The state of the art of the blockchain ethics in healthcare: A systematic literature review

Blockchain is a software innovation which is based on a cryptographically secured, decentralised, and distributed storage of data. The technological breakthrough was done as a part of and became familiar through cryptocurrencies, where it is used to openly store currency transactions among its users. Blockchain technology has been since proposed and used in various domains ranging from open contracts to electronic voting—as well as in various purposes in eHealth, medical and well-being applications. However, its usage in these sectors possesses several ethical questions as these environments are full of personal and private patient information. To study the state-of-the-art of the blockchain ethics in healthcare, this study presents a systematic literature study (SLR) on this phenomenon. By collecting the relevant primary studies from Scopus, the results show that the utilisation of blockchain is swiftly maturing with new research and applications published constantly in this domain. However, the ethical discussion related to the use of blockchain technologies is still taking its baby steps in healthcare. Despite a few openings, ethical research is practically non-existing when compared against the full extant literature on the topic. Therefore, remarkable amount of further work is needed to cover the potential ethical questions related to the adoption and use of the technology.Blockchain is a software innovation which is based on a cryptographically secured, decentralised, and distributed storage of data. The technological breakthrough was done as a part of and became familiar through cryptocurrencies, where it is used to openly store currency transactions among its users. Blockchain technology has been since proposed and used in various domains ranging from open contracts to electronic voting—as well as in various purposes in eHealth, medical and well-being applications. However, its usage in these sectors possesses several ethical questions as these environments are full of personal and private patient information. To study the state-of-the-art of the blockchain ethics in healthcare, this study presents a systematic literature study (SLR) on this phenomenon. By collecting the relevant primary studies from Scopus, the results show that the utilisation of blockchain is swiftly maturing with new research and applications published constantly in this domain. However, the ethical discussion related to the use of blockchain technologies is still taking its baby steps in healthcare. Despite a few openings, ethical research is practically non-existing when compared against the full extant literature on the topic. Therefore, remarkable amount of further work is needed to cover the potential ethical questions related to the adoption and use of the technology

Blockchain Ethics in Information Systems: A Literature Review

Blockchain is an open distributed ledger likely to influence future data transactions and human interactions. As blockchain adoption becomes a reality in many industries, an ethical perspective is crucial to guide researchers and stakeholders on this technology\u27s responsible use and implementation. However, current research on blockchain ethics is still at an early stage and is highly fragmented among different disciplines. This timely literature review investigates the current state of blockchain ethics research in the Information Systems (IS) and Information Management (IM) domains and presents a thematic classification as a basis for a critical assessment of blockchain ethics. This study also provides a theoretical grounding for the development of blockchain ethics as a standalone subject and identifies areas within blockchain ethics that would benefit from further development. Overall, results showed that most studies on blockchain ethics are context-specific and perceive this technology as a solution to ethical issues within a specific field. We found that there is a need for a broader conceptualization of blockchain ethics as the implicit and explicit consequences of adopting this technology have not yet been developed

ETHICAL GUIDELINES FOR BLOCKCHAIN SYSTEMS

Today, enterprise architects and IT systems developers must decide ad hoc how to identify, assess and mitigate ethical issues of autonomous, rule-based systems based on blockchain technology. As blockchain systems are decentralized and immutable, developers must assess ethical risks, not only on an individual and context-based level but on a network level and for all life-cycle stages of a blockchain system. Furthermore, these ethical issues should be addressed in a context of clearly defined values, as the developer otherwise risks encoding their own worldviews and values in the system. We have chosen the European Union as a use case for analysing the identified ethical risks of blockchain systems. This empirical work presents a top-down approach that establishes ethical guidelines for blockchain systems based on ethical issues mapped against European values

AI and blockchain adoption in corporate governance

This thesis was submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University LondonPurpose The purpose of this doctoral thesis sets out to explore and elaborate on the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain adoption in corporate governance from ethical perspectives. Positioned within the corporate governance domain, this study adopts an explicit business perspective to study corporate governance change with emerging AI and blockchain technological tools in general and focuses on the ethical use of technologies specifically. As such, this empirical investigation aims to help organizations understand the ethical benefits and ethical dilemmas of using AI and blockchain in businesses and draw plans on how to govern these technologies ethically for the benefit of the business and society. Design/Methodology/Approach: This study adopts specific techniques and a pragmatic, step-by-step netnography approach to investigate online traces from social media sites and extends these online explorations with online semi-structured interviews. The research design of this investigation follows step-by-step procedures that are methodologically sound to ensure rigor in this investigation to enhance the trustworthiness of this study. In total, this research collects an abundance of data: 34 LinkedIn Posts with Comments; 12 Webinars; 22 YouTube Videos; 19 Videos; 10 Podcasts, and 17 semi-structured interview videos. The video, audio, and interview data have been transcribed into textual data total of 453065 words for thematic analysis using NVivo software. Enough time has been allocated to the iterative process of data collection and data analysis. The analysis moves back and forth to the point when theoretical saturation is achieved. The data structure extracts from data in this study illustrate the analytic claims that match the analysis and data together, to ensure a good fit between described method and reported analysis are consistent. Findings: This study develops a thematic framework that constitutes the corporate governance transformation with the ethical use of AI and blockchain technology. This framework provides a holistic understanding of why corporate governance needs to change, especially with the emergence of blockchain and AI technologies, what changes will corporate governance encounter, and how corporate governance can imperatively respond to the ethical use of these technologies. Specifically, it explicitly provides comprehensive understanding of the ethical benefits and ethical concerns of using AI and blockchain technologies in corporate governance, and reveals how companies can govern the use of these technologies ethically. In general terms, the findings of this study support the notion of corporate governance change to transform business models and processes to leverage the new capabilities of AI and blockchain technologies, to priories creativity, speed, and accountability, to replace the old business model, to foster agile or collaborative governance to deal with uncertainty, agility, adaptiveness, and cooperation in the digital world, to foster a network and platform strategies to drive success. This study goes beyond the extant corporate governance scholarship to assess the technological impact to capture values for companies in ethical ways to sustain future growth. Additionally, the notion of corporate governance is further specified and significantly expanded by this study to assess the adoption of AI and blockchain as new corporate governance tools or mechanisms, to enhance ethical benefits when used properly, and mitigate ethical dilemmas with proper checks and balances, safeguards in place, to help organizations stay relevant in this digital transformation and be ethical and sustainable. This study empirically corroborates that in theory, the use of blockchain and AI can enhance ethical practice by detecting fraud and anomaly activities, due to the unique capabilities of blockchain and AI technologies. Further, this research adds depth and specificity by identifying the ethical concerns of using blockchain and AI in corporate governance. The study empirically reveals the ethical concerns of privacy issues, unethical use of data, job transformation and replacement, and algorithm bias that companies will encounter when they use these technologies. In addition, the findings of this study suggest how companies can ethically govern the use of these technologies in socially responsible ways as they transform digitally. Originality/Value: The emergent thematic framework is constructed from the empirical and analytical procedures specifically and purposely designed for this study. This study makes theoretical contributions to knowledge and enriches the extant works of literature, and also provides practical contributions to the ethical use of disruptive technologies, future workforce, and regulations. However, the study was conducted within certain theoretical, methodological, empirical, and pragmatic conditions, which might constitute particular limitations and constraints. Therefore, the last section of this thesis elucidates and suggests the directions for future research

Responsible Innovation in Business:A Framework and Strategic Proposal

Companies are the main contributors and developers of technological innovation, generating an enormous impact on people’s lives. Unrestricted innovation fosters both economic development and inventiveness. Real-world situations, however, pose valid questions about whether science and technology can be left to operate autonomously in the market without regulation and societal guidance. Some headline stories include Volkswagen’s emission scandal, misuse of data in the Facebook–Cambridge Analytica case, or the Pegasus surveillance spyware targeting human rights activists, journalists and dissidents. In a fast-changing world increasingly dependent on technology and with business wielding enormous power, one may ask how to ensure that the impact of technology on humans and society will lead to improved technologies that are sustainable, ethically acceptable and socially desirable. What do our fundamental rights and values look like in the techno- and digital age? Who has the right to decide what the world should look like and how we want to live? And what role and responsibilities do companies have regarding their technological innovations? The main challenge taken on in this work is the problem of the responsibility of companies for their technological innovation, which can be placed in the context of the ongoing discussions around the nature of companies’ responsibility towards society and the environment. This work explores and explicates a strategic approach to responsible innovation in business

Intrusion detection system for the Internet of Things based on blockchain and multi-agent systems

With the popularity of Internet of Things (IoT) technology, the security of the IoT network has become an important issue. Traditional intrusion detection systems have their limitations when applied to the IoT network due to resource constraints and the complexity. This research focusses on the design, implementation and testing of an intrusion detection system which uses a hybrid placement strategy based on a multi-agent system, blockchain and deep learning algorithms. The system consists of the following modules: data collection, data management, analysis, and response. The National security lab–knowledge discovery and data mining NSL-KDD dataset is used to test the system. The results demonstrate the efficiency of deep learning algorithms when detecting attacks from the transport layer. The experiment indicates that deep learning algorithms are suitable for intrusion detection in IoT network environment

Assessing the current landscape of AI and sustainability literature:Identifying key trends, addressing gaps and challenges

The United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals stress the importance of global and local efforts to address inequalities and implement sustainability. Addressing complex, interconnected sustainability challenges requires a systematic, interdisciplinary approach, where technology, AI, and data-driven methods offer potential solutions for optimizing resources, integrating different aspects of sustainability, and informed decision-making. Sustainability research surrounds various local, regional, and global challenges, emphasizing the need to identify emerging areas and gaps where AI and data-driven models play a crucial role. The study performs a comprehensive literature survey and scientometric and semantic analyses, categorizes data-driven methods for sustainability problems, and discusses the sustainable use of AI and big data. The outcomes of the analyses highlight the importance of collaborative and inclusive research that bridges regional differences, the interconnection of AI, technology, and sustainability topics, and the major research themes related to sustainability. It further emphasizes the significance of developing hybrid approaches combining AI, data-driven techniques, and expert knowledge for multi-level, multi-dimensional decision-making. Furthermore, the study recognizes the necessity of addressing ethical concerns and ensuring the sustainable use of AI and big data in sustainability research.</p

Responsible AI and Analytics for an Ethical and Inclusive Digitized Society

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