Decentralization and Open Source
Mark Zuckerberg Llama and all the Decentralized Stack in Web 3
Last week, was hectic, exciting, and inspiring. On one hand, we have the Standford Blockchain Club hosting BASS (Blockchain Applications Stanford Summit) in NY. On the other hand, we got South Park Commons hosting a panel with Mark Zuckerberg on Llama, AI, and what they call the -1 moment in technology. What do these two events have in common?
The buzzword of the Year, is AI. Both have similar approaches and most importantly, both helped me answer the question a great friend and probably one of my few readers made: Why should I choose building with Decentralized, rather than Open Source?
Through the following lines, I will try to answer that question. Not trying to say that one is better than the other. I think both have an intrinsic correlation and probably without the Linux Hyperledger Foundation and all its capabilities many of the open-sourced cultures and Web 3 cultures might grown differently. Actually Linux Foundation is launching a new model LF Decentralized Trust, in response to the adoption of decentralized technology. You can read the press release here. One thing that says this release is that decentralized technologies are quickly reshaping markets and disrupting traditional business models and systems. Asset tokenization alone is predicted to have a USD16 trillion market cap by 2030, according to the Boston Consulting Group.
When it comes to security, interoperability, identity, and financial incentives I think that decentralization turns out to be powerful.
One of the primary coincidences between open-source and decentralized systems is their emphasis on collaboration and community involvement. Both models rely on the collective efforts of individuals and organizations to drive innovation and progress. Open-source software development thrives on the contributions of a global community of developers, while decentralized networks are maintained by a network of nodes that collectively validate transactions and maintain the integrity of the system.
Even though is pretty obvious one of the main differences between open-source and decentralized systems lies in their underlying architecture. Open-source projects can have a centralized or decentralized structure, depending on the specific project and its governance model. In contrast, decentralized systems, by definition, have a distributed architecture where no single entity has control over the network.
This turns out to be key to the level of trust required in the system. Open-source projects rely on the trust and goodwill of the community to maintain the integrity of the codebase. Decentralized systems, on the other hand, are designed to operate on a trustless basis, where participants can interact with each other without the need for a central authority or intermediary. Here is when new technologies play a significant role in the decentralized stack giving a significant advantage.
Let’s begin with Zero-Knowledge proofs a cryptographic method that allows one party to prove to another that a statement is true without revealing any additional information. This is crucial for maintaining privacy in decentralized systems. ZK proofs can enhance the security of decentralized AI by allowing models to validate data and computations without exposing sensitive information. This ensures that AI systems can operate securely while preserving user privacy.
The distribution of artificial intelligence processes across a network rather than relying on a centralized system. It also enhances privacy, security, and accessibility. Data ownership remains with individuals, reducing the risks associated with data breaches and misuse. It also promotes collaboration among different entities, leading to more diverse and robust AI models.
During his conversation with SPC Fellows “The Zuck” emphasized how individual contributors improved the model as a collective, and how many ”-1” technological breakthroughs are driven by this collective knowledge. He also emphasized the importance of the collective in reducing the costs of training and hardware. This caught my attention because open source and decentralization also play an incentive game. Where the stakeholders need to align to drive value to “the next big thing”. The way I see it is that decentralized through tokenization enables public market rules and communities of builders can drive this value to whatever project or stack consider useful for their purpose.
My conclusion is that one doesn’t exclude the other one. I think that both come from the same family with close ideals. I can even argue that decentralization might be the idiosyncratic evolution of open source. In the end, the builders of this generation grew up playing with Linux.
If you want to watch “Mark Zuckerberg on Llama, AI, & Minus One”
If you want to watch “Blockchain Applications Stanford Summit”