Homework on Provenance - Questions

[Marv]

1. Blockchain is a public decentralized ledger on which transactions get stored, but they can not be deleted, therefore everyone may look up any transaction ever done trustlessly
2. With normal databases one would have to trust a centralized entity not to tinker with the stored data and eventually add false ones
3. The fact the transactions are stored decentralized and trustlessly allows for transactions to be the same process as bookkeeping, making additional audits irrelevant

[theRealLos]

Homework on Provenance - Answers

1. By keeping a dynamic immutable record of every transaction.

2. Because normal databases are alterable and depend on someone managing them.

3. Because it makes it easy to reliably track transactions in a trustless manner, without the cost and risk of engaging a trust verifier, i.e. accountant, lawyer, logistics manager, accredited organization, etc.

[alegarap]

1. By being able to track and trace the origin of transactions.

2. In normal databases, information can be deleted and modified. In blockchain, information can only be added but, once it is in, it cannot be modified.

3. Because it can remove the necessity of trusting, swapping it for the ability of verifying processes.

[Cryptolab]

1. Once the data is added to the blockchain the data cannot be removed.
2. A normal database can be manipulated or changed.
3. Digital provenance gives businesses the ability to trace and verify data hence making it trust less.

[AnthonyKenichi]

1. On the blockchain every transaction is recorded and cannot be removed. All the transactions are also open for everybody to see.
2. A normal database has a company or central authority controlling this database. So they could manipulate the data or even remove transactions and a blockchain is not centralized and you can’t remove transactions.
3. Everybody can verify. It’s trustless!

[BlackHoleSurfer]

1. How does blockchain enable digital provenance?
   Blockchain offers an immutable way of recording governance of spending resources within an organization. Frankly I can’t wait for the world where this is true.

2. Why doesn’t a normal database bring the same provenance?
   “Normal” database is not immutable, it can be updated.

3. Why is digital provenance such a great benefit to many businesses?
   For me, as I work in the data collection business (CMDB), the benefit would be instant accountability for all resources within any company.

[xsidro]

• How does blockchain enable digital provenance?
  With the public ledger, instead of trusting someone on the data someone provides me, I can just verify it by looking at it on the blockchain.

• Why doesn’t a normal database bring the same provenance?
  A normal database is not updated in real time. Which can cause room for error or manipulation.

• Why is digital provenance such a great benefit to many businesses?
  They can get instant feedback on whatever data they want to pull.

[/quote]

[xsidro]

Good answer on the second one.

[Kristie]

1. Blockchain enables digital provenance by removing trust. Entries added cannot be removed and these ledger data entries are duplicated multiple times across a number of unrelated computers via the internet making it secure against malicious attempts to distort the data.

2. A normal database is not duplicated across a network of unknown computers and instead is a single copy managed by one source who can at will make amendments to the data to suit desired version of ‘truth’.

3. Digital provenance is a great benefit to businesses as making business decisions becomes based on a trustless relationship - decisions made on verified information only. This should speed up the process of operations as information required is available in real time with no lag. The cost to acquire real time information would be reduced dramatically, cutting out the middleman who previously was employed and ‘trusted’ to provide this information. It is likely the process would be automated and headcount reduced.

[NASQWERTY]

1. By keeping track of all transactions ever made from one address to another. We can connect the transactions all the way until we reach the first interaction.

2. Regular databases are not immutable by nature, making the provenance implemented vulnerable to change.

3. Data provenance provided in an immutable fashion gives businesses the opportunity to trust the origin of a tokenized asset. I can see provenance being implemented on NFTs tokens for instance to track the original owner of, let’s say a house, to know which construction company built it.

[antunez_alvarez]

1. How does blockchain enable digital provenance?

By managing a decentralized network of computers, who can verify that all the nodes of the network have the same ledgers. Those ledgers have the accounting and the transaction information on the same node.

When one institution or one computer has absolute power you depend on trusting that institution, but when you get power out of the center to the periphery, so that a great number of computers power is diluted, thus no one has the power to corrupt the system.

2. Why doesn’t a normal database bring the same provenance?
   Because they are controlled by one person, computer or institution, then you depend on trusting such central authority.

3. Why is digital provenance such a great benefit to many businesses?
   Trustlessness, cutting down intermediary costs, avoiding fraud, disrupting monopolies, but more important decentralizing power to the periphery.

[Jari_Landman]

1. By having a ledger with all transactions, you can always see where a transaction came from and where it has been. This makes it easy to audit and verify transactions. Because of the blockchain this data is decentralized, making it immutable. The medium article says “Data provenance systems track changes that are made to data, where data originates and moves to, and who makes changes to it over time.” This is exactly what blockchain does, by keeping records of all transactions ever and only allowing new transactions.
2. A normal database is controlled by 1 institution. They have control over it and this makes the database more prone to errors or hacks. This is because there aren’t multiple checks whether transactions are valid an the previous data is mutable. This requires trust.
3. The biggest problem this solves is the problem that supply chains are not very transparent. It passes so many different institutions to get to the final destination, that it is impossible to know where exactly everything came from. By implementing digital provenance, the supply chain becomes transparent and auditable, allowing companies to easily prove where their products came from. This also makes it easier to see where the inequalities lie in the supply chain.

[Nuno]

1. Blockchain enables digital provenance by having a network of computers, each with a copy of the entire database, continuously verifying and validating each new entry to the database. This network is responsible for making sure each entry is legitimate and all entries are stored in a decentralized and immutable digital “stone”;

2. A normal database depends on centralized entities that may benefit from tampering with the recorded data. Therefore, the validity of the data on that database depends on the trustworthiness of that or those entities;

3. The digital provenance brought by Blockchain technology introduces trustlessness. For well intentioned businesses and individuals, ensuring the data that is relevant for their operations is stored and verified on the Blockchain helps them convince customers, investors, auditors (etc) of their sound products, company, bookkeeping (etc).

[kryptokrymmenos]

1. How does blockchain enable digital provenance?
   People won’t be able to manipulate the blockchain proving the authenticity of the data, and with the real time auditing it also confirms the trust of the type of data being sent.

2. Why doesn’t a normal database bring the same provenance?
   Things aren’t as transparent as transparent and things can be easily manipulated or have human error.

3. Why is digital provenance such a great benefit to many businesses?
   Businesses can verify the claims of their ingredients or quality with provenance.

[blockchainbro]

1. How does blockchain enable digital provenance?

Blockchain automatically combines transaction information with accounting so that people can track the origins and details of transactions without having to manually check them later.

2. Why doesn’t a normal database bring the same provenance?

A normal database doesn’t bring the same provenance because it isn’t trustless. You have to trust a 3rd party to submit data correctly, which is the opposite of how a decentralized, trustless blockchain, where you don’t have to trust any 1 individual or group, generates digital provenance.

3. Why is digital provenance such a great benefit to many businesses?

Digital provenance via blockchain is great because you don’t have to trust anyone blindly to do proper recordkeeping since blockchain does it all automatically. Digital provenance is also more efficient, as businesses have to worry less about recordkeeping, accounting, auditing, etc.

[Mathiasez]

1. The blockchain enables digital provenance through the ability to track transactions in real-time.
   The ability to verify transactions on the blockchain takes out the need for “trust.”

2. A normal database does not provide provenance because of the inability to track financial transactions in real-time. The blockchain is also based on previous transactions and won’t allow for tampering.

3. Digital provenance allows for independent banking as any individual can perform and track transactions without the need for banks.

[Saula_Atama]

1. How does blockchain enable digital provenance?
   You cannot remove data on the blockchain, which makes it transparent and traceable.

2. Why doesn’t a normal database bring the same provenance?
   Because can easily be manipulated and removed.

3. Why is digital provenance such a great benefit to many businesses?
   It creates trust, traceability, confidence and transparency between parties involved that fraud or any illegal or mis management of money is being ensured.

[Michele]

Homework on Provenance - Questions Answered

I did not know the word “provenance” and so looked it up. It means:
“The place of origin or earliest known history of something.”
“The beginning of something’s existence; something’s origin.”
“A record of ownership…used as a guide to authenticity or quality.”

1. How does blockchain enable digital provenance?

Blockchain is able to record each transaction from initial creation. There is then a permanent and traceable record. For a food product, each ingredient used can be traced and recorded. For clothing, one can ensure that child labor sweat shops were not used. In a government, citizens can see how their tax dollars are spent. Donators to a charity can check where their money goes

2. Why doesn’t a normal database bring the same provenance?

A normal database can be added to and updated with non verified data, can have information deleted, and even the whole database can be destroyed. Create, Update, Delete and Destroy are normal database functions that a single person can do. Blockchain transactions are permanently recorded. One can’t update (change) nor delete any information.

3. Why is digital provenance such a great benefit to many businesses?

A business does not have to trust others. It can verify. This helps to prevent fraud and to ensure the authenticity of ingredients or location of services.
Customers can be assured they are not getting a counterfeit product. Auditing is real time. Records are transparent. Blockchain is a great benefit to honest businesses, but terrible for dishonest ones.

[Majda_Sifrer]

1. Blockchain enables digital provenance by being able to track and it is unchangable.

2. A normal database can´t bring the same provenance becase it is manipulative.

3. A digitala provenance is a great benefit to the businesses because of the above mentioned properties. Also the customers have the pover to check the data and evaluate it for themselves. That means satisfaction, confidence and having the information from the origin.

[menofhighvalue]

1. Blockchain enables digital provenance through making it possible for every part of the journey to verify through the transactions made on the ledgers that everything is the way it’s supposed to be. Because transactions are added, and cannot be removed.

2. You can remove transactions from regular databases. Because the databases don’t work together as a network of “proofing machines”.

3. You can skip accounting, you can skip auditing, and you can see the transactions real time and can fix problems real time, and you can be ahead of the curve if you have access to this tech early on. Massive competitive edge over everyone else.