What Is Decentralization?
People often ask us what our understanding of decentralization is. We normally reply saying something like: «We view decentralization as a multi-disciplinary transformative phenomenon that is fueled by decentralized technologies such as blockchain.»
Sounds pretty vague, right? – Let us elaborate:
- «It is multi-disciplinary» – Posts, comments, and articles such as
«Blockchain will revolutionize Industry XYZ» are easy to find. Whilst we
prefer not to make predictions about what industries it will affect and
what not. It is safe to say that an increasing number of disciplines
are being confronted with the phenomena of decentralized technologies.
- «It is transformative» – Technological advancements oftentimes hold
the potential of transforming industries, which leads us to the last
point:
- «It is fueled by decentralized technologies» – Distributed ledger technologies such as the blockchain emerged as an attempt to disrupt central institutions and authorities. It created a technology that enabled human cooperation beyond powerful institutions and ultimately challenges their existence. In essence, this is the decentralized force behind such technologies.
Whilst the primary focus still remains on the fintech sector, decentralized technologies are on the verge of affecting many more industries.
Why Does It Affect All of Us?
This question lays at the heart of the Dezentrum and cannot be covered in its full scope today. Following is a brief attempt to make that case using the example of Instant Messaging.
The debate about data collection has certainly shifted in the last few months. Data is no longer viewed as a digital byproduct but rather as the price to pay in order to use most digital services being offered for free. Whilst many people are more concise about data protection, sensitive user data is still shared with corporates as the advantages seem to outweigh the potential risks. Whatsapp is an interesting example in this context: The company is continuously loosening their data protection policies. Only recently co-founder of Whatsapp Jan Koum left the company after having disputes over data privacy (Source). With Whatsapp being part of Facebook Inc. this is particularly worrying as this form of data aggregation and centralization can lead to very precise user profiles. Similar, yet not as precise user profiles were prominently sold and used in the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
In general, it can be said that the digitalization has led to a tremendous centralization of data, market intelligence and thus power. Decentralized technologies and decentralization in general can be considered interesting countermovements on a technological as well as a structural level.
We don’t want to be viewed as uncritical ambassadors of technological advancements. The blockchain hype is no exception to this. However, we believe that grasping decentralization is essential in order to cultivate an enlightened yet critical debate about this issue.
What Do We Do?
We are firm believers that denoting yourself a «think tank» also requires you to take action. As a result, this is what we do:
- We host Meetups – We’ve had the Institute of Cryptoanarchy from Paralelni Polis in Prague over as well as FOAM and the Things Network. The next meetups will be with Terra0 and Status. Join our Meetup Group for more info: here
- We build autonomous entities – What happens when technology
belongs to itself? Our satellite DZN001 has followed us to many of our
past presentations already. Its pre-site will be launched with our
upcoming newsletter.
- We provide workshops – such as a Smart Contract Development on Ethereum one. Also, we will soon disclose more formats such as a Blockchain: Beyond the Hype Introduction. Reach out to us here in case you’re interested.
- We speak – Lately, we have been invited to some talks,
engaging in debates about decentralization as well as presenting the
Dezentrum. Some examples are: «Pitch Night: Visionen einer Smart City» (at around 26.50 Min) and Blockchain Culture #5 (both in German).
- We ask questions – Our podcast series about
decentralization is on its way. Among its first guest we will have the
Institute of Cryptoanarchy from Paralelni Polis.
- We listen – Our preliminary advisory board will be introduced by the end of this month.
- We write and research – to mark the beginning, our co-authored post about autonomous entities will be released by the end of this month.