As the tech behind Bitcoin, blockchain started its life as a crypto currency mostly used by cybergeeks who spend most of their lives online. But a group of innovators wants to use the virtual ledger system to create applications that change the world in real life, from making the moniker “starving artist” obsolete to creating frictionless international payment systems to erasing corruption in the public sector. For a look at the human side of this tech, join "Art Thinking" author Amy Whitaker, whose fledgling artists’ ownership platform seeks to use blockchain to help creatives retain an equity stake in the work they sell. She’ll be joined by musician Zoë Keating, Ripple’s director of regulatory relations Ryan Zagone, and Tomicah Tillemann, who cofounded New America’s Blockchain Trust Accelerator to apply blockchain to social impact and governance applications.