud-computing servers, Blockchain's decentralized technologies would allow anyone to set up their own cloud computing service and provide the full transparency about the services and business logic they provide. Instead of reputation, consumers of blockchain-based smart contracts can audit the programs. Companies cannot change the rules when they gain monopolies. The blockchain technology adds the financial and business transactions to the already rich internet today and together they create a new digital world that has the potential to transform our economic, legal, and even political systems.
Going forward, there are still many challenging problems in building blockchain infrastructures that are truly decentralized, scalable, and secure. We also need a truly reliable "operating system" for this world computer, a research topic that I am very interested in. As these issues are addressed, we will see many more exciting applications going beyond the current hot topics such as DeFi (decentralized finance) and NFT (non-fungible tokens). One particularly promising direction is what I call "incentive-aware computing." Can blockchains transform today's open-source software community so that there are clearly defined and measurable incentives for participants working toward a common goal?
Best advice for new entrepreneurs/innovators: It takes a huge amount of effort to turn a research prototype into a practically usable and commercially viable technology. What is most exciting for a research paper may not always be immediately relevant and ready for the current market. We must be agile and flexible when making important business decisions for a startup.
Favorite off-time activity: I like to travel with my family, especially during the summer. I also enjoy reading, going to the gym, and playing bridge. The pandemic has changed everything, now I try to do as much of these virtually or at home as I can.
