EUROPEAN DYNAMICS coordinates a blockchain-based knowledge management software ecosystem for the Next-Generation Internet

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EUROPEAN DYNAMICS selected by the European Commission to coordinate the co-design, development and implementation of the Horizon 2020 ONTOCHAIN project, a blockchain-based knowledge management software ecosystem for the Next-Generation Internet.

The ONTOCHAIN research and innovation action is part of the European Next Generation Internet (NGI) initiative to re-shape the Internet into a more human-centric network focusing on values of privacy, collaboration and diversity. The Semantic Web and associated services now make it possible for people from all over the world to participate in the generation and use of knowledge like never before. And this knowledge represented in a machine-readable format is now being served to end-users and application developers through simple interfaces. However, the way it is generated, curated and stored raises concerns. In particular, the number of these Internet-based services is so small that they have become increasingly influential in the past decades. This concentration of information into the hands of a few widely used services, makes citizens everywhere at risk of being presented partial or biased information reflecting the viewpoint of their provider.

To face this threat, Semantic Web and blockchain will be combined to provide a trusted knowledge backbone for Internet users. Our trusted knowledge software ecosystem will be built by a large, open body of European stakeholders, supported by the ONTOCHAIN consortium that will follow agile software development methods. European innovators will be invited in the co-creation process via three successive open calls:

  • Call #1: Research –Stakeholders from different vertical sectors will be invited to produce functional and technical specifications for the ONTOCHAIN framework.
  • Call #2: Foundations –Experts and enthusiasts will be invited to build components of the ONTOCHAIN framework, guided by real use-cases and results produced during the first year.
  • Call #3: Application & Experimentation – Building on results from the first two calls, practitioners will be invited to implement real-world technical solutions and business applications contributing to a sustainable and democratic ecosystem.

As a decentralized ontology service, ONTOCHAIN will ensure trust in data and will create novel business models that fairly remunerate information and service providers with a massive impact on various application domain such as finance, energy, social networking and fact-checking, healthcare, transportation, manufacturing and many more.