Introducing The Open Science Network
A decentralised network for the advancement of Scientific Research.
As with many systems that have developed through adaptation over time, the way humanity currently manages scientific research has become outdated. Information is kept in silos where other researchers cannot use it, funding is competitive and filled with bias: as the problems get harder and more complex this system ceases to be effective. With science at the core of civilisation’s progress, the value of an accelerated rate of discovery cannot be overemphasised.
Enter blockchain
A blockchain is a shared ledger, where information is chained in time and we can prove at which point any transaction took place. These transactions can take many forms, not only monetary: any kind of data can be added to this registry.
As well as adding information, they allow what are called smart contracts. This is the logic element of the ledger, where interactions can be defined, and the element of trust in these decisions is eliminated. The contracts will act exactly in the way that they were coded, leaving no room for a middle authority to decide or act outside of the pre-established governance rules.
Why is this useful in science?
If we think about the scientific research process, we can see that, like all other networks, is a set of interactions between participants.
The governance model is where the community decides between its members how to organise the process and its incentives. These incentives lead actors to behave in a certain way, for better or worse. Many of the problems that we see in Science today, can be traced back to bad incentive structures. Accesibility for grants, failure to publish negative results, withheld information, centralised control of publications, and so on.
All of these interactions can be reprogrammed. With well defined network rules, we can change the way that we think and work around discovery and open the door for competing systems, that will ultimately help us find the best possible solution.
The Open Science Network (OSN) is a distributed research network using blockchain technology for an efficient, open and transparent transmission of information and value and a significant re-aligning of incentives. By applying this distributed technology and paradigm to science, we look to increase the quality and level of interactions between all actors in the scientific network and an evolution of the scientific research, funding, validation and publishing cycle.
At OSN, our goal is to create the tools that present and future researchers will use. For this, we are using a rapid prototyping principle approach, with work being done in TCR’s for funding and coordination of the research process . We aim to create prototype MVPs from conception to testing in three month cycles.
“A complex system that works is invariably found to have evolved from a simple system that worked. A complex system designed from scratch never works and cannot be patched up to make it work. You have to start over with a working simple system. — John Gall”
This is the reason why we’re going to be shipping many small products with self-contained incentive structures. It is these small and tested crypto ecosystems that will then be used to construct larger and more complex systems.
Transparency will be at the core of the network, following the egalitarian principles of this revolutionary approach to thinking about the internet. Our focus is decentralisation of control, and developing good governance models.
There’s a great talk by Balajis Srinivasan about how changes in network effect are made. You can focus on Voice or Exit. Voice means trying to change a system from within, and Exit is about exiting the existing status quo, and creating a new version. At OSN we’re choosing the latter.
What would that new system look like? Are you interested in helping us get there?.
The road in the future for OSN can only be accomplished with a strong team of people that wants to create a change in the world, if you’re interested in working with us, send us an email at mauro@osn.global. If you’re a potential partner and think our solutions can benefit each other, please send us a message at Emi@osn.global
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