作 者：Bing chan
排 版: 拾 叁
全文共5690字
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Neil H. Wasserman，乔治华盛顿大学副教授，Fintech4Good董事会成员，致力于区块链健康医疗应用的设计及应用方向研究。Neil教授的区块链课程是乔治华盛顿大学计算机科学学院首创的区块链课程。Neil教授本人本科毕业于康奈尔大学，拥有哈佛大学博士学位。
Neil H. Wasserman教授
今年7月，教授不远万里来到中国，先是在深圳做了迅雷区块链应用大赛的评委，又由南到北跑了中国几所大学。而我们布透社有一位小姐姐，不仅有幸给教授的深圳之旅做了随行翻译，也得到了独家采访教授的机会。
日常中的教授很慈祥有木有呢~
那么他们究竟聊了些什么呢?
我们来看一下以下的访谈实录。
一
区块链技术究竟能干点啥？
Bingchan:从之前跟您的接触也了解到，您在乔治华盛顿大学主要教授区块链相关的研究生课程，那在您学生的项目中，有哪些是您觉得非常实用可以推荐大家的?
Bingchan: During our previous communication, you majorly teach blockchain-related graduate courses. Therefore among all those projects conducted by your students, are there any projects that are worthwhile and could be put into real use?
Neil:我现在教授的课程是区块链基础，这门课程旨在夯实区块链技术基础，明确区块链应用的商业需求。学生们开发用例，用区块链技术设计商业及科技模型，来解决实际问题。我这个班主要包含计算机科学专业的研究生及其他专业的学生。这些学生富有社会责任感，致力于用项目研究解决实际问题，让人类生活的更美好。下面我举几个我学生的例子。
Neil:The course I teach is called “Blockchain Fundamentals.” It focuses on building skills in both blockchain technology and in analyzing the business requirements for blockchain implementation. The students develop “use cases,” which are basically business and technical designs to use blockchain to solve a problem in the world. The class contains mostly graduate students in computer science, but also students from other departments by invitation. The students work on projects and learn blockchain technology by addressing real problems. I think most of the students are really socially committed, so the problems they choose to address concern issues that make people’s lives better. Here are some examples.
活动中演讲的教授
01
一个课题组的项目是利用区块链技术追踪流浪者，给予他们安全的身份，让他们消费更加安全；团队开发了一种对流浪者进行生物识别的方式，这个创意非常棒，因为流浪汉通常不会随身携带手机。利用这个ID，他们就算没有手机，也可以享受各项服务。这个系统也可以和其他支付系统及政府支持相融合。
One student group developed a simple way of using blockchain to track homeless people, to give them a secure identity and way of spending money. The team developed a biometric means of confirming the identity of the homeless person, which is valuable since homeless people don’t necessarily carry a cellphone. With the biometric ID they can access services without having cellphones. This system can then be integrated with payment systems, distribution of governmental support, etc.
02
还有一个课题组研发出针对大学生群体的二手买卖系统，他们可以出售自己不再需要的家具及书籍。他们会利用区块链系统创建交易系统，和EBay类似，但是带有社交属性，交易费用也更低。
Another group developed a second-hand trading system for college students, who may have furniture and books they no longer need. The blockchain system will be used to create a trading capability similar to EBay, but with social connections and lower transaction fees.
03
还有一个创新项目是利用区块链技术来跟踪空间中的物体，减少冲撞的可能性。这个模型也可以应用在其他案例上（改变原本复杂的系统，比如说全球水资源）
One innovative project uses blockchain to track objects in space to reduce the possibility of collisions. This model can also be applied to other examples of slowly changing complex systems, such as global water resources.
二
教授，你怎么看？
Bingchan:在中国的旅程中，相信您也接触并了解了许多中国国内的区块链项目，那么您觉得对这些项目来讲，最大的落地难点是什么？您中国的区块链从业者有什么建议？
Bingchan:During your trip in China, You have gotten in touch with many Chinese domestic blockchain projects and from your point of view, what is the biggest challenge for those projects putting into real use? Do you have any suggestions for Chinese blockchain entrepreneurs?
Neil:任何来中国的美国人都会被中国学生的活力和创意所震惊，而中国整个国家的活力更是不可估量。能量可以传染，这些勤劳的人民建地铁，造大桥，盖房子，用活力进行科技创新。在美国，许多学生意识到如果他们想要做一些有意义并有趣的事情，他们需要创新。我的建议是从你想要解决的商业问题作为出发点，不要拘泥于技术本身。对于商业模型而言，区块链技术可能并不是必须的，所以过于拘泥区块链是一个需要解决的问题。
Neil: Any American visiting China would be very impressed by the dynamism, creative energy of students, the dynamism of the country in general. Energy is contagious, building subways, bridges and buildings, creating technology with so much energy. In the US as well, most students realize that if they want to do something meaningful and interesting, they have to be innovative. My advice is to start with the business problem you want to solve, not with the technology. Blockchain may or may not be essential to the business model. That is a question that needs to be resolved.
另一个需要明确的事情就是区块链应用其实是多学科项目。区块链应用依赖着数据科学，密码学，机器学习，法律分析及其他学科。我告诉我的学生，他们不应该只关注区块链，也需要关注区块链和其他学科之间的交互。这样做的话，当他们在思索区块链应用商业化的这方面才能独具慧眼。
One important thing to understand about blockchain technology is that blockchain applications are essentially multidisciplinary. Blockchain applications depend on data science, cryptography, machine learning, legal analysis, and other fields. What I tell my students is that they should focus not only on blockchain, but also pay attention to the interface between blockchain and other disciplines. This will enable them to have a unique capability for realizing business value from blockchain applications.
区块链科技是许多法则的集合，而这些法则影响着区块链技术应用：智能合约，商业模型，中心化及去中心化。人工智能可以过滤信息，对人群，数据科学和数字来讲也是非常有用的，可以将数据转化成有意义的信息。
blockchain technology is a collection of technologies relating to multiple disciplines and the disciplines that inform the application of blockchain technology: smart contract, business models, decentralization and centralization, AI to filter information that might be useful for the population; data science and data livings. Be able to focus, turn data into meaningful, action information.
我告诉我的学生们他们的关注点应该不仅仅是区块链，还应该是区块链及其他规则的连接。这样一来，相较于只关注于区块链，链接多种规则会比仅仅关注区块链更有效一些。
What I told my students is that they should focus not only in blockchain, but also the interface between blockchain and other disciplines which make them much more valuable comparing with just focusing on blockchain.
三
莎士比亚终极问题：区块链独角兽，存在/不存在？
Bingchan:现在我们可以看到虽然现在已经有很多区块链应用，但是独角兽企业少之又少。对于有野心想成为区块链行业独角兽的区块链企业，您认为它们需要具备什么样的特点和优势？
Bingchan: Now there are still a few blockchain applications, and there's not any unicorn in the world. So for a blockchain technology-based initiative with an ambition to become a unicorn, what kind of qualities shall it equip with?
Neil:在虚拟货币及区块链界的确存在着很多独角兽。虚拟货币（以太坊）的早期投资者以及在区块链平台上建立的生意已经创造了数十亿美元的价值，但是不对我的学生而言，我的建议是：不要执着于做所谓的独角兽。之所以他们被称之为独角兽，是因为只有很少的企业存活了下来。如果如果是把商业模式规划的合理现实一点，比如说实现一亿的价值，还是可取的。主要的目标应该是为世界创造价值，从用户的角度出发进行商业实践。最重要的是，产品是否有使用价值以及应用区块链的方式是否足够创新及连贯，能够解决实际问题。
Neil: Actually, there are unicorns in the worlds of cryptocurrency and blockchain. A number of early investors in cryptocurrencies like Ethereum and businesses built on blockchain platforms have attained valuations of more than $1 billion. But I would advise my students not to try to be unicorns. They are called unicorns because few of them exist, and it is far more sensible to aim to be successful in building a business that attains more reasonable valuation of, say, $100 million, which is rare in itself. The key objective should be to create something of value in the world, to follow a business model that makes sense from the customer’s point of view. The focus should be on creating real value and applying blockchain techniques in a way that is both innovative and consistent with solving an important problem and providing a new capability.
四
医疗+区块链，我们怎么活的更健康？
Bingchan:我们都知道您致力于研究健康医疗及人类行为变化，随着区块链技术的发展，区块链势必会在健康医疗中发挥至关重要的作用。那么您觉得在区块链主导下，医疗方面的主要的场景应用有哪些？
Bingchan: I know that you are interested in healthcare, especially the healthcare research about population-based behavior change. I strongly agree that blockchain will play a huge role in health care. Therefore as far as you are concerned, in a blockchain-oriented world, what are the major application scenes in the respect of health care?
Neil:在健康医疗的应用上，区块链潜力颇高，因为在任何商业模型中，健康医疗都取决于交易，包括支付，数据调取，服务传送以及其他以交易为中心的商业进程。区块链让可以让交易记录更加有效，更容易调取因为任何授权的人或系统都可以和区块链环境相联结，而这些独立于中央权威。
Neil: There are many potential applications for blockchain in healthcare. In a sense healthcare, like any business depends upon transactions, including payments, access to data, delivery of services, and other transaction-based business processes.
区块链可以为病患及提供方提供特定的行为激励，也可以为医疗产品管理供应链相关问题，包括药品和设备相关。健康医疗系统中的一个主要挑战是许多提供方可能是连接着特定的病人。举例来讲，一个典型的老年患者患有多种慢性病：心脏病，糖尿病，肾衰竭和其他需要注意的疾病。
Blockchain can make such transactions more efficient and more accessible since any authorized person or system can connect to the blockchain environment, and this can be accomplished independent of a central authority. Blockchain can be used to provide incentives for desired behaviors on the part of patients and providers, and it can be used to manage supply chains for medical products, including drugs and devices. One major challenge in the healthcare system is that multiple providers may be associated with a given patient. The typical older patient, for example, has multiple chronic conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, kidney failure and other diseases requiring attention.
但是健康医疗产业的局限性就是：数据保持私密不互通，而对病人来讲，打通这些壁垒非常重要。区块链的潜力在于可以帮助构建一个融合的环境，打通数据源及多方提供者，从整体上更好地治疗病人。理想状态下，区块链环境可以联结多方参与者，病人，提供者，写作者和保险者。在这样一个系统中，这些一定是可以算作有效激励，包括对信息提供者的激励。我认为，购买服务的人群需要构建合作关系，这样一来，病人，提供方及政府可以确保健康服务可以非常好的利用区块链科技。
But the health care industry is structured to create walls between disciplines associated with a particular chronic condition. Proper care for the patient may require bridging those gaps. Blockchain has the potential to help create an integrated environment in which access to multiple sources of data and multiple providers can treat the patient as a whole. Ideally, the blockchain environment can connect to all participants in the care of the patient, , the providers, the care coordinators, the insurers. There must be incentives for participation in such a system, including incentives for shared access to data. Eventually, I think there will partnerships among the people who pay for services, the patients, the providers, and the government to ensure that health services can take advantage of these technologies.
五
亘古不变的问题：区块链VS虚拟货币
Bingchan:区块链技术作为数字货币的底层技术，一直吸引着全球金融界的高度关注。现在一些国家已经开始进行加密货币支付，您认为加密货币支付会是未来的一个趋势吗？您怎么看待加密货币和区块链技术之间的关系？
Bingchan: As the infrastructure technology of crypto currency, blockchain has always caught the attention from global financial sectors. At present some countries have already launched crypto currency payment and do you think it will be a future trend? How do you regard the relationship between crypto currency and blockchain technology?
Neil:我觉得虚拟货币和区块链技术的紧密关系有利有弊。好的方面就是说虚拟货币让区块链技术本身的潜力对投资者和创新者可视化，而许多参与其中的人也在很短的时间内赚了不少钱。这个现象同互联网繁荣时代非常相似，但相当一部分早期的互联网公司现如今也停滞不前了。现在币圈的所谓的一夜暴富投机论调已经在削减。
弊端是有些人之所以对区块链技术感兴趣仅仅是因为他们觉得这个技术能产生虚拟货币，有赚钱的机会。区块链技术的价值和虚拟货币真的是完全分开的，虚拟货币只是区块链技术的一个应用，能够产生多种交易记录并可以在去中心化环境中达成共识。到现在，中国政府也没有智齿虚拟货币的应用，这倒也许是件好事因为它激励着人们关注区块链的商业价值，而非被虚拟货币操控。
针对你提的关于虚拟货币未来的问题，我认为虚拟货币会在支付系统，激励政策和财政方面起到很重要的作用。虚拟货币和区块链应用相结合，如果用在商业模型中冰为区块链应用环境中的参与者提供实用价值的话，定会大放异彩。
给一个东西创造价值的方式有很多种，不论是黄金，美元或者其他币种。然而现在虚拟货币给公共服务和政府带来了挑战，因为包含虚拟货币或者区块链的交易有时候可能会隐藏在常规政府监管之外，而政府收入是最需要公开透明的，政府需要明确公共收支平衡，鼓励个体的创新，给予他们动力。
Neil:I think it is both good and bad that blockchain is associated with cryptocurrency. The good part is that cryptocurrency made the potential of blockchain visible to investors and innovators because some people made a lot of money very quickly. This is similar to what happened with the dotcom boom and the Internet. But very few of the original dotcom companies are still around. Now the get-rich-quick opportunities with cryptocurrency may be fading. The bad part is that sometimes people became interested in blockchain technology for the wrong reasons. The value of blockchain technology is really separate from cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency is simply one application of blockchain, an example of the ability to create multiple transaction records and arrive at consensus in a decentralized environment. For now, the Chinese government has not supported the use of cryptocurrency. That may be a good thing because it encourages people to focus on the business value of blockchain as opposed to manipulation of cryptocurrency. Regarding the future of cryptocurrency, I think it will play a significant role in payments, incentives and financing. Integrating cryptocurrency with blockchain applications may be useful if it is part of the business model, providing real value to participants in the blockchain application environment. There are multiple ways of creating an object that represents value whether it is a gold coin, dollar or other currency. Nevertheless, cryptocurrency presents challenges for public services and governments because transactions that involve cryptocurrencies can be hidden from normal government regulatory oversight. Government revenue typically depends on transparency of transactions. Government has to pay attention to making sure that public needs are balanced against the opportunities for encouraging private initiative and innovation.
我认为，虚拟货币不是区块链技术最重要的应用。个人来讲，我的关注点不在虚拟货币上，而是利用区块链科技来创造商业价值，提升大家的生活水面（譬如：健康医疗，气候变化这些主要挑战），我的学生们致力于用区块链技术改善普罗大众的生活水平。
注：是因为很多人希望利用虚拟货币构建“独角兽企业”来赚钱，但实际上关注虚拟货币的人们对实业并不感兴趣，只关注最火的那几个“独角兽”，并不理会其他那些不成功的项目。每个人都希望自己是独角兽而虚拟货币在这条路上越走越远，比特币，以太坊，瑞波币和其他货币亦如是。他们涨幅很快，这也让很多眼馋的人觉得自己也该创造个虚拟货币出来赚钱。
In summary, cryptocurrency is not the most important application of blockchain. Personally, my focus is not on cryptocurrency but on using blockchain to create business value and improve people’s lives by addressing critical challenges in areas such as healthcare and climate change. My students share that commitment to using blockchain to improve the conditions under which people live.
个人来讲，我不太知道市场上太多种类的数字货币，除非一些和我有联系的公司，他们有时候会给我一些他们的虚拟币，不过我觉得他们价值甚微，我所关注的还是能给世界真正带来影响的区块链技术应用。
Personally I don’t know any crypto currency except for a few companies I connect, they give me some of their crypto currency as part of relationship, but I don’t think it works, my focus is the application of blockchain that could exerts impacts on the world.
● 完事了？不，教授还有话要讲~
Comment:在我的中国之行中，我学习到了政府机构，投资者，企业家，商业领袖和和知名大学的学者一起协作，构建了一个可持续创新并支持经济正常的基础设施环境。我非常想深入的了解中国社会的这些元素是怎么一同协作，并同商业机构及传播媒体构建紧密联系。未来我希望能够和中国认识的伙伴们一起，同美国乃至世界上的伙伴们一起创造出一些有用的产品造福社会。
Comment: One thing I learned in my travels in China is the synergy among government agencies, investors, entrepreneurs, business leaders, and researchers at the major universities to create an environment that sustains innovation and supports an infrastructure for economic growth. I would like to understand at a deeper level how these elements of Chinese society work together to create both physical connectivity and economic connectivity with communications and active business networks. I look forward to building on the friendships I made in China to create productive partnerships with initiatives in the US and other parts of the world.
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