Nillion: Secure Use of Your Sensitive Data.
Data is the gold of the 21st century. Just as you keep your gold secure, you want to protect your sensitive data while still using it. Nillion is your solution.
Encryption is great and quickly became one of the most utilized technology during the last decades. Bitcoin relies heavily on it, your healthcare data is fully encrypted and many other cloud services like iCloud or dropbox encrypt your files.
The most well-know example is probably WhatsApp. You've seen it say things like:
"Your chats are end-to-end encrypted," "your chats are safe and secure," "we never read your private messages," “blah blah blah.” Okay, they didn’t say that last one, but you get the idea.
Let’s see how encryption works first.
When you text your friend to bring a pack of beers for a party, the text is sent to a server. The server then turns this text into a bunch of letters and numbers — called ciphertext.
Try reading this: irt09goa09gd0a gsad09gag dg90ga0g9ga09g ga383783
You can’t? Well, me too lol.
That’s why your friend will receive a key that only he can use to decrypt the code. With this key, he is able to convert the code into words and see that you’re simply asking him to bring some beers. Pretty cool, right?
If it's end-to-end encryption, you will encrypt your text with your key, and your friend will decrypt the code with his key. The server will never be able to know what you have written, meaning that your text is kept private from the messaging company you use. See how WhatsApp works now?
This is extremely cool, right? Encryption has secured so many things: our notes, nudes, dog pics, etc. But now, with AI coming into our life, how do we create assistant personalised to our needs if our data is completely encrypted?
Let’s first start by understanding of AI model works. Yes, it’s gonna be extremely simplified, don’t get me wrong.
First, the model need data, a lot of it. The data is the fuel of this model, it’s what makes it works. It’s a bit like food for an human, it gives him energy, nutriments, etc.
So, you feed the model with data. The next step is that this data will go through some sort of algorithms to train the model. In other words, the model learns with this data, just the way you learned as a kid with school books.
Once trained, the model is ready to perform tasks you’ll ask it to do. Whether it’s a simple question or a complex tasks, the model will try its best to produce an answer BASED ON THE DATA you’ve fed it with.
You’ve understood it, the data you give to this model is crucial. If you want a truly personalized AI, or a digital clone, you need to give it ALL your data. This means your healthcare data, your opinions on any influencers or even your boss, your private messages, etc.
But if all this data is encrypted, the model can't read it or associate it with you, right?
That sucks, I would have loved a virtual me…
Don’t be so delusional… Nillion is here for you!
What if there was a solution to keep your data completely private but in a way that it can still be used for AI or anything else?
This is called blind computation, or performing computations on data without knowing the actual data being processed.
Basically, the nodes on the Nillion network have no idea what they are computing, they simply compute. The data they are using is masked, and therefore unrecognizable to anyone without a key. This key is split into many pieces and those pieces are securely stored across the different nodes in the decentralized Nillion network.
Imagine three friends want to find out who has the most money without revealing their amounts. Each encrypts their amount and sends the encrypted values to the Nillion network. The network calculates the highest amount using the masked data. Each friend then receives the result, keeping their amounts confidential while learning who has the most money.
If we come back to our personalized AI example, this means that the model running with Nillion could use your most sensitive data without even be able to recognize or know that this data belongs to you.
In simple terms, Nillion provides a decentralized way to use your private data securely and confidentially.
While we have focused on personalized AI as a use case because it’s freaking sexy and trendy, the applications enabled by Nillion extend far beyond that. At CryptoMadeEasy, we’re also considering private chats, private data transfers, and more. Blind computation and decentralization are a match made in heaven. What will be their most prominent babies? 🥹
Disclaimer: This content is presented to you on an “as is” basis for general information and educational purposes only, without representation or warranty of any kind. It should not be construed as financial, legal or other professional advice, nor is it intended to recommend the purchase of any specific product or service. You should seek your own advice from appropriate professional advisors. Digital asset prices can be volatile. The value of your investment may go down or up and you may not get back the amount invested. You are solely responsible for your investment decisions and Crypto Made Easy is not liable for any losses you may incur. This material should not be construed as financial, legal or other professional advice.