In today’s Decentralised Digital Economy (DDE) everyone has the opportunity to be both a producer and consumer of goods and services. For example, I could hire or drive a rideshare, rent or host my apartment, watch a video blog or monetize my own.

But these dynamic, peer to peer markets are all underpinned by centralised digital platforms. Users rarely have a say in their governance decisions, which often made in isolation from the global impacts they have on the society.

Launched in October 2020, DECaDE is a 5 year National Research Centre exploring how emerging data technologies such as Distributed Ledger Technology (aka `Blockchain’) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) could transform our digital economy through decentralized platforms.

DECaDE’s mission is to accelerate research in DLT, AI, and Human Data Interaction (HDI), working with industry and end-users to create the tools and techniques that will shape the evolution of the digital economy toward a new 21st century model of work and value creation, ensuring a prosperous, safe and inclusive society for all, working across fields of computer science, design, law, business and cybersecurity.

Research through this centre has covered many topics, with a key workstreams on topics of media provenance, digital supply chains, and identity management, especially in the context of the Creative Industries.

Within the Institute for Design Informatics, we have led work into the design and experience of new approaches to media ownership, rights and attribution, developing novel prototypes, exhibitions and workshops through which creative professionals and the general public can critically engage with and explore the implications of these emerging technologies.