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THE BLOCKCHAIN
ETHICAL DESIGN
FRAMEWORK

CARA LAPOINTE AND LARA FISHBANE

Dramatic predictions have been made about the potential of Blockchain to rev-
olutionize everything for billions of people around the globe, from worldwide
financial markets and the distribution of humanitarian assistance to the very
way we recognize human identity. Some dismiss these claims as excessive tech-
nology hype by citing flaws in the technology or the robustness of incumbent
solutions and infrastructure. The reality will likely fall somewhere between
these two extremes across multiple sectors. Whereas initial applications of
Blockchain were focused on the financial industry, current applications address
a wide array of sectors, with major implications for social impact. This paper
aims to demonstrate the capacity of Blockchain to create scalable social impact
and to identify the elements that need to be addressed to mitigate challenges in
its application.

We are at a moment when technolo-
gy is enabling society to experiment with
new solutions and business models.
Ubiquity and global reach, increased
capabilities, and aﬀordability have made
technology a critical tool for solving prob-
lems, making this an exciting time to
think about achieving greater social
impact. We now can address issues for
underserved or marginalized people in
ways that were previously unimaginable.
Blockchain is a technology that holds real
promise for dealing with key ineﬃciencies
and transforming operations in the social
sector, and for improving lives. Because
of its immutability and decentralization,
Blockchain has the potential to create

transparency, provide distributed verifi-
cation, and build trust across multiple
systèmes. For instance, Blockchain appli-
cations could provide the means to estab-
lish identities for individuals without
identification papers, improve access to
finance and banking services for under-
served populations, and distribute aid to
refugees in a more transparent and eﬃ-
cient manner. De la même manière, national and
subnational governments are putting land
registry information onto Blockchains to
create greater transparency and avoid
corruption and manipulation by third
parties. From increasing access to capital
to tracking health and education data
across multiple generations to improving

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voter records and voting systems,
Blockchain has countless potential appli-
cations for social impact.

As developers begin to build these
types of solutions, the social eﬀects of
Blockchain could be powerful and lasting.
With the potential for such a powerful
impact, the design, application, et
approach to the development and imple-
mentation of Blockchain technologies
have long-term implications for society
and individuals. This paper outlines why
intentionality of design, which is impor-
tant with any technology, is particularly
crucial with Blockchain and oﬀers a
framework to guide policymakers, sociale
impact organizations, and other decision-
makers. As social media, cryptocurren-
cies, and algorithms have shown, technol-
ogy is not neutral. Values are embedded
in the code. How the problem is defined

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

and by whom, who is building the solu-
tion, how it gets programmed and imple-
mented, who has access, and what rules
are created have consequences, in both
intentional and unintentional ways. Dans
the applications and implementation of
Blockchain, it is critical to understand
that seemingly innocuous design choices
have resounding ethical implications for
people’s lives.

This paper addresses why intention-
ality of design matters, identifies the key
questions that should be asked, and pro-
vides a framework to approach the use of
Blockchain, especially as it relates to
social impact. It examines the key attrib-
utes of Blockchain, both its broad appli-
cability and its particular potential for
social impact, and the challenges in fully
realizing that potential. Social-impact
organizations and decisionmakers have

CCaarraa LLaaPPooiinnttee is a Senior Fellow at Georgetown University within the Beeck Center for Social
Impact + Innovation, where she works at the intersection of technology, politique, leadership, et
ethics. Over the last two decades, LaPointe has held a diverse range of technical, acquisition,
recherche, and operational roles, including at the White House, the United Nations, and the United
States Navy. LaPointe is a patented engineer and a White House Fellow, and she holds degrees
from the United States Naval Academy, the University of Oxford, the Woods Hole
Oceanographic Institution, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

LLaarraa FFiisshhbbaannee is a Research Assistant at the Brookings Institution within the Metropolitan Policy
Program. Fishbane is a graduate of Georgetown University, where she studied economics and
English and researched issues related to poverty, labor, and education policy. Previously, elle
worked at the nonprofit 826DC, where she taught in inner-city schools in Washington, D.C., et
explored the relationship between writing and education reform. Fishbane has served as a
reporter at Forbes, Kiplinger, and the Georgetown Voice, with a focus on financing higher edu-
cation and innovation in classrooms.

This paper is an abridged version of “The Blockchain Ethical Design Framework” published in
Juin 2018 by the Beeck Center for Social Impact +Innovation at Georgetown University, with sup-
port from The Rockefeller Foundation, which can be found at

http://beeckcenter.georgetown.edu/Blockchain-ethical-design-framework-social-impact/.

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Cara LaPointe and Lara Fishbane

an obligation to understand the ethical
approaches used in designing Blockchain
technologie, especially how they aﬀect
marginalized and vulnerable populations.
Launched in June 2018 at the Beeck
Center for Social Innovation + Impact at
Georgetown University, with support
from The Rockefeller Foundation, le
Blockchain Ethical Design Framework is
a tool for integrating values and ethical
intentionality into the design and imple-
mentation of Blockchain technology.1.

WHAT IS BLOCKCHAIN?

Blockchain refers to a particular class of
digital distributed ledger technologies
that share records of sequenced informa-
tion or
transactions simultaneously
across a network in an immutable and
secure manner. Blockchain does not
require a central trust authority to verify
information or authenticate transactions;
rather, trust is built into the governance
rules that include pre-written code that
defines how actors can behave in the sys-
tem. Each transaction between network
actors is strictly verified using computer
algorithms against the governance rules.
The accepted transactions are then
grouped into secure “blocks” of informa-
tion and linked sequentially in a virtual
“chain.” While this paper focuses on
Blockchain, much of the discussion is
more broadly applicable across distrib-
uted ledger technologies.

Transactions on a Blockchain could
be either the transfer of a digital asset,
such as a cryptocurrency token, or a way
to link information to a particular profile,
such as associating a university degree
with a digital identity. Every transaction
in a Blockchain has a unique identity that
is linked to a single entity who can exer-
cise control over the information or asset
from that transaction. Once a transaction
is recorded on the Blockchain, it is eﬀec-
tively irremovable and unchangeable. Le

result is an immutable timestamped
record of a series of transactions.

technologists,

This unique combination of attrib-
utes—transparency, trust, and immutable
transactions—makes Blockchain technol-
ogy appealing in its application for social
impact. The technology’s flexibility and
extensibility to apply it in countless ways
to solve longstanding problems are driv-
ing
innovators, et
Blockchain evangelists across the globe.
Cependant, Blockchain is in fact neither a
single technology nor a monolithic entity.
There are myriad design and imple-
mentation choices that create functionally
distinct Blockchain systems. One of the
most significant Blockchain distinctions
is between permissionless and permis-
sioned systems. In permissionless ver-
sions, anyone can participate in creating
the blocks for a Blockchain; permissioned
applications allow only authorized enti-
ties to do so. De la même manière, some Blockchain
ledgers are publicly viewable, alors que
others can be seen only by a designated
audience. En outre, open-source
Blockchain platforms are available for
Blockchain development, as are propri-
etary or custom options. These are just
some of the many choices that give
Blockchain its flexibility and extensibility.
Depending how it is designed and
implemented, Blockchain can have a wide
range of consequences
for people.
En outre, a Blockchain is always one
component or layer of a larger system in
which people and technology interact to
create an overall outcome. Ainsi, making
intentional,
dans
Blockchain design and implementation
into an overall system is crucial to ensur-
ing the technology’s potential for trans-
formative change.

decisions

ethical

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The Blockchain Ethical Design Framework

THE KEY ATTRIBUTES OF
BLOCKCHAIN

Blockchain has a spectrum of key attrib-
utes that are highly interdependent and
that vary in their relative dominance,
based on design and implementation. All
of these key features should be considered
potential attributes, since their exact real-
ization depends on the detailed design of
a particular Blockchain system. As men-
tioned above, the combination of trans-
parency, trust, and immutability is unique
to Blockchain. Other potential key attrib-
utes, including pseudonymity, verifiabili-
ty, controllability, security, and a disinter-
mediated structure, are not unique to
Blockchain but are important for under-
standing the potential and challenges of
the technology. In practice, these attrib-
utes are interconnected and their relative
strengths are determined by the design
and implementation. Decisions about
how to optimize combinations of these
attributes in a Blockchain will determine
the impact of its application and have
potentially significant consequences for
people’s lives.

Transparency

Identical copies of the entire record of
transactions are available to all partici-
pants of a Blockchain at all times. This is
often referred to as a distributed ledger.
The ledger provides transparency of
transactions to anyone with access. Dans
some cases, these ledgers are available to
anyone.

Trust

Strict governance rules, cryptography,
and immutable transactions work togeth-
er to provide strong security for individu-
als interacting directly on a distributed
network without a central trusted author-
ville.

Immutability

Immutable transactions recorded on a
Blockchain cannot be changed or
removed. To change a transaction on the
Blockchain, a new transaction needs to be
added to reverse the effects of the original.
In immutable ledgers, there is no way to
“expunge” the record of a transaction.

Pseudonymity

Using public and private key systems,
participants have a public-facing digital
“address” that is not publicly associated to
them but over which they exercise unique
control. This provides pseudonymity
through encryption that creates effective
anonymity for participants.

Verifiability

Transactions on a Blockchain are imme-
diately auditable in real time. As an
immutable and sequenced digital ledger, un
Blockchain allows the complete record of
transactions to be directly verified.

Controllability

The tracking of individual assets uniquely
on a Blockchain allows an individual to
exercise eﬀective and exclusive control
over data or digital assets. En outre,
transactions on a Blockchain allow the
secure transfer of control between indi-
viduals over the network.

Sécurité

The use of encryption algorithms com-
bined with the disaggregation of data
across a distributed network of nodes
(c'est à dire., computers) provides security against
attempts to destroy or change the record
of transactions.

Disintermediation

Using direct transactions, Blockchain
technology can streamline processes by
cutting out unnecessary intermediaries
and process steps, and reduce the risk of

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Cara LaPointe and Lara Fishbane

Chiffre 1. The Key Attributes of Blockchain

errors that usually come with extra trans-
actions in a system.

THE SOCIAL IMPACT
POTENTIAL OF
BLOCKCHAIN

Blockchain’s potential for social impact
spans a wide spectrum. The technology
has the ability to disrupt diﬀerent types of
institutions and social systems across the
globe. The crypto-economic functions of
Blockchain are creating microeconomies
and incentive systems that are bypassing
traditional institutions to meet the spe-
cialized needs of diverse populations.
Blockchain can also be used as a tool to
create transformative shifts in control
over information, which is a critical and
valuable resource in an increasingly digi-
tal society. Blockchain can be a tool for
democracy by
immutable
records of information that cannot be

creating

altered, censored, or suppressed by
authoritarian regimes. Blockchain also
can transfer eﬀective control over person-
al data back to individuals, thereby allow-
ing them to restore their privacy and to
exercise power over the monetization of
their own data.

While the potential transformative
power of Blockchain is vast, much of this
transformation will be achieved through
the proliferation of practical applications
of the technology. The possibilities of
Blockchain are already being explored
across a wide spectrum of social impact
initiatives, organizations, and applica-
tion. Below are some broad categories in
which Blockchain has demonstrated
promise.

Digital Identity

One of the most
important things
Blockchain can do is create a digital iden-
tity. The immutability and verifiability of

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The Blockchain Ethical Design Framework

Blockchain systems enable the establish-
ment of permanent and portable digital
identities. These identities are linked to a
unique individual and can be used in a
variety of contexts to prove identity or
credentials. This capability provides
extensive social-good benefits. One exam-
ple is the eﬀort by ID2020, a public-pri-
vate partnership, to supply digital identi-
ties to people living without oﬃcially rec-
ognized identities in order to give them
access to economic, politique, and social
opportunities.2. Another example is a
Blockchain recently launched in New
York City by the organization Blockchain
for Change that creates a digital identity
system to connect homeless individuals
with eﬃcient access to services and pro-
grams.3.

Digital identities also raise important
questions about privacy and control of
data. The Sovrin Foundation is leveraging
Blockchain technology to return control
over digital identity to the individual.4.
The Sovrin Trust Framework is an eﬀort
to create a robust governance structure
que, among other things, allows a person
to exert positive control over any personal
digital identifiers on the Blockchain. That
person would have control over the shar-
ing of his or her identifiers in a way that
preserves anonymity so that individual
identifiers could not be linked to one
another, thus preventing data brokers
from aggregating that information, as is
currently done via the Internet.

Asset Tracking

Blockchain has significant potential for
supply chain management and tracking
assets. Par exemple, De Beers is piloting a
diamond-tracking Blockchain to ensure
the traceability of diamonds to help
industry professionals and consumers
distinguish between conflict and non-
conflict diamonds.5. In another example,
IBM is working with several big food
retailers to prevent fraud by verifiably

tracking the provenance of food and to
increase food safety by eﬃciently facilitat-
ing rapid responses to recalls of contami-
nated food.6.

Blockchain technology can also help
governments, aid agencies, and individual
donors to transparently track financial
ressources, such as humanitarian or disas-
ter assistance funds, from the point of ori-
gin to the point of application.7. Pour
example, the platform Giveth provides a
tool to create Decentralized Altruistic
Communities, which transparently track
donor funds for individual projects, tel
as funding electricity for schools in South
Africa.8. In another example, AID:Technologie
has created a Blockchain system to trans-
parently track digital entitlements from
aid organizations. Using mobile phones
and plastic vouchers, users can create dig-
ital identities that are then linked to
spendable assets in a Blockchain. The aid
organization has transparency on every
voucher being spent and on the full distri-
bution chain.9.

Enterprise Efficiency

Blockchain oﬀers tremendous potential
for its ability to aggregate, verify, et
transact with multiple data sources. Many
governments and businesses are consid-
ering applying Blockchains to manage
internal transactions. A recent report
from Accenture says Blockchain’s trans-
formational potential lies in its power to
create eﬃcient data-sharing and reconcil-
iation processes within an enterprise.10.
Data are the backbone of most business
opérations, and current methods for mul-
tiple parties to leverage data often include
laborious and ineﬃcient transactions and
back-and-forth communications. Par
comparison, Blockchain allows multiple
parties to eﬃciently and transparently
collaborate with data in a way that is
immediately verifiable.11.

One specific way organizations create
better data-sharing and greater trans-

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parency is through contracts. Blockchain
has great potential for creating outcomes
through “smart contracts,” in which com-
puters automatically execute an action
once conditions are met. These contracts
increase the speed and accountability of
managing transactions. Outcomes-based
contracts do not have to be executed on a
Blockchain, but putting them on an
immutable Blockchain provides irre-
versible security guarantees that make it
harder for users to violate the contracts.12.
One example is smart contracts for peer-
to-peer lending or sharing networks.
Entrepreneurs such as Lendoit and
ETHLend are leveraging smart contracts
for direct, peer-to-peer lending pro-
grams.13. Brooklyn Microgrid, an energy-
sharing micropower grid, uses smart con-
tracts to create direct energy market
exchanges where people can buy and sell
energy with other members of their com-
munity.14.

EXPLORING SOCIAL-GOOD
APPLICATIONS OF
BLOCKCHAIN

Within the realm of digital identity, actif
tracking, and enterprise efficiency,
Blockchain has a diverse range of particu-
lar social-good applications. Below are
some of the many representative exam-
ples.

Expanding Access to Services

Blockchain can increase inclusivity by
allowing people who do not have formal
identity credentials or credit histories to
build a secure digital identity, thus reduc-
ing risks for
lenders. Par exemple,
BanQu’s economic-identity Blockchain
aggregates personal identifiers, such as
financial transaction histories, property
records, trust networks, and education
records, so that people can develop a
portable and vetted personal history that
gives them access to formal services.15.

Protecting Vital Records

Governments and other entities across
the globe are exploring Blockchain appli-
for vital-record protection.
cations
Estonia is one of the world’s leading gov-
ernments in the adoption of e-governance
technologies to create digital registries
and online government services, lequel
includes securing more than one million
public health records with a form of
Blockchain
technologie. The records
themselves are kept in a traditional data-
base and, to enhance the security of pri-
vate information, the Blockchain logs
every time those records are accessed or
altered.16. In addition
to providing
auditable records, Blockchain protects
those records by scattering data through-
out a distributed Blockchain ledger, thus
reducing vulnerability more than is possi-
ble with data that are aggregated and
stored in one location.

Recording Public Transactions

Blockchain-based
land registries are
being piloted in countries around the
monde. Nonprofit foundations such as
Landesa and the Cadasta Foundation are
testing Blockchain applications to record
property titles and transfers.17. In another
example, the Bitfury Group and the
Republic of Georgia have designed and
piloted a Blockchain titling system to
improve security, allow for real-time
audits, and reduce the transaction costs of
dans
land property
registering
Georgia.18.

titles

Enabling Secure Mobile Voting

Blockchain-based technologies are being
explored to provide secure mobile voting.
Companies such as Voatz are leveraging
the attributes of Blockchain to provide
end-to-end verifiable voting on an acces-
sible platform that reduces barriers to
voting.19. Dans 2018, West Virginia piloted a
mobile voting solution for deployed mili-
tary personnel that securely records votes

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The Blockchain Ethical Design Framework

directly onto a Blockchain-based system
developed by Voatz.20.

BLOCKCHAIN DESIGN
CONSEQUENCES

Preventing Human Trafficking

Governments and organizations are look-
ing at the promise of Blockchain to com-
bat and prevent human traﬃcking. Le
United Nations has partnered with the
World Identity Network to launch a pilot
project in Moldova of a Blockchain-based
digital identity system for undocumented
children.21. In a similar eﬀort, the non-
profit organization iRespond is leveraging
its Blockchain digital identity systems to
help prevent forced labor in oﬀshore fish-
eries.22. The U.S. Department of State is
joining with Coca-Cola and other private
partners to create Blockchain-based
secure worker registries to help prevent
forced labor worldwide.23.

Improving Medical Research and
Healthcare

Blockchains are being piloted to improve
medical research and healthcare. A proto-
type for electronic health records and
medical research data called MedRec was
through a collaboration
developed
between the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology Media Lab and the Beth
Israel Deaconess Medical Center.24. Using
MedRec, control and responsibility over
medical records are shifted from institu-
tions back to the patients, who are ulti-
mately in control of where those records
In another example,
peut
iRespond has created a Blockchain digital
identity system to anonymize patient
records, thus reducing barriers to HIV
testing and collecting more accurate data
for HIV clinical trials. It has implemented
this system in various projects with aca-
demic partners, such as its partnership
with the University of Washington in
Kenya and a separate partnership with
Johns Hopkins University in Thailand.26.

travel.25.

What makes Blockchain so relevant is
also its greatest challenge: the interdepen-
dence of its attributes. It is impossible to
focus on one desired feature without
understanding and accounting for the
interaction of all the attributes of
Blockchain. There always will be tradeoﬀs
in the design process in order to optimize
the desired attributes of Blockchain for a
given application, which will result in
functionally diﬀerent Blockchain systems.
Small design and implementation choices
can have resounding ethical conse-
quences for people and communities.

Like the potential positive social
impacts of Blockchain, the ethical conse-
quences of this technology can be just as
diverse and wide ranging. Whereas
Blockchain can be an instrument of
democracy, it also can be used by govern-
ments or other entities to exert and con-
solidate power over people and informa-
tion. Whereas crypto-economic systems
can increase financial inclusion and create
innovative microeconomies, these struc-
tures could also create exploitive systems
with perverse incentives or undermine
existing payment and monetary systems
that have the virtue of being understood
and accepted within formal financial mar-
kets. The eﬀective anonymity of cryp-
tocurrencies also has been used for crimi-
nal activity. Whereas Blockchain has the
ability to restore personal control over
data, it could also have the eﬀect of con-
solidating and codifying certain entities’
control over information and personal
data. These human consequences could
be the result of intentional action, mais aussi
they could be created unintentionally
technologies
Blockchain
through
designed with positive motivations.

The following examples represent
some of the many potential consequences
of the tradeoﬀs made in Blockchain

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conception. These examples are meant to be
representative, not comprehensive; ils
illustrate the breadth of the challenges
and potential consequences that arise
depuis
the practical applications of
Blockchain design and implementation.
At one end of the impact spectrum,
Blockchain technologies could create or
exacerbate severe power inequities in
communautés, or they could consolidate
power over individuals and information
by entities that design and implement the
technology to their own advantage. At the
other end of the impact spectrum, nous
present particular technical design issues
such as private key systems and encryp-
tion algorithms to show that even these
seemingly innocuous design details can
significantly aﬀect people.

Codifying Negative Social Impacts

One potential consequence for end users
of Blockchain technology is the codifica-
tion and exacerbation of existing negative
social dynamics. Blockchain could be
used as a tool to consolidate control over
people or entities or to create secret agree-
ments that circumvent laws and regula-
tion. Par exemple, a Blockchain used to
provide access to financial services
through verification that relies on mem-
bers of a community to collectively verify
a person’s creditworthiness has vastly dif-
ferent eﬀects on an end user from a
Blockchain that relies on a person’s histo-
ry of financial transactions, property
la possession, and education record. Le
first example runs the risk of codifying
biases within the community, while the
latter runs the risk of codifying the status
quo. Without
intentional design, un
Blockchain could run the risk of exacer-
bating disparities.

The Risks of Transparent or
Immutable Personal Information

Transparency of personally identifiable
information could put someone at risk of

exploitation, while transparency of ethnic
or religious background, sexual orienta-
tion, or other identifiers could put a per-
son at risk for persecution. Immutability
of information on a Blockchain removes
the ability to be forgotten. Should a polit-
ical refugee, witness to a crime, or sur-
vivor of domestic abuse have the right to
anonymity or to create a new identity?
Even if someone legally changed her
nom, she would be unable to disassociate
her biometrics from the old digital identi-
ty in the Blockchain. Is there a minimally
viable set of identifiers that should be
used to create a digital identity in order to
help mitigate these eﬀects? Par exemple, si
the purpose of a Blockchain is to enable
short-term access to services or resources,
such as post-disaster assistance, is it even
necessary to include any personally iden-
tifiable information as part of the digital
identité, or would a transactional user-
name suﬃce?

The “Zero State” Challenge

personal

Au-delà
identité, many
Blockchain eﬀorts are designed to create
secure, immutable, and immediately
auditable provenance records for physical
items. Cependant, what happens if the
veracity of those items’ provenance ini-
tially entered into the Blockchain comes
into question? This is referred to as the
“zero state problem,” and it is a major
issue for Blockchain-based provenance
records for physical objects that predate
the Blockchain. Consider land registry
systems and eﬀorts by entire countries to
transition to Blockchain for land title
recording and transfer. Some of the
world’s population lives on land without
having clear title, which could lead to sig-
nificant uncertainty about the initial land
title data in a Blockchain. En plus,
the falsification of a land title is already a
problem in some places, so false land title
immutable
dans
data

recorded

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The Blockchain Ethical Design Framework

Blockchain could exacerbate the eﬀects
on disenfranchised owners.

Reliance on Private Keys

In a Blockchain, security and control over
a digital asset are established with encryp-
tion algorithms and public-private key
pairs, which include a publicly known
“address” and a private digital key that
can unlock the mailbox at that address.
The advantage is that individual users do
not need to remember passwords or link
their personal information, such as email
addresses or telephone numbers, to col-
lections of stored information. Cependant,
users do need their private keys to access
the system. If there is no way to retrieve a
lost private key, the negative eﬀects could
be considerable. Consider a Blockchain-
based system to record property titles. Un
individual would need his private digital
key to access control over his property
and sell it to someone else. What if he
loses his private key? Is there any way to
reset or retrieve his private key? If not,
does that mean he has lost control over
his property? If Blockchains are hosting
control over assets, especially valuable
assets, it is important to incorporate a way
to retrieve an individual’s private key.

The Limited Lifespan of
Encryption

Blockchain relies heavily on encryption,
and encryption has an eﬀective lifespan.
As computational techniques and com-
puter power continue to evolve at a rapid
pace, donc, aussi, must encryption algorithms
stay ahead of the technology to break
through encryption. If immutable and
distributed information on a Blockchain
is encrypted with outdated algorithms,
that information may become vulnerable
to exposure. This can have significant
consequences for people’s lives if the
exposure of personal information leaves
vulnerable populations open to exploita-
tion. Blockchains built for long-term

applications, such as land registries, must
also consider the possible eﬀects of quan-
tum computing to amplify this threat
through its projected ability to break
through any non-quantum-proof digital
signatures used on Blockchains and to
forge transactions.27.

Environmental Impacts

In the absence of a trusted central author-
ville, Bitcoin-based Blockchain applica-
tions allow entities worldwide to transact
safely and securely, yet they consume sig-
nificant environmental energy. Bitcoin
authenticates transactions on its distrib-
uted network using a network consensus
rule or a consensus protocol called Proof
of Work, which uses brute force trial-and-
error methods to guess trillions of possi-
ble solutions to a cryptographic puzzle.
The electrical energy consumption
required to accomplish this has become
an increasing area of concern, as leverag-
ing Blockchain for social good with a
Proof of Work consensus protocol could
risk harming the environment. In June
2015, the electrical consumption estimat-
ed for a single Bitcoin transaction was
equivalent to the energy used by an aver-
age American home in 1.57 jours. Par
Décembre 2017, the increasing value of
Bitcoin had driven so much competition
into this space that the electrical con-
sumption for a Bitcoin transaction had
jumped to 8.45 days of average use by an
American home.28. Alternate ways to cre-
ate consensus on a Blockchain are being
designed to address the environmental
challenge.29.

THE IMPORTANCE OF
INTENTIONAL DESIGN

In a traditional design and build context
of digital technology, there is an opportu-
nity to modify code and to test and fix
design flaws even after the technology has
launched. For instance, an application

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can change how to manage an identity by
modifying code and releasing a new ver-
sion. It’s not that simple with Blockchain.
Once built, it is much more complicated
to change course, and any information
already in a Blockchain is immutable and
distributed. This drives the need for
intentionality in design to identify what
attributes need to be prioritized at the
expense of others in the design process.

Even before deciding whether
Blockchain is the right technology to use,
social impact organizations need to clear-
ly identify the problems they want to
address and the associated outcomes they
want to achieve, establish the appropriate
ethical approach and guiding values, et
understand the available technology
choices. This is particularly important in
Blockchain, in which the rules governing
the human interactions with the technol-
ogy are determined from the earliest
stages of design and can be exceedingly
diﬃcult to change once the technology is
implemented.

As with all technology implementa-
tion, organizations are managing the
frais, schedule, and performance require-
ments. Donc, ethical design and
social-impact goals must be incorporated
into the project requirements from the
start. Blockchain development is no
exception. As a result of these challenges,
we designed the Blockchain Ethical
Design Framework as a practical tool to
integrate intentional ethical design into
the Blockchain design and implementa-
tion process.

BUILDING BETTER
TECHNOLOGY WITH THE
BLOCKCHAIN ETHICAL
DESIGN FRAMEWORK

Social-impact organizations and policy-
makers have an obligation to understand
the ethical approaches used in designing
Blockchain technology, especially how

they affect marginalized and vulnerable
populations. The Blockchain Ethical
Design Framework was launched in June
2018 as a tool to create an intentional
design that incorporates key ethical ques-
tions for the development and use of
Blockchain. UN
le
Framework is presented in this paper.

summary

The overarching goals of
le
Framework are to (1) give decisionmakers
an outcome-focused and user-centric tool
to assess the context-specific conse-
quences and ethical implications of their
Blockchain design and implementation
choices; et (2) to enable decisionmakers
to use this understanding to make the
appropriate values-based choices
à
achieve better social outcomes. For the
purposes of this Framework, “decision-
maker” is considered to be anyone who is
influencing a social-impact solution that
may involve the design and implementa-
tion of a Blockchain. En outre, le
Framework should be used in a collabora-
tive way that actively involves all critical
stakeholders throughout the process,
from problem definition through execu-
tion. The stakeholders will come from the
diverse communities, fields, and organi-
zations that are involved in all aspects of
the relevant ecosystem.

To develop this Framework, le
authors worked with more than one hun-
dred experts across academia, govern-
ment, and the private and nonprofit sec-
tors. The contributors represent more
que 90 organizations with expertise in a
diverse range of fields, such as digital
identité, information privacy, ethics, gov-
ernance, law, technological innovation
and development, international develop-
ment, humanitarian assistance, cyberse-
curity, artificial intelligence, information
technology management, and their inter-
sections. Collaboration with this diverse
community of experts revealed important
ethical questions, concerns, and consider-
implementation of
ations

dans

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The Blockchain Ethical Design Framework

Blockchain technology for social impact.
Finalement, these ethical considerations
traced broadly to six root issues: gover-
nance, identité, access, verification and
authentication, ownership of data, et
security. Ensemble, these factors create the
foundation for the development of the
Framework.

The Framework incorporates three
main elements. The first is to establish the
foundational definitions for the desired
outcome and explicitly defining an
approach with which to achieve this out-
come. This includes an assessment of
whether Blockchain is an appropriate
technology for the desired outcome. Le
second element is using the Framework to
design the Blockchain through a design
spiral approach that reveals the impact of
design choices on the desired outcome
and on the people aﬀected by the design.
This involves asking critical questions in
each of the key areas of ethical considera-
tion and understanding how particular
design choices in each area will aﬀect the
desired outcome and participants. Le
final element is to iterate and revisit the
Framework to reassess the key questions
at transition points in a Blockchain’s life
cycle. We believe this process of designing
intentionally from the outset and follow-
ing with iterative reassessments will
ensure that Blockchain continues to
achieve the desired social impact while
predicting and preventing unintended
consequences to the maximum extent
possible.

Establishing the Approach

The first phase of the Framework is to
establish intentionality of design through
a conventional design process with a
strong focus on ethical intentionality. Le
steps of this process are:
•
the desired outcomes
•
•

Explicitly identify the ethical approach
Assess the ecosystem of the desired out-

Define the problem being addressed and

Determine the guiding design philoso-

come
•
phy
•
appropriate technology choice

Determine whether Blockchain is an

These steps represent a conventional
design approach enhanced by targeted
additions to explicitly identify the desired
outcome; by an ethical approach and val-
ues that will guide the design process; et
by understanding the contextual elements
that can aﬀect the desired outcome. These
contextual elements include the users of
the Blockchain, their community, le
financing mechanisms driving the proj-
ect, the existing infrastructure, et le
existing and potential technologies aﬀect-
ing the outcome.

ethical

approach will

The design process will require mak-
ing tradeoﬀs between the attributes that
were described earlier in the paper.
Explicitly identifying the outcomes and
le
guide
Blockchain design choices. Par exemple,
in an aid-distribution Blockchain, le
ethical approach may be to ensure that all
members of a community have equal
access to aid. If the community has signif-
icant power disparities among its mem-
bers, the guiding design philosophy
would be to prioritize design choices that
minimize disparities in aid distribution.
Addressing these questions at the outset
of the design process provides ethical
intentionality that oﬀers a guiding star to
help navigate the inevitable design trade-
oﬀs.

Defining the Problem and the
Desired Outcomes

The Framework is guided by an outcome-
and user-focused approach to driving
social impact. Blockchain technology
holds immense potential for social-
impact applications, but it is still just a
technologie. Finalement, the decisionmak-
ers behind the technology are responsible
for delivering an outcome that benefits

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Cara LaPointe and Lara Fishbane

the end users. By making the outcome
and the user central to the design process,
the Framework holds decisionmakers
accountable to their goals, and to the
users.

The first step of the Framework is to
clearly define the problem, y compris
addressing any inherent bias; to identify
the desired outcome to solve that prob-
lem; and to create a system that supports
the realization of that result. This means
ensuring that every aspect of the design,
including the choice of technology, est
made in the interest of achieving the out-
come. Cependant, it is also essential that the
outcome be evaluated through the user’s
perspective and address user needs
through the lens of an ethical approach.

Identifying the Ethical Approach

appropriate

Making ethical design decisions involves
identifying
ethical
approach and understanding the result-
ing principles and values that underpin a
project. Ethical design and decisionmak-
ing can follow many possible ethical par-
adigms and approaches, such as one cre-
ated by researchers at the Georgetown
University Kennedy Institute of Ethics
et
the Fred Hutchinson Cancer
Research Center, and others created by
the Santa Clara University Markkula
for Applied Ethics.30. Le
Centre
approach could focus on maximizing the
benefits for the users and minimizing
harm. A diﬀerent path might prioritize
the overall societal benefit of
le
Blockchain project, even if that risks
harming some individual users. One ethi-
cal approach could be to create a system
that treats all users equally, while another
could focus on ensuring the welfare of all
users by tailoring the system to function
diﬀerently for individual segments of the
user population. Each of these represents
a valid yet slightly diﬀerent ethical
approche, and in practice a combination

of these approaches will generally be
used.31.

The second step of the Framework is
to identify the ethical approaches that will
guide decisionmaking on your project.
This Framework does not presuppose the
choice of any particular combination of
ces
ethical approaches. Cependant,
approaches can lead to very diﬀerent out-
comes for users and communities, so it is
important for decisionmakers to explicit-
ly identify, understand, and remain con-
sistent with their ethical approaches.
Using the chosen ethical approaches dur-
ing the ecosystem assessment enables
identification of the project’s key princi-
ples and values. These key principles and
values create the design philosophy that
will guide the navigation of design and
implementation tradeoﬀs throughout the
project so as to ultimately arrive at the
desired outcome.

Assessing the Outcome Ecosystem

Conducting a contextual or ecosystem
assessment for the desired outcome is
critical, since outcomes do not exist in a
vacuum. Plutôt, they are driven by an
ecosystem of factors: the user, the com-
munity, existing infrastructure, financing,
and technology options. Donc, le
third step of the Framework is to conduct
an ecosystem assessment to thoroughly
understand and acknowledge the roles
that each of these core components plays
in contributing to an outcome. The roles
of these components are often connected
via a web of complex interactions, et
these roles may vary throughout the proj-
ect timeline. Knowing the context for an
outcome is the only way to eﬀectively
achieve the desired outcome. The five
major components of the ecosystem out-
come are users, community, infrastruc-
ture, financing, and technology.

Users
At the outset of the ecosystem assessment,

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The Blockchain Ethical Design Framework

the end users of a Blockchain tool must be
explicitly identified and the ecosystem
must be understood from their perspec-
tive. Understanding this end-user per-
spective often involves in-depth conver-
sations and research, along with an inclu-
sive design process to fully understand
who the end users are, what their needs
might be, what their vulnerabilities might
être, and any risks they might face. These
needs, vulnerabilities, and risks should be
evaluated in the present state, and how
they might evolve in future contexts.

Community
In addition to identifying the individual
end users of the Blockchain, it is also
important to identify and understand
their community. This involves under-
standing the borders of the community or
communautés, as well as the dynamics
within and between them. When consid-
ering a community, it is important to pay
attention to what dynamics and systemic
forces are at play, as well as the roles and
relationships of all of community mem-
bers, whether or not they are direct
Blockchain end users. Developing this
understanding may require collaboration
with community members to identify, pour
example, who could provide a good or
service that is integral to the desired out-
come, who could provide the identity
necessary to access that good or service,
and who in the community could authen-
ticate the validity of the identity claims.

Infrastructure
To achieve a new desired outcome, it is
important to understand the infrastruc-
ture that binds members of the communi-
ty together. This infrastructure could
include legal and regulatory frameworks,
public policies, informal rules or systems,
and data and other assets. These struc-
tures could be leveraged to achieve the
desired outcome but they may also create
friction or barriers to the implementation
of Blockchain tools. The potential for

these structures to create friction could
occur at any stage of the project, depuis
conception, to development, to deployment,
to implementation, to sustainment, to the
potential termination or transition of
Blockchain tools.

Financing
The financial incentives driving the
implementation of a Blockchain tool will
influence every stage of the project lifecy-
clé. Donc, it is critical to understand
how a Blockchain would be financed, OMS
would benefit financially from its imple-
mentation, who would be hurt financially
from its implementation, and how finan-
cial hurdles might alter key design choic-
es.

Technologie
Analogous to the financial component,
technology will also significantly aﬀect
the implementation of a Blockchain tool
and will influence every stage of the proj-
ect lifecycle. Donc, understanding the
technology landscape is necessary. UN
decisionmaker must know if and what
legacy technology systems exist that
achieve or influence the desired outcome.
If existing technologies can achieve the
desired outcome, it is critical to under-
stand if and how Blockchain would be a
more desirable choice for reaching that
goal. If no technology solution exists, le
decisionmaker must determine whether a
Blockchain technology would be viable.
Either way, one must understand what
other technology systems exist or have to
be created that will interact with the
Blockchain system and whether these sys-
tems create hurdles that might alter key
Blockchain design choices. Encore, ces
are existing technologies that could be
leveraged to achieve the desired outcome,
but they may also create friction or barri-
ers to the implementation of Blockchain
tools. These frictions or barriers could
emerge anywhere along the project time-
line.

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Determining the Design
Philosophy

The fourth step of the Framework is to
determine the project design philosophy
by defining the values and guiding princi-
ples underpinning a project. The design
philosophy could include ideals such as
equity, fairness, transparency, the right to
individual privacy, and the right to own
property. Whereas the ethical approach
provides a framework for considering
how standards are set, the values outline
the project’s priorities. Par exemple, pro-
tecting user privacy would be an impor-
tant guiding principle that aligns with the
ethical approach of minimizing harm to
users. In digital identity use cases, no sen-
sitive private information would be put
sur
the Blockchain directly. Le
Blockchain could link to the information,
or the Blockchain could use zero knowl-
edge proofs in which the Blockchain veri-
fies the existence of an identifier, such as a
social security number, but the social
security number itself is not on the
Blockchain. This is one example of how
the ethical approach and values are con-
sidered together to constitute the design
philosophy.

The guiding principles and values are
determined by assessing the ecosystem of
the desired outcome within the context of
the chosen ethical approach. By under-
standing how the ecosystem components
interact to create an outcome and the
resulting ethical implications, a decision-
maker can identify the guiding principles
and values that will have a contextual
impact and create the foundation of the
entire design process. This will help the
implementer navigate inevitable design
and implementation tradeoﬀs, especially
when values and guiding principles con-
flict. Par exemple, there may be a conflict
between equity and
in a
Blockchain that provides user access to
services in a context with severe inequali-

fairness

liens. Valuing equity in outcome in this
example may lead to optimizing the
Blockchain to provide priority access for
the most vulnerable users, while prioritiz-
ing fairness in the design philosophy may
result in a Blockchain that gives all users
equal access. The design philosophy is
important because it creates a sound
foundation for the entire design process.

DECISION POINT: IS
BLOCKCHAIN AN
APPROPRIATE
TECHNOLOGY CHOICE?

Blockchain is not always the best option
for achieving a desired social or environ-
mental outcome, so there is a decision
point in the Framework to determine
whether Blockchain is a viable technology
option. If there are no alternative choices,
Blockchain may be appropriate if it is
viable in the given context. If an alterna-
tive technology exists that could achieve
the desired outcome, Blockchain may still
be a suitable option if it offers efficiency
or other desirable attributes over incum-
bent solutions that are better aligned with
the design philosophy.

The tool below provides a starting
indiquer
for understanding whether
Blockchain might be the right technology
option
for addressing a particular
social/environmental challenge. This tool
oﬀers flexibility in deciding whether to
use a Blockchain. It raises key considera-
tions that should be taken into account
but does not prescribe based on them. Il
instead helps determine the viability of
Blockchain as an option. If Blockchain is
a viable option, then it is time to proceed
to the next phase of the Framework to
assess the root ethical considerations of
the design.

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The Blockchain Ethical Design Framework

Chiffre 2. Decision Tool to assess Whether Blockchain Is an Appropriate
Technology Choice

Ethical Design and
Implementation

Once Blockchain is selected as an appro-
priate technology, the Framework moves
iteratively through a detailed analysis of
six root issues for ethical consideration:
gouvernance, identité, verification and
authentication, access, ownership of data,
and security. At each stage, guiding ques-
tions identify the eﬀects of the design

nouveautés / volume 12, number 3/4

How is governance created and main-

choices on the end users and communi-
liens:
•
tained?
•
•
authenticated?
•
cuted?
•

How is identity defined and established?
How are inputs verified and transactions

How is access defined, granted, and exe-

How is ownership of data defined,

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Cara LaPointe and Lara Fishbane

granted, and executed?
•

How is security set up and ensured?

Governance
Governance refers to the establishment
and maintenance of the rules that govern
the entire Blockchain system. A funda-
mental characteristic of Blockchain tech-
nology is having a rigid set of rules by
which all transactions within the system
are governed. In the social sector, it is
critical to ensure that a sound human
governance structure is driving the tech-
nology. Governance includes questions
such as who sets up the rules, who main-
tains the system, how the rules are execut-
éd, and how a Blockchain system would
be closed out. The established governance
structure should also be responsible for
ensuring adherence to the guiding princi-
ples and design philosophy of the project.

Identité
Significant ethical considerations sur-
round what constitutes “identity,” to
whom identity is granted in a given
Blockchain, and how identity information
is used, accessed, and protected. Multiple
pieces of identifying information collec-
tively create a digital identity and that
identity can be used to aﬃrm adequately
that end users are who they claim to be.
Blockchains can be used to establish lim-
ited or transactional digital identities for
accessing
services.
information or
Blockchain systems can also be used to
establish portable, foundational digital
identities—in other words, identities that
are permanently linked to a unique indi-
vidual and can be used in a variety of con-
texts to prove identity or credentials, et
that move with the individual.

Verification and Authentication
How inputs are verified and then authen-
ticated is critical in an open ledger system.
Verification refers to ensuring the veraci-
ty of information being entered onto a
Blockchain, and authentication refers to
validating and accepting transactions on a

Blockchain. Verification of information
put onto a Blockchain presents a range of
challenges. For digital assets such as cryp-
tocurrencies or digital photographs, le
verification process is closely related to
the transaction authentication process to
determine if the entity initiating a trans-
action has control over that asset. Quand
linking a nondigital asset like a person or
an object to a Blockchain, verification
becomes more complicated because it
introduces human interaction and, là-
fore, various political, legal, and ethical
obstacles. For instance, how can some-
one’s claim of land ownership be verified?
Verification and authentication include
questions such as who completes the ver-
ification and authentication, et le
methods by which this is done.

Access
The definition, granting, and execution of
access are critical to any person’s ability to
use and interact with a Blockchain sys-
tem. De plus, the scope of access to
individuals’ personal information on a
Blockchain may have serious conse-
quences for those individuals if that infor-
mation is exploited. Beyond the specifics
of accessing a Blockchain to view or write
to the ledger, access includes more intan-
gible questions around digital literacy and
the eﬀective ability to access the system.

Data Ownership
Data ownership refers to multiple facets
of controlling data. There are important
questions about who owns the data, OMS
exercises control over the data, where and
how the data are stored, and how incor-
rect information is adjusted. A com-
pelling characteristic of Blockchain is its
ability to give users the power to exercise
functional control over data. Par exemple,
the Sovrin Foundation is building a self-
sovereign identity trust framework that
creates a robust governance structure that
allows people, among other things, à
exert positive control over their personal

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The Blockchain Ethical Design Framework

Chiffre 3. The Blockchain Ethical Design Framework

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Cara LaPointe and Lara Fishbane

Chiffre 4. Maintaining the Blockchain

digital identity information.

Sécurité
Security refers to protecting information
from potential threats. At an individual
level, this refers to a user’s understanding
of potential risks as well as private key
management. At the system level, ce
refers to potential vulnerabilities within
and at the periphery of the system. Données
can be scattered throughout a distributed
infrastructure, thus making them less vul-
nerable than data that are aggregated and
stored in one location. Individual users do
not need to remember passwords or link
personal information such as email
addresses or telephone numbers to stored
information. Cependant, there are ethical
challenges here as well. Blockchain secu-
rity uses encryption algorithms and pub-
lic/private key pairs that are like a publicly
known “address,” and a private digital key
to essentially unlock the mailbox at that
adresse. Blockchain technologies have
been used increasingly to secure private
information such as health records. What
would happen if someone lost her digital
key to control her assets or medical infor-
mation?

Building the Framework

The Framework uses an iterative assess-
ment and design process in which each of
the root issues is considered in order to
understand its eﬀects. Since the attributes
of Blockchain are interconnected in a
complex web, the designer needs to go

through all of the issue areas several
times. Sometimes referred to as a design
spiral, this helps achieve an eﬀective
design with a complex technology.

Design choices such as ledger, plat-
formulaire, consensus protocol, and so forth
will have dramatically diﬀerent impacts
on the desired outcome and on the users
and other stakeholders. Each root issue
area is considered in light of the user’s
perspective, the community dynamics,
the role of existing infrastructure and
processes, the incentives created by the
financing, and how this all fits within
larger technology choices. Throughout
this iterative assessment and design
processus, the ethical approach and design
philosophy are used to guide the design
choices in order to maximize the desired
social impact of the Blockchain technolo-
gy.

Applying an

intentional ethical
design methodology to the initial imple-
mentation of a Blockchain project sets the
stage for creating positive social impact.
Cependant, contexts change over time and
the choices made in the initial implemen-
tation of Blockchain technology may lose
its relevance or create unintended conse-
quences for the people as the context
changes. Donc, this Framework is
iterative by nature. The questions in the
Framework should be revisited periodi-
cally at key transition points in the lifecy-
cle of a project to ensure that the

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The Blockchain Ethical Design Framework

Blockchain continues to provide the
social impact for which it was designed.

CONCLUSION

the potential

The promise that Blockchain will have an
impact on millions of people is real. Its
key attributes of transparency, trust, et
à
immutability have
improve lives across the globe. By increas-
ing the eﬃciency, security, and verifiabili-
ty of the way social-impact organizations
operate and how access to services is
delivered, data are stored and controlled,
and assets are tracked, Blockchain’s
potential can literally change the world.
Cependant, the realization of this potential
to improve lives requires an ethical
approach that recognizes the relationship
between design and human outcomes.
From practitioners to policymakers, comme
Blockchain solutions are built and
deployed, we will all share the responsi-
bility to demand intentional ethical
approaches in the design and implemen-
tation of Blockchain technology to create
more positive
impact. Le
Blockchain Ethical Design Framework
provides a methodology that ensures that
social value is protected.

sociale

Remerciements

We would like to thank our many con-
tributors for their insights and collabora-
tion during this project. Their participa-
tion made the Blockchain Ethical Design
Framework possible.

1. LaPointe, Cara, and Lara Fishbane. “The
Blockchain Ethical Design Framework.”
Available at
http://beeckcenter.georgetown.edu/Blockch
ain-ethical-design-framework-social-
impact/.

2. ID2020. “Why Digital Identity?” Available
at https://id2020.org/digital-identity-1/.
3. Schiller, Ben. “This New Blockchain Project
Gives Homeless New Yorkers a Digital

Identity.” Fast Company, Décembre 6,
2017. Available at
https://www.fastcompany.com/40500978/t
his-new-Blockchain-project-gives-
homeless-new-yorkers-a-digital-identity.

4. Sovrin: Identity for All. “The Sovrin

Foundation.” Available at
https://sovrin.org/about/.

5. Lewis, Barbara. “De Beers Turns to

Blockchain to Guarantee Diamond Purity,»
Reuters, Janvier 16, 2018. Available at
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-anglo-
debeers-Blockchain/de-beers-turns-to-
Blockchain-to-guarantee-diamond-purity-
idUSKBN1F51HV.

6. Aiken, Roger. “IBM Forges Blockchain

Collaboration with Nestlé & Walmart in
Global Food Safety.” Forbes, Août 22,
2017. Available at
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Cara LaPointe and Lara Fishbane

https://www.accenture.com/t20171108T09
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13. Frequently Asked Questions, Lendoit.
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nouveautés / Blockchain for Global Development II

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31. The field of applied ethics provides tools
for determining how one ought to act in
everyday private and public settings. Le
field of applied ethics typically recognizes
five basic approaches to ethical
decisionmaking, each of which offers a
slightly different idea of how to think about
right and wrong. These approaches are
commonly known as (1) the Utilitarian
Approach, (2) the Rights Approach, (3) le
Fairness or Justice Approach, (4) le
Common Good Approach, et (5) le
Virtue Approach. The Utilitarian
Approach suggests that an ethical action
does the most good and the least harm,
whereas the Rights Approach suggests that
an ethical action respects the fundamental
moral rights of everyone. The Fairness or
Justice Approach focuses on ensuring that
everyone is treated equally without
favoritism or discrimination, tandis que le
Common Good Approach promotes the
idea that an ethical action is one that
benefits the welfare of all people. Le
Virtue Approach assumes that there are
common virtues to which society should
aspire and that ethical actions focus on
developing these moral virtues.

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