PROJECT: Human Rights Use Cases for Digital Privacy & Cryptocurrency #writing

[shannona]

The core idea here is figuring out what might be needed to really support and improve human rights with our blockchain/cryptocurrency/digital-identity technologies. As Christopher says, the best way to figure that out is by interviewing stakeholders. A lot of work in this space has the problem of being handed top-down: the developers decide what's needed and try to convince people why it's important. Something instead coming bottom-up might be much more successful.

Use case articles created by Rebooting the Web of Trust show some initial work on this topic. Search for "Use Cases" on this page:
https://www.weboftrust.info/papers.html

It includes the Amira and Joram use cases that Christopher mentions, and Joe Andrieu's 15-step engagement model.

Amira: https://github.com/WebOfTrustInfo/rwot5-boston/blob/master/final-documents/amira.pdf
Joram: https://github.com/WebOfTrustInfo/rwot3-sf/blob/master/final-documents/joram-engagement-model.pdf

There's a good explanation and chart of the model on the last page or two of each of those papers.

This is a great project for non-development interns, but also allows them to connect these topics to software engineering practices.

• Write up a number of human-rights centric use cases for privacy and cryptocurrency, including balancing freedom of speech, freedom to assemble, right to work, freedom to transact vs. preventing bad actors from taking advantage of those with less power.
• This includes interviewing various major stakeholders EFF, HRF, Red Cross, UNHR, plus people actually in the field doing the work.
• Choose one more more use cases to build a 12-step engagement model, similar to Joram or Amira, but focused on human rights and cross-border volunteer workers. Possibly include more detailed risk modeling, threat analysis, etc.
• Disseminate the final materials with supporting documents on Blockchain Common’s public website or elsewhere.

Mentors may include Alex Gladstein of HRF, Joe Andrieu, and a number of others.