Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1173510
03.10.19 6 NEWS AN upcoming conference organised by Working Town Events on 10 and 11 October promises to explore the worlds of Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence (AI) by engaging with active practition- ers in the field. Philip Maurice Mifsud, CEO at Meta Luminor and President at the Malta Decentralized Chapter, will be addressing the conference. Blockchain is a cloud-based, decen- tralised database that automatically en- crypts secure records of all transactions and keeps them forever for everyone to see. It is a technology that could truly change the world and impact our lives. "From an economic perspective it is a much more efficient way of trans- ferring and storing value," explains Mifsud. "From a technical perspective, DLT (Digital Linear Tape) is a new way of storing data and making it encrypt- ed and secure. Finally, sociologically speaking, it rekindles trust among the general public, for both governments and companies alike." e foundation stones for the change needed lies in CIS/KYC/AML (Capital Identity Solutions/Know Your Client/ Anti-Money Laundering) measures – in other words, identity card and asset management. ese are tied to property assets and registries of companies that are encrypted on the DLT. "is would mean no more favour- itism by governments and individuals will always hold their real assets them- selves," adds Mr Mifsud. "It would help with the identity crisis the world has and the huge influx of irregular immi- gration and 'invisible' people (a term used by governments to describe a per- son who has no documents). is technology will also be beneficial for humanity as a whole. "e UN, for example, could use this technology for all their humanitarian aid programmes. Peo- ple need to know if the aid is getting to the right people and not lost in translation or going to corrupt government officials." Like any new technology, the idea of blockchain brings with it a certain amount of suspicion, and Mifsud be- lieves that many legal frameworks of old clearly need to be re-thought. "It's about being fully transparent. Interna- tional police forces and agencies, as well as governments, need to be more active and responsive to help us reduce fraud within blockchain transactions and seek justice for any scamming and corrup- tion that occurs." Mifsud's fascinating presentation at the 'Blockchain & AI: Where are they taking us?' conference will tackle how applying KYC & AML measures on the DLT through machine-learning and rule-setting could help make client on-boarding processes more compliant and more efficient. He will also address financial technologies and how they can reduce business overheads and make it easier and faster to process a firm's in- coming and outgoing money streams. For information, registration and tick- eting details about the 'Blockchain & AI: Where are they taking us' conference visit www.workingtown.com/events or www.ticketline.com.mt. Decoding blockchain THE seven member states of the Euro- pean Union, styled as the SouthEU, have agreed on a memorandum of under- standing for cooperation and the sharing of best practices in the area of DLTs (dis- tributed ledger technologies). e MOM, agreed at South EU Tele- communications Ministers Summit in Malta, consolidates further the coop- eration between the seven states on the digital sector. "e signing of that declaration is clear evidence of a sense of acknowledgment of this emergent industry. Today's initi- ative of an MOU takes us a step further, to establish a framework for the sharing of best practices in the design and appli- cation of DLT at a governmental level," digital services secretary Silvio Schembri said. "We can proudly claim that today's event is a historic milestone. It is the first ever commitment between Southern European Member states to cooperate in a tangible and deliverable manner with each other on any area." Malta, Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Por- tugal and Cyprus have now committed themselves to explore the possibility to cooperate on cross-border DLT projects, with an expert group made up by mem- bers of every participating country. Italy's undersecretary of state for eco- nomic development, Mirella Liuzzi said emerging technologies could be catalysts to promote "the specificness- es of Southern Europe and protect our agricultural, commercial and industrial products from frauds and counterfeit- ing." Greek minister for digital governance Grigoris Zarifopolous said the Southern countries in the Mediterranean shared similar characteristics and challenges. "Helping each other is key to moving forward… there other aspects where all countries can cooperate closely together, such as eGovernance, connectivity and cybersecurity." Southern EU members agree on Blockchain cooperation Seven EU member states from south of Europe forge memorandum of understanding on DLT and Blockchain projects Parliamentary secretary Silvio Schembri (centre) with representatives of the other six signatory countries