Course description
Breakthrough innovation that fundamentally transforms society, business, and government has historically been enabled by general purpose technologies (GPT) that disrupt/transform industries, societies, and daily living. The second industrial revolution was enabled by two GPTs: electricity and the internal combustion engine. The third industrial revolution was also enabled by two GPTs: computers and the internet. The fourth industrial revolution has already begun with blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI) as two of the enabling technologies. Other promising technologies include the internet of things (IoT), robotics, nanotechnology, 3D printing, and quantum computing. Blockchain supports all of these technologies by increasing trust through security and reducing cost. This course explores blockchain technologies in combination with AI and other technologies in the transformation of business across several economic sectors including supply chain, fintech, healthcare, and energy. The course explores how the exchange of value between trading partners is being transformed. Use cases exploring the innovative uses of these technologies and the value they are generating are explored. Students complete a project using blockchain and AI technologies to solve a problem and potentially disrupt an industry with a breakthrough innovation.
