1: Now I Know My ABC (Algorithms, Blockchain and Cryptocurrency)

This chapter presents an introduction to algorithms, blockchain and cryptocurrency (ABC) and discusses their implications for the world of work. In particular, we note that it is the convergence of these new technologies that have the paradigm-shifting effect.

We begin this book with a gentle explainer to the main technologies. In the following sections, the introductions to ABC and their respective implications for work are intended to be, as non-technical as possible, introductions to the individual technologies. Several excellent, more technical, explanations exist in the literature, but for the purposes of this book, we want anyone regardless of their technical familiarity to be gently introduced to ABC and their respective implications for the world of work.