US General Services Administration Plans Blockchain Trial

The main US agency for governmental logistics is launching a blockchain pilot this summer.

According to Washington, DC's Federal News Radio, the General Services Administration is in the process of researching how it might utilize the tech – a process that will play out over the next couple of months.

The GSA provides logistical support to federal agencies, including transportation and communications services.

The service quoted Justin Herman, who leads the agency's emerging citizen technology program for its Technology Transformation Service. He said that the agency is in communication with other parts of the US governmental, as well as so-far-unnamed private-sector businesses, as part of a fact-finding process around blockchain.

According to Herman, the GSA aims to learn about "those business cases and those needs that the distributed ledger systems that blockchain provides and those technologies provide".

The GSA's work is said to be taking place within the wider context of a shift toward digital services, with Herman indicating that artificial intelligence is also on the agenda for the agency.

GSA image via Shutterstock