Autodesk CEO: Blockchain Can Stem Corruption in Construction Industry

Published at: Nov. 19, 2018

American software corporation Autodesk CEO Andrew Anagnost said that blockchain could fight corruption in the construction industry, finance and investment news outlet the Australian Financial Review reported Nov. 19.

Founded in 1982, Autodesk manufactures software for the construction, architecture, media, and entertainment industries. In 2018, the company’s revenue was $2.06 billion.

Speaking at the 2018 Autodesk University conference in Las Vegas, Anagnost reportedly said that blockchain technology could eliminate corruption in the construction industry, as well as deliver greater trust in the field. The Financial Review quotes Anagnost:

"What is blockchain good at? It's a distributed, trusted ledger that cannot be altered and allows traceability and accountability. A technology like that in an environment like construction where various people involved in the process don't trust each other is going to find some kind of application."

While the CEO believes in blockchain’s ability to improve traceability and bring transparency to the industry, Autodesk purportedly has not yet introduced blockchain-powered products. However Anagnost asserted that the company has considered blockchain as part of their future developments, saying “we just don't have a point of view we have stated publicly."

Per the Financial Review, Autodesk has been working on its own non-blockchain digital “escrow” system designed to improve trust in the construction industry. Addressing the problem of corruption, Anagnost reportedly said that “it makes it very difficult to track who is responsible for what, so one of the big technological problems we're going to have to solve is making sure it is not optional to provide traceability and accountability," adding:

" ...corruption in the construction industry is not uncommon. When people are paying hundreds of millions of dollars on large projects, something is always happening somewhere that isn't quite right. There's always someone bleeding off resources or money in some inappropriate way."

Businesses and governments globally have considered deploying blockchain technology in combating corruption and tax evasion. Spain has been actively fighting corruption by amending its anti-corruption laws and by developing blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions. Per Spanish regulators, blockchain can be used as a preventative measure against corruption.

In China, tax authorities of the city of Shenzhen and a state-owned aerospace firm have turned to blockchain for immutable and transparent record-keeping, in order to combat paperback corruption. The organizations introduced blockchain-backed e-invoices, which purportedly allow authenticated and “credible” invoice issuance, traceable circulation, and efficient and cost-effective oversight by tax authorities.

Tags
Adoption
Blockchain
Corruption
Related Posts
Kenyan electoral commission nominee clamors for blockchain voting
Justus Abonyo, former chair of Kenya’s Social Democratic Party and current candidate for commissioner of the country’s Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), has called for the adoption of blockchain voting. According to a report by Kenyan news outlet, The Star, Abonyo spoke of this while appearing before the selection committee overseeing the appointment of IEBC commissioners at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre on Thursday. Detailing his support for blockchain voting adoption, Abonyo said such a move would have significant, cost savings benefits of up to 300%, stating: “The cost of a ballot in Kenya ranges between $7 to $25 …
Adoption / July 15, 2021
Blockchain a panacea for corruption in state governance, says exec
Transparency, fairness and efficiency of government systems are some of the areas that are prime for blockchain disruption in public governance. Writing for the WEF Global Agenda section, Matthew Van Niekerk, co-founder and CEO of blockchain-as-a-service outfit SettleMint, highlighted how blockchain adoption could improve public procurement and land registries. According to Van Niekerk, public procurement is one of the main avenues of corruption and wastage in government. As part of the report, the SettleMint CEO argued that the closed-off nature of the process encourages illicit interaction between public officials and private businesses. Van Niekerk surmised that blockchain adoption could facilitate …
Adoption / July 5, 2021
Denmark proposes use of blockchain in fight against corruption
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark published a report explaining the use of IT technologies and services including blockchain, e-governance, big data, and crowdsourcing to fight administrative, or day-to-day, corruption as well as political corruption. Presented during the International Anti-Corruption Conference, or IACC, the report emphasizes the use of blockchain as a technology that will build a more transparent governance and transaction system, further adding that it will also give individuals greater rights over their own data. According to the report, blockchain can be used as a potential anti-corruption tool as it has the ability to store records immutably …
Adoption / Sept. 3, 2020
The “Fapiao” Case: How China Is Fighting Corruption With Blockchain
China has been on the verge of blockchain adoption as of late. The technology, in fact, has become part of the country’s national, president-signed program. The latest advancement in the field relates to the country’s old corruption staple — fake invoices used to embezzle corporate and state funds. Tax authorities of the city of Shenzhen and a state-owned aerospace firm have recently turned to blockchain for immutable and transparent record-keeping, steadily putting an end to paperback corruption. China’s complex ‘fapiao’ invoice system To understand the nature of the latest blockchain solutions for China’s invoicing system, its general context should be …
Adoption / Aug. 17, 2018
US Treasury targets NFTs for potential high-value art money laundering
The U.S. Department of the Treasury released a study on the high-value art market, highlighting the potential in the nonfungible tokens (NFT) space to conduct illicit money laundering or terror financing operations. The treasury’s “Study of the facilitation of money laundering and terror finance through the trade in works of art” suggested that the increasing use of art as an investment or financial asset could make the high-value art trades vulnerable to money laundering: “The emerging online art market may present new risks, depending on the structure and incentives of certain activity in this sector of the market (i.e., the …
Adoption / Feb. 6, 2022