Golden Encyclopedia | What is Decentralized Science (DeSci)

Author: Jagjit Singh, CoinTelegraph; Compiler: Tao Zhu, Golden Finance

1. Understanding Traditional Science (TradSci) and Its Limitations

Traditional science (TradSci) represents the methodical search for knowledge through theory, experimentation, and observation.

Traditional science follows a centralized approach, with major publishers and institutions having disproportionate control over research. This leads to several disadvantages. Innovation tends to slow down due to competition and lack of funding.

For example, potential breakthroughs can be hampered if promising early programs are denied funding. The lengthy and biased publishing process of high-impact journals can hinder the timely exchange of knowledge. It can take years for a study to be published, which will hinder the ability of the larger community to expand on these discoveries.

In addition, paywalls for published research create barriers to access, especially for independent researchers and the public. The system can hinder collaboration and ultimately reduce the potential impact of scientific progress. Tens of thousands of dollars undermine the idea that science should serve the public interest because it can cost money to publish a paper.

There are open access preprint services like ArXiv, but they do not provide services such as article-level tracking, authentication, or quality control. SciHub provides unauthorized access; therefore, an official, easily accessible scientific platform is needed. Web3 provides the resources needed to create a system that ensures data integrity and encourages participation.

Second, Decentralized Science as an Alternative to the Existing Scientific System

Decentralized Science (DeSci) within the Web3 framework is a paradigm shift in scientific research characterized by four fundamental principles: incentives, transparency, decentralization, and collaboration.

The shift from centralized institutions (where a few entities control most of the power) to distributed networks (where participants share most of the power) is called decentralization. This change reduces the power of those who convey information and increases inclusiveness by democratizing access to resources and decisions.

DeSci places a strong emphasis on transparency and supports free and open access to methods, data, and conclusions. DeSci fosters an environment of openness and accountability by encouraging transparency, thereby making scientific research more reproducible and credible.

Collaboration is at the heart of DeSci, which leverages a distributed network to enable cross-border, censorship-resistant collaboration. DeSci promotes diversity of viewpoints, expertise sharing, and group problem solving by removing institutional and geographic boundaries.

Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) and tokens to compensate researchers for their efforts are the driving force behind DeSci's incentives. These rewards match individual interests with group goals of enhancing knowledge, creativity, and social impact. DeSci promotes participation, creativity, and the preservation of the scientific method through economic incentives.

3. How DeSci works

DeSci uses blockchain for secure data storage, DAO for decentralized decision-making, and tokenization to incentivize research contributions and control intellectual property.

Due to its immutable and decentralized structure, blockchain technology ensures secure and reliable data storage. Blockchain data is resistant to tampering and single point failure because it is distributed among multiple nodes in the network. Each block in the blockchain has a cryptographic hash value of the previous block, resulting in an ordered sequence of linked data blocks. Adding blocks to the chain ensures the integrity and security of the data because it is computationally impossible to change any earlier block without the approval of the majority of the network.

DAO is an important component of DeSci, enabling transparent and decentralized funding allocation and project governance. DAOs allow stakeholders to manage resources and make decisions collaboratively without the need for centralized intermediaries. They achieve this by using smart contracts on a blockchain network. Members of a DAO can use programmable governance mechanisms to implement rules, propose and vote on research proposals, and allocate cash to certain projects.

In DeSci, tokens and Intellectual Property Non-Fungible Tokens (IP-NFTs) are essential to encourage participation and assert ownership of research outputs. IP-NFTs allow researchers to tokenize their intellectual property (e.g., papers, datasets, patents) on the blockchain. Tokens can be used to align incentives within decentralized research communities, compensate researchers for their contributions, and encourage collaboration.

With IP-NFTs, scholars can grant themselves ownership rights that can be traded or licensed on a blockchain platform by tokenizing their intellectual property, including papers, databases, and patents. This encourages innovation and information sharing within the DeSci ecosystem by incentivizing researchers to share their work publicly while maintaining ownership and control over their intellectual property.

Fourth, the benefits of DeSci

DeSci promotes innovation and teamwork, democratizes access to scientific knowledge, and builds a more inclusive and equal research environment.

First, it encourages inclusiveness by lowering barriers to entry, enabling scientists from different locations and backgrounds to participate in and contribute to scientific projects. In addition, by providing open access to data, methods, and results, DeSci promotes trust and openness while promoting reproducibility and peer review.

In addition, it allows researchers to collaborate in a decentralized, censorship-resistant way, thereby accelerating innovation and problem solving, thereby promoting international cooperation. DeSci also proposes innovative incentive systems, including tokens and DAOs, to ensure that researchers are fairly paid and encourage participation.

IP-NFT allows researchers to retain control of their intellectual property, with the potential to tokenize their work and incentivize open sharing. In addition, DeSci can remove paywalls and democratize access to research data and research results, thereby promoting a wider exchange of knowledge.

In the world of DeSci, trust and verifiable credentials are essential.

V. Challenges facing DeSci

If DeSci's goal is to change research as intended, it faces challenges in ensuring data security, efficient DAO governance, blockchain scalability, legal gray areas, and promoting inclusion.

Ensuring data security and integrity on decentralized networks faces huge challenges, as bad actors may try to change or tamper with research data. In addition, reaching agreement in a DAO can be difficult, and competing interests and choices need to be managed through effective governance structures.

In addition, scalability remains an issue, as the high transaction volume and data volume of large research projects may be difficult for blockchain networks to manage. Legal issues and regulatory uncertainty related to data ownership and intellectual property rights further hinder widespread adoption.

In addition, it is critical to overcome the digital divide and ensure that researchers from all geographic and socioeconomic backgrounds have equitable access to DeSci tools and resources. Overcoming these obstacles requires creative thinking, teamwork, and constant adaptation to the changing decentralized technology landscape.