Data Resonance: Reconstructing the Trust System and Returning "Digital Oil" to Individuals

As a key link in the development of human society, our trust system has been manipulated by the soft totalitarianism represented by capital and big data. Human beings are increasingly losing data sovereignty and even the most precious free will. With the help of blockchain and zero-knowledge proof technology, we are finally expected to replace consumer enjoyment and algorithm guidance with a "data resonance" approach, and regain the lost control over personal data.

Text / Weng Hao, co-founder of Crooked Neck Three Views

Edit / Kaka

Modern capitalism has become the new soft totalitarianism, which, with compulsive consumption and algorithmic guidance, shapes false consciousness, dwarfs our ability to think, and hinders the birth of a better society. People live a monotonous and repetitive life, are forced to join various production organizations, and accept the exploitation of capital.

And new things like Metaverse are extremely easy to be manipulated by various algorithms and narratives, and people's thinking and behavior are shaped invisibly.

We are losing our most precious free will day by day.

01. The evolution of trust: the key to the development of human society

The concept of trust has always been in the process of human history. It is not only the bond of emotional connection between people, but also the glue for the progress of human society. In early society, people needed to trust each other in order to share resources and hunt, so the initial community was established. Without trust, humans cannot collaborate effectively, and human society may die in its infancy.

As the wheel of history rolls forward, society becomes more complex, and the value of trust becomes more apparent. People hold a variety of credit currencies and trust the central bank to guarantee the purchasing power of the currency; people exchange the money they earn from labor for savings in the bank, trusting that banks, laws, and regulatory agencies will ensure the safety of funds; people strolling on the streets of cities late at night, trusting that strangers will not pose a threat to you, and trusting that the city's public security agencies can guarantee personal safety. This expansion of trust enables people to conduct social exchanges on a larger scale and with higher efficiency, which promotes economic development and social progress. Business transactions, treaty signing, and even international diplomacy all rely on trust as a foundation.

However, history has taught us that the abuse of trust can lead to serious consequences. During the global financial crisis in 2008, American investment banks abused investors' trust in their professional capabilities to create a bunch of extremely risky financial products, which eventually led to the collapse of the global financial system. There is also Facebook's data privacy scandal. The trust of hundreds of millions of users in Facebook has been abused, and their personal data has been used unrestrainedly for commercial promotion and political propaganda, which has seriously damaged data privacy rights and interests worldwide.

Therefore, how to establish and maintain a high-quality trust relationship between strangers, while managing and reducing information asymmetry, so as to avoid the abuse of trust, is an important problem we are currently facing.

02. Building Trust: The Power of Narrative

The formation of trust is a complex and delicate process, and it is often based on our understanding of the world, which depends largely on the narrative environment we find ourselves in. However, this narrative environment is not naturally generated, but controlled and shaped by specific individuals, groups or institutions. They decide not only which stories will be told, but how those stories will be told. This is narrative power. This concept may sound abstract, but it is actually everywhere, such as news reports, history textbooks, movies, novels, and even brand advertisements.

Narration is actually weaving complex realities into stories that are easy to understand and remember. In this process, the author emphasizes certain details, shapes specific values and themes, and forms a specific interpretation framework. Cumulatively, these stories form our stereotypes, which in turn affect our understanding of the world and even our trust in others. For example, Coca-Cola's advertisements always create a happy and warm picture of life, and we subconsciously associate "Coca-Cola" with good times.

Historically, narrative power was often held in the hands of kingship and theocracy, who maintained the chain of trust by controlling narrative. Ancient kings would claim that they were descendants of gods to ensure their dominance and make the people trust in the kingship; religious power would use religious teachings, such as the "Bible" and "Koran", to construct specific religious narratives, and then maintain their belief system, so that believers have full trust in the Holy See. India's caste system, on the other hand, provides divine legitimacy for its hierarchical order through the profound myth of cosmic creation, shaping a trust system that cannot be challenged by people and is still accepted by hundreds of millions of people.

With the advancement of history and the development of technology, the distribution of this narrative power began to change. Technology has brought us more information, more stories, and more narrative power. Not just governments, educational institutions, even ordinary people can share their stories and shape their narratives through the internet. This makes the narrative more diverse and complicates the formation of trust.

However, this does not mean that the concentration of narrative power disappears. On the contrary, new forces are grasping narrative power, they are capital and big data. By manipulating technology and using big data, they are redefining our narrative environment, which in turn changes our trust system. Their influence is not only reflected in the business field, but is also changing our social structure and values.

03. Trust in the Digital Age: Narrative Control of Capital and Big Data

Since the Industrial Revolution, the narrative of scientific rationality has gradually dominated our world. The widespread application of electricity, the invention of airplanes, the rise of computers and the Internet, and every step of technological innovation are changing our understanding of the world and giving us unprecedented trust in technology. We believe science and technology are key to solving problems and improving lives. However, as time goes by, the narrative power of science is being redefined by capital and big data.

In the late 20th century, the rise of consumerism and big data in capitalist society brought new changes to the power struggle. Large companies and governments collect and analyze big data to formulate more precise marketing strategies and policy decisions based on consumer preferences and behaviors. This allows them to regain control of the narrative power of society, shaping and guiding public concepts and behaviors. In this process, capital does not simply accept scientific narratives, but dominates and shapes scientific narratives, combines scientific and commercial interests, and leads the direction of technological innovation.

Take social media, for example. While initially seen as a tool for free expression and global connectivity, it is now seen more as a platform for driving consumerism and personalized advertising. Big data technology enables social media companies to accurately understand users' preferences, habits and behaviors, and then convert this information into tools to drive user consumption. Instead of being users of social media, we have become products. Our behaviors, feelings and even trust are analyzed by algorithms and converted into capital profits.

We no longer only trust science and technology, we also begin to trust those capitals and brands that master technology. We trust the products and services they provide, trust their algorithm recommendations, and choose to trust their professional knowledge and explanations in the face of increasingly complex technologies.

However, this trust relationship is not equal. Capital and big data control the power of narrative, they have the power to screen and sort information, and decide which information can get people's priority attention. They are shaping the values of the world, defining the needs and desires of ordinary people.

This kind of narrative power is no longer just about the understanding of technology, but about how we see ourselves, how we understand and deal with the world, and will ultimately determine our future social forms and values.

04. The Diversity Crisis: The Harm of a Single Trust System

Under the wave of big data in modern society, people are more willing to accept the mainstream narrative of their environment, and the chain of trust is becoming more and more simple, but they don't know the danger. In this data-dominated world, our actions, thoughts, beliefs and even dreams are digitized and used to guide our decisions. This quantitative approach often ignores the complexity and diversity of us as individuals, reduces us to a pile of data, and our inner world is deprived of its essential diversity and richness.

In the past, the monopoly of narrative often meant the solidification of power and became an obstacle to social progress. For example, medieval Europe was under the narrative control of the church for a long time. People trust any explanation of the church, new ideas are difficult to grow, and the development of society is at a standstill. With the advent of the Renaissance, Europe began to re-examine the cultural heritage of ancient Greece and Rome, scientists, artists and scholars began to challenge traditional concepts, and European society gradually moved towards modernization.

This clearly shows that diverse narratives can promote the collision of different viewpoints, trigger innovative thinking, form a new trust system, and promote social progress. In modern society, however, big data and the narrative power of capital are leading us towards simplification. New technological religions and capital religions are re-formed, selectively ignoring or shielding those innovative ideas that do not conform to the mainstream.

The relationship between narrative diversity and trust is subtle. On the one hand, diversity can enhance the vitality and innovation ability of society and promote the development of society; on the other hand, diversity may lead to the breakdown of trust and form social chaos. This requires us to find a balance between narrative diversity and trust.

We need to realize that the power of narrative is not just about the screening and interpretation of information, but also about how we see the world and define ourselves. We need to challenge the solidification of power, reshape human free will, and promote the birth of a new order.

05. The reshaping of free will: regain control over personal data

Free will is a human characteristic in which people are free from the control of any external force and have the ability to determine their own actions for themselves and take responsibility for their actions. However, in the current environment dominated by capital and big data, our free will is being challenged.

Driven by big data, our behaviors, choices, and even thoughts are accurately captured and predicted. We increasingly rely on predictive models rather than our own judgment. The narrative of capitalism also emphasizes material enjoyment and consumerism. In order to maximize profits, they will create artificial needs through narrative, and people are encouraged to obtain satisfaction and happiness through purchase and consumption. Our free will is being quietly eroded.

The key to reinventing free will is taking back control of our data from the grip of big data and capitalism. Controlling our own data doesn't mean resisting big data, it's about understanding and choosing where our data comes from and how it's used. In this way, we are protected from big data and capitalist manipulation.

The reason why it is important to control self-data is that these data directly reflect our lives, including our preferences, habits, relationships, and even emotions and thinking, and are the basis for us to deeply understand ourselves and make independent choices. We have the right and the responsibility to prevent its misuse.

Of course, taking back and controlling data is not an easy task. We need to master the skills of data analysis, identify data quality and reliability, and need appropriate technology, resources and legal protection. However, the existence of a challenge is not a reason to forego action, it is about our freedom and our dignity. Survival is meaningless, meaning lies in how we discover and create.

06. Blockchain and Zero-Knowledge Proof: Decentralization of Trust and Data Autonomy

Blockchain technology, which began with the radical and independent declaration of Bitcoin, aims to challenge the existing financial system and protect the economic freedom of individuals in a decentralized manner. This radical idea embodies the core spirit of the Bitcoin network and has led to a series of decentralized currency projects. Bitcoin founder Satoshi Nakamoto spent 18 months writing the code before publishing the Bitcoin white paper in 2009. He embedded a message in Bitcoin's genesis block: "The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks" as a challenge to the injustice and crisis of the traditional financial system. Satoshi Nakamoto's goal is to use Bitcoin and blockchain technology to establish a new financial system that is fair, transparent and cannot be manipulated by power.

Blockchain technology adopts a decentralized approach, providing us with a new perspective and tools to build trust relationships between people, while also potentially giving us greater control over our own data. In essence, the blockchain is an open distributed database, which stores data in a non-tamperable, open and transparent manner, and achieves data security and consistency through encryption algorithms and consensus mechanisms. This decentralized approach means that data is no longer controlled by a centralized entity (such as a government, bank, or large corporation), but is distributed among all participants in the network. This allows the control of the data to be decentralized, and everyone can participate and verify the authenticity of the data.

This distributed trust mechanism solves many problems in the traditional centralized system to a certain extent, but it also brings new challenges. One of the important challenges is how to protect personal privacy while ensuring data transparency and sharing. This is an important consideration in achieving self-data control on the blockchain.

At this time, the emergence of zero-knowledge proof is particularly important. Zero-knowledge proof is a cryptographic method that allows one party (the prover) to prove to another party (the verifier) that an assertion is true without revealing any other information to the verifier. This means, you can prove that you own certain data or meet certain conditions without disclosing any specific data. Not only does this protect your privacy, it also allows others to trust your assertions. On the blockchain, you can choose which data is made public and which data is verified with zero-knowledge proofs. It will strengthen our control over our own data, making it possible for everyone to have complete control over their own data.

For example, under the technology of blockchain and zero-knowledge proof, the data of online shoppers is stored on a distributed blockchain and only shoppers can access it. Using zero-knowledge proofs, shoppers can prove that they meet the conditions for participating in promotional activities without revealing their specific shopping records.

In the future digital world, blockchain and zero-knowledge proof will jointly build a decentralized, transparent and privacy-protected data sharing model. This model frees us from the shackles of traditional centralized authorities and a single information system, and provides us with the possibility to redefine and build trust. We can trust such a decentralized protocol and trust every public and verifiable interaction result based on this protocol. More importantly, we can start trusting ourselves—trusting our data rights, trusting our privacy, trusting every decision we make in this digital world.

However, we must realize that the blockchain is also a new narrative. When some nodes have much higher computing power than other nodes, or the energy cost is much lower than other nodes, they will gain greater narrative power. Or once the zero-knowledge proof is cracked, it may also trigger a systemic crisis of trust. We need to judge for ourselves whether we can trust this mechanism. But anyway, it offers a possibility.

07. Data Resonance: Construction of a New Trust System

When we go back to the early days of the Internet, people tended to find the content they were passionate about on their own, as if in a vast library, as long as they had enough patience, they could always find the answer in it. Today, we have the opportunity to regain our lost data sovereignty and prevent central nodes from using data to manipulate our cognition by using blockchain and zero-knowledge proof technology. Here, I propose the concept of "data resonance".

The idea of data resonance comes from the phenomenon of resonance in physics. When two systems of similar frequencies come into contact, they begin to resonate, a harmonious match in both frequency and amplitude. This phenomenon, although derived from physics, has profound social and philosophical implications. Resonance does not mean a single copy or obedience, but a kind of interaction and dialogue, a possibility of finding consensus and creating a relationship of trust while respecting individual differences.

Compared with the data matching of traditional centralized institutions, data resonance is a data interaction method based on free will. We have the right to choose how to use our data, who to resonate with, and when and where to resonate. Therefore, we can create a decentralized, decentralized data network where everyone can dominate and control their own data. Through zero-knowledge proof, we can share and use this data to resonate with others while protecting privacy.

For example, in the current medical system, patients with rare diseases are often marginalized because of their rarity and complexity, and their voices are hardly heard in the sea of capital-driven and big data statistics. The limitation of legal jurisdictions prevents multinational companies from effectively integrating rare disease cases around the world, which makes the plight of these rare disease patients even more serious. The lives of them and their families are full of loneliness and despair.

However, through the resonance of data, we can finally respond to this difficult problem head-on. Imagine that we have developed a decentralized blockchain protocol that can link all rare disease patients around the world, allowing them to voluntarily and anonymously share their medical data, including symptoms, treatment processes and effects. This protocol is not governed by any particular institution or country, but is a free network belonging to all participants.

In this network, each patient is no longer a lonely number, and their data can "resonate" with other data. This "resonance" allows researchers to conduct in-depth analysis of these data to find out the possibility of treatment, which brings new hope to patients with rare diseases. Each individual contributes to a common goal through data sharing and connection.

For another example, although each student has a different learning rhythm and method, it is often difficult for the current education system to treat this in detail. In the mechanized education process, the individual needs of students are marginalized, and their unique voices appear insignificant under the giant wheel of exam-oriented education.

However, through data resonance, students can find partners who match their learning interests and abilities through a decentralized learning platform, and share their learning progress, problems, solutions and experiences while protecting their privacy. Such an atmosphere can better satisfy their thirst for knowledge. Such a platform is not bound by any particular school or institution and will become a free network for all seekers of knowledge. Students no longer accept passive information indoctrination, but acquire the ability to criticize independently.

Therefore, digital resonance is a dialogue between the subject and the future digital world, and it is a way for individuals to maintain their own voices in the digital world while also listening to the voices of others and establishing deep connections. It’s a way to fight a monolithic, apathetic digital society, a way to build a contribution-based, fair and transparent trust network while maintaining independence.

08. Write at the end

Data resonance is not an idealized, hassle-free process. It requires us to have technical literacy and critical ability, master self-data, know how to express ourselves with data, and communicate with others through data. It is a task that takes time and effort, and one that requires technical and social support.

Therefore, when I talk about data resonance, I am not only talking about the possibility of a technology realization, but also about a kind of expectation and challenge for the future society. I look forward to finding a new way to preserve people's free will and maintain their human dignity in this data-driven world. People can challenge the narratives of capital religion and the mechanical universe, and they can also criticize and break the existing solidified trust system. Data resonance is such a powerful tool and concept that can promote people to form new consensus groups, and then form a future world of peace, fairness, connection and mutual understanding.