In a world of disruptive and connected technologies, it is not just the surrounding ecosystem that is continuously evolving; the different new-fangled technologies are also beginning to intersect and at times collide at various points and merge into new and unique technologies in their own rights.

In fact, the year 2018 is the year slated for a convergence of Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Blockchain, a seamless working together of which will result in better efficiency, better connectedness as well as the need of the hour – impeccable security.

The effect that IoT is having, not just in transforming our industries but also in every minute aspect of our lives, is undeniable. IoT is everywhere around us; smart homes where all our gadgets and home monitoring systems are connected to one single device for easy control, smart and sustainable cities, healthcare, transportation via the driverless Tesla for instance, retail, well, the list of aspects that are being changed by IoT is pretty much limitless! There is news that Mastercard is tying up with retailers to help engage in better in store experiences for consumers via IoT-enabled devices.

Online retail giant Amazon has already pioneered in cashier-less stores, relying on IoT sensors and technologies such as AI. From the minute a consumer enters Amazon Go, there are hundreds of cameras and infrared sensors tracking him along with facial recognition. As consumers walk in, they simply scan their phone at the entrance, connecting their presence in the store via AI to that of their profile on Amazon. This way, Amazon not only tracks consumer presence in the store, it can track consumer’s preferences, what they like and do not, where they live, etc. A German e-commerce merchant has used AI to create a system to predict sales behavior. Supply chain professionals use AI to predict next season sales for optimized line planning. In fact, it is said that there are AI-based systems that can even predict earthquakes and tsunamis, helping the relevant teams to plan for the next course of action. Thus utilizing AI, every consumer can enjoy the benefits of personalization and customization.

By simply sensing our surrounding environment and by utilizing minute personal and financial details of consumers, there is a promise of increased efficiencies and comfort. No doubt the list of benefits that IoT and AI bring with it are exhaustive; however, there is the detail that our sensitive and critical information and data is constantly being accessed by several devices and providers, and there is a lot of information on various facets of our lives that is floating around across different digital platforms. It is critical to understand that these loopholes are not inherent to IoT; rather they are inherent to the Internet as it currently is in existence. That is where the security vulnerabilities lie.

Given this scenario, I must ask you – How secure is our data? How safe are we in a world where along with digital conveniences, digital fraud can also be just as easy as the roll of a dice?

Despite the grandiose list of benefits that IoT and AI loyalists can regale, without the basic requirement of security being addressed, our connected devices and wide-spread data can be laid bare to hackers all over the world. However brilliant IoT or AI may be, the lack of shared architecture for seamless interconnectivity between devices and more importantly, the lack of a fool proof authentication and monetary channel that can be implicitly trusted is limiting not just its consumption across the consumer base but is also hampering future innovation.

For each of these technologies, in isolation, as well as in a possible tandem, protecting the users from the security vulnerabilities will be the true measure of their success. Here is where the tipping point in the convergence between IoT, AI and Blockchain will become pivotal.

Blockchain could be the savior of the day as it does what consumers want before they take the plunge into the new connectedness – give them the assurance that they and their data is safe despite the innate vulnerabilities that the Internet exposes them to.

Firstly, Blockchain is a distributed ledger technology designed specifically for transactions and storage and guarding of the transactional data. To prevent the risk of the hacking of a centralized ledger, it spreads the data across several locations cryptographically. This also helps in scenarios when there is a power outage in one location – the spreading of data across locations ensures continued connectivity across the IoT-enabled devices, ensuring that power loss does not translate into a driverless car going into a spin or a home security system locking the user in.

Secondly, transparency and permanence are the main heroes in Blockchain. The transactional data written as blocks on the Blockchain are permanent records that are indexed in a manner that they can be accessed globally for any reference. However, this transparency does not mean that someone can access and tamper the data. The individuals retain sole certificate authority of their own data. This ownership also means that the individual can conduct monetary transactions directly with merchants across the globe, without middle men, in a quick and cost-effective manner.

With Blockchain ledgers creating a seamless yet safe system of accessing customer data, customer experience of IoT-enabled devices could be just as seamless. In a nutshell, Blockchain does these two things to keep us safe while we toy with the new technologies:

 Encrypted and decentralized data ensures data privacy and continuity

 Direct transactional capabilities ensure peer-to- peer transactions without added infrastructure, and therefore it is faster and cheaper

In the loyalty/rewards space as well, the use of blockchain has been recognized to be highly beneficial to merchants to differentiate themselves from competition and for consumers to reap the best value out of the loyalty rewards. While the rewards help in retaining loyal customers and ushering in new ones, there is question that this space is highly fragmented and cannot always be enchased in on the digital environment or without a bank as an intermediary, again exposing it to the risks of fragmentation, need for manual intervention and the security threats of using an intermediary. This is just one example of how blockchain can make that difference – as it is built on a cryptocurrency token, blockchain-backed rewards can be directly transferred to customers in the digital space. This way, customers can benefit from them without losing track of expiry dates of a zillion offers that have been thrust in their hands in various retail outlets.

Blockchain does come out sounding like the hero, which it is undeniably; however, Blockchain also needs IoT and other technologies, such as AI, just as much as they need it. Blockchain could be the strong and secure foundation; however, IoT and AI among others, are where the true opportunities for innovation and better efficiency and connectedness lie. They all rely on each other to build a stronger technology for a better future, an “Intelligent Blockchain of Things” if we may call it that!