Blockchain. There’s probably no other technology trend in recent years that has sparked so much excitement and ambivalence in the business and public sectors as this peer-to-peer digital ledger technology.

On one hand, banks, insurance companies, and even food suppliers are losing no time to investigate how blockchain can be incorporated into their operations. Secure by design, blockchains lend themselves perfectly to recording events, medical records, transactions, food traceability, and identity management.

Yet, the cryptographic and distributed nature of the technology, also makes blockchains suitable for clandestine transactions, money laundering, and other criminal activities.

Blockchains, artificial intelligence, robotics, the Internet of Things, and biotechnology are among the disruptive technologies that entrepreneur and software developer Michael Gord will be discussing in the upcoming TechGov Forum slated for November 7 and 8 at the Ottawa Conference and Event Centre.

Gord is the founder and CEO of the Toronto-based firm MLG Blockchain Consulting, a company that helps businesses from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies to develop their blockchain strategy and build decentralized applications using blockchains and smart contracts.

Among the potential applications of blockchain technology in the public sector could be talent recruitment and management.

“Blockchain brings massive infrastructure benefits any time that there are centralized parties that control the flow of information,” according to Gord.

Tech Disruption: Opportunities and Threats, is the title of Gord’s presentation. He will be discussing the history innovation and the exponential nature of the technology advancement which society is about to reach.

Other key speakers at the event include:

  • Tammy Labelle, assistant deputy minister, Integrated Services Branch
  • Jennifer Urbanski, account executive, LinkedIn Marketing Solutions
  • Alex Miller, president, Esri Canada
  • Bobby Singh, CISO and global head of infrastructure, TMX
  • Ramy Sedra, data and analytics consulting leader, PwC Canada
  • Imran Ahmad, partner, Miller Thomson LLP
  • Alison Taylor, consultant, Performance Solutions Inc.
  • George Ross, editor-in-chief, Canadian Government Executive
  • Philippe Johnston, chief information officer, and department security officer,
  • Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Departmental Security Officer (DSO), Social Sciences Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) & the Natural Sciences Engineering Research Council (NSERC)
  • John Burrett, president, Haiku Analytics Inc.
  • Robert Weisman, engineer in residence, part-time professor and candidate PhD (e-Business) University of Ottawa
  • Thomas Kearney, senior project officer, Open Government Secretariat, chief information officer branch, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
  • Patrick Cormier, vice-president (business development) Notarius Inc.

To find out more about the event, the program agenda, and to register, click on this link.