Can The Blockchain Help Renew Confidence In Government?

Tomicah Tillemann was quoted in Fast Company regarding Georgia's use of an online land-registry system and TechSoup's adoption of blockchain technology: 

“It allow citizens of Georgia to validate the integrity of their record and have that record recorded publicly,” says Tomicah Tillemann, cofounder of the Blockchain Trust Accelerator, which helped to develop the project. Tillemann believes blockchain could play a big role in improving trust in government, improving bureaucratic efficiency, and maintaining integrity of public data, from vote counts to land registry titles. “The critical challenge facing society right now is the breakdown in trust in institutions,” he tells Fast Company. “Blockchain was designed from the ground up to address that, creating systems that are highly secure, highly transparent and resistant to corruption.”

Georgia’s need for more trustworthy public records dates back to the chaotic post-Soviet period when officials were accused of changing them at will. Today the country has a reputation for administrative transparency–at least compared to its neighbors–and Tillemann says it’s keen to maintain that reputation by adopting new approaches. The land registry project started as a pilot before being approved for full implementation. And the government is considering putting other registries and notary services on blockchains.”