In Pursuit of Ethical Thinking About Blockchain Technology for the DoD

Little has been written on blockchain ethics. Further, the strategic implications of blockchain technology are currently opaque and underestimated. This may lead to strategic surprise or unintended consequences. This paper provides the DoD with essential conceptual assessments and theory regarding the technology useful for operational art and determining ethical implications. Blockchain technology digitizes ethics because it manifests ethical values in a new form of governance of physical and digital objects across political, economic, and administrative domains. Since blockchains can govern both the digital and physical planes it has the capacity to cause harm to a persons digital or physical form inadvertently or purposefully through governance. The technology is deconstructed in ways that supports future research into the measurement of global trust, the health of democratic systems, and methods to combat misinformation. Ethically commanding this technology will influence the outcome of great power competition as it is integral to the future of the internet, industry, and governance.