Micro-insurance for commuters to compensate for inconveniences and downstream impacts due to delays using blockchain and data oracles.
I was invited to participate in a unique opportunity for a week-long design sprint with IDEO and the MIT Media Lab where we would consider possibilities and applications for emerging tech themes. My team was tasked with considering the possibilities for a use case for establishing a truly neutral data oracle utilized in a smart contract system.
How Might We better reward/incentivize data oracles from service providers?
Oracles rely on being a trusted third party to provide accurate data to trigger a smart contract, but this can get messy if an oracle also has a vested interest in the outcome, as many of our existing organizations that collect our data do. What happens if there is a way for oracles to be unaware of specific contracts using the data, and therefore not able to decide the outcomes of a specific contract? How does this change the way we are able to reward (and therefore incentivize) better behaviors for safer driving, better health, bigger credit, etc.?
My Role: User Research, User Interviews, Customer Journey Mapping, Wireframes, and Prototyping
One reason why this challenge was so interesting is that we were tasked with executing an experimental technology-first Design Thinking process (which is fundamentally a human-first approach).
After establishing a foundational understanding of smart contracts and data oracles, we set out to consider scenarios where the necessary technology elements would be put in play. After an initial brainstorm of themes, we each sketched Journey Maps to “test” the idea from the human perspective.
We initially worked on a promising use case centered on providing a crowdsourced parking-finder supported by a blockchain-enabled reservation system. However, after competitive research and initial user interviews, we determined that there wasn’t a good enough value proposition for this service.
However, the user interviews provided great insights that led the team to pivot the concept into Commuter Insurance.
This micro-insurance plan would act as a type of “bet” on whether or not you would encounter delays or issues on your commute, granting compensation in various configurable forms for any frustrating interruptions.
The commuter would initiate a micro-insurance policy for the intended route, and the policy would be structured by a smart contract on the blockchain. Two primary data oracles would validate the terms of the policy - a live train and bus schedule API for the MBTA - both arguably unbiased - as well as crowdsourced commuter inputs.
In addition to defining the underlying system design, we also designed the business model and value proposition.
A screen flow was designed for both a mobile and smart watch application to demonstrate an on-boarding process, together with a full commute and payout.
This process and project has been provided as open-source online. For more information and to see a video, click here.