Solving AI’s Big Privacy Problem with Zero-Knowledge Data
Introduction: The State of AI
AI is radically changing the world before our eyes at an exponential rate that no one can yet comprehend. The launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, the fastest growing digital consumer product in history, has sparked a wave of technical innovation which has surpassed all trends which have come before it.
Since then Google and now X (Twitter) have launched their own AI chatbots, and thousands of start-ups across the world have all launched various AI tools. From generative image creation, to AI-audio transcription, and real-time language translation, the applications of AI are seemingly endless.
By 2030, there will be over $1-trillion in aggregate value created by companies leveraging AI models, with the largest impacts expected in AI-powered user engagement applications, including generative AI. We foresee a world where AI algorithms will know users better than they know themselves, predicting their needs, desires and offering hyper-personalized experiences. Products, media and social platforms will all dynamically adapt to each user, immersing them in a customized environment designed just for their own interests and engagement.
After the dust from the initial AI explosion has settled — it’s left many wondering some very important questions.
Where did these companies get all of this data to train their AI models?
Did users consent to their data being used to train these AI models?
Were these AI models trained on copyrighted content and media?
Who will protect user’s data privacy in the AI era?
There is little to no transparency on the data used to train AI models. Now that these big questions are growing, people are demanding answers, and the landscape is changing.
AI and the Broken Data Paradigm
After much scrutiny stemming from everyone from musical artists, record labels, Hollywood writers to authors — companies powering AI models are now putting privacy and copyright protections into place.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak recently hosted leaders of the US, China, European Commission, United Nations, X (Twitter), OpenAI, Meta, Anthropic and Google at an inaugural AI Safety Summit. The Biden government also issued a far-reaching executive order that gives the US federal government the authority to vet the most advanced AI software developed by the biggest AI companies.
At OpenAI’s recent developer conference, they announced a new policy called Copyright Shield, which pays legal costs if their customers face copyright lawsuits over content generated by OpenAI’s AI systems. There have been similar protections offered by Adobe, Microsoft and Google. While the legal coverage offered has come under question, what is obvious is that the copyright concerns are sparking major action from AI companies.
With growing public concern over data privacy, AI companies face increasing regulatory scrutiny and market demands to ensure their models are trained responsibly using properly anonymized data. Moving forward, AI firms will need to prioritize data privacy protections or risk legal action and loss of consumer trust.
Solving the AI Privacy Problem with ZKP Technology
At Masa, we believe the internet has a fundamental privacy problem: users lack secure ways to control, consent to, and profit from the use of their personal data. This issue is greatly amplified in the era of AI, which relies on harvesting vast troves of user data to train algorithms.
Our solution is to pioneer zero-knowledge proofs (ZKP) cryptography to enable private data exchange at a global scale. Innovations like zero-knowledge and fully-homomorphic encryptions ensure that your sensitive information always stays confidential, never exposing identifying details. Your online activity, blockchain transactions, and social media data can flow through applications while keeping your identity hidden.
We invite developers worldwide to build groundbreaking privacy-preserving applications on top of Masa’s ZKP data network. We’re especially excited about training more robust AI models using the high-quality, unbiased, verifiable data in our network — all without compromising user privacy.
In return for supplying valuable data, users earn rewards and can monetize their personal data through automated payouts proportional to their contributions. This properly aligns the incentives around AI training data with the users who provide that data.
By leveraging ZKP cryptography, we aim to revolutionize AI and usher in a new era of privacy-first technology. Users will retake control over their personal data and share in the immense value it creates. The advances in AI will be fueled by willing user contributions, not exploitation.
In Conclusion: Masa is Building the New Data Paradigm
Masa is on a mission to break closed data silos and architect the internet’s new nervous system — the world’s largest user data marketplace powered by cutting-edge zero-knowledge and fully-homomorphic encryption.
Imagine a world where your data is yours. A world where you’re in control of how your data is shared and with whom. A world where your data is profitable for YOU. A world where your data flows freely while remaining private and under your control. A world where businesses and developers can tap into vast oceans of privacy-preserved, consented and validated data to build innovative AI applications that were never before possible.
Masa makes this vision a reality. We’re on a mission to transform the internet into an open data economy that empowers all. #MyDataPaysMe
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