Why a “True” Data Economy Needs a “Causal” Internet
In response to various questions on our Telegram, this article digs a little deeper into the nature of the “causality” that is fundamental to our radically-new, decentralised Web 3.0/4.0 solution.
As discussed in our Telegram, a lot of the features and functions of our platform and web browser, called Decentr, sound baffling when described out of the context of causality.
This is due to the fact these features are manifestations of our “causal” platform — a type of online platform that does not yet exist. As a result, it is hard to draw parallels with how our platform behaves unless the nature of causality is benchmarked with real-world examples — which is what this article aims to do.
With this in mind, this article steps back and takes a closer look at the causality underpinning our platform with a view to clarifying basic principles by using real-world contexts. The strange properties our platform exhibits — notably where this concerns our heterodox economic model, called “deconomics” (decentralised economics) vis-a-vis dataflow — can then be seen in the light of the extension of Einsteinian relativity into online that underpins Decentr.
This extension covers deconomics, ICT, social media, etc — a radical extension that puts these properties into a recognisable context.
The “Building Blocks” for a Causal Internet
The nature of causality can seem abstract, where applied to Decentr, but it is foundational to everything we are doing. Critically, as our R&D has shown, without an online environment that is indeed “causal” it is not possible to create a “true” data economy. Here’s why:
The bottom line is that “causality” is what makes all “values” (including “economic” value) relative (in the Einsteinian sense) on Decentr. It is important to understand this principle, as it changes the game completely: where an online platform is 100% disintermediated, the only possible way to express the activity that happens in such an environment is through cause and effect.
This point is crucial as regards creating a sustainable data economy. Why so? Because the cause/effect relationship is both predictive and predictable, and hence data behaving in this way is very valuable (in both a social and economic sense). This is due in large part to the fact that “causal data” can be consistently valued and hence can be used as an incredibly accurate (because immutable) “value store” in place of “money” (both fiat and digital).
This is the basis for a “true” data economy. This is the basis for Decentr’s deconomy.
“Valuing” “Causal Data”
The fundamental question is why is it that “causal data” can be consistently valued? This gets to the heart of Decentr and the deconomy.
Let’s use a real world example to clarify why “causal data” value is consistent:
We can invoke by way of analogy gravity as the fundamental “playing field” upon which the events of the universe occur. Gravity is universally immutable and is hence a consistent force that is both predictive and predictable, as expressed by the evolving actions and outcomes that are common to the cause/effect relationship.
Basically, we know where we stand (literally and figuratively) with gravity.
This is in the same way we know where we stand with data storage/distribution on Decentr, due to 100% disintermediation providing the fundamental “playing field” upon which the events of the decosystem occur.
In the real world, we know if we throw a ball up it must come down, etc. This is all very useful as it provides at a fundamental level the collective background “rules” for our continued existence in this universe in general and on this planet specifically.
This basis is typified by cause/effect producing repeatable actions that are both predictive and predictable of further actions/reactions.
As discussed, Decentr creates this same environment online, with the ultimate goal of making the online experience as equally intuitive as our offline experience.
In the real world, because these actions are predictive/predictable, we can as citizens utilise them for — among other physical, psychological, etc benefits — maximum social benefit.
How so? Because all of us will generally agree as to the benefit (or otherwise) of any given action/reaction — in very much the same way actions on Decentr are given “value” through a similar evolving process of community consensus (as expressed in the applied co-operative-game theory underpinning our algorithms).
The “Predictive” Value Potential of Gravity
Continuing with our real-world example further clarifies the point as regards the agreed benefits of any given action/reaction in a causal environment: if our hypothetical ball falls off a table, it is fairly easy for all of us to accurately and intuitively predict it’s course, and this course can be altered mechanically in some way (deflected, caught, etc) by us to affect the outcome.
All of us can easily execute the action required to create the desired reaction, due to our innate understanding of the applied principles of gravity.
The point is, the effect of altering the course of this primary action (the ball falling) potentially carries with it a “value” assigned by community consensus.
Again, this in the same way ongoing action/reactions on Decentr are assigned a “data value” by community consensus.
For example, the ball might be about to fall onto a baby’s head, and the social/moral “value” assigned to the action of deflecting it would be deemed greater than if it was about to fall into a dog’s dinner bowl and create a mess.
The same applies — on a sliding scale of increasing value — in the baby/falling ball scenario if the ball were made of rubber, wood, lead, etc, due to the increased severity of the potential harm inflicted.
The value of the same action would, pursuant to personal/cultural morals (and whose baby it was) further increase if the ball was replaced with a Ming Dynasty vase, and would dramatically further increase if we replace the table/ball with a cliff/baby, etc.
We all instinctively know all this and “agree” with the “value” we would place on the action of deflecting the falling object (from “quick thinker” to “hero”, etc) in each scenario.
To underscore the point this article is making, this “value assignation” is only possible due to gravity.
This is because gravity, being fixed, ensures community consensus supports the collective assertion that the action and its outcome are known, and hence the desirability of this action’s execution is generally socially and morally consistent across societies and cultures.
The same is true on Decentr if we replace “social value” with “data value” — but only on Decentr.
Why only on Decentr? Because it is only possible to assign immutable value to online actions and activity if data behaves within the constraints of a purely causal environment, whereby the fundamental “playing field” upon which the events online occur is a fixed constant (Decentr’s decentralised dataflow replacing “gravity” online as this fixed constant).
The issue is, of course, that a purely causal environment does not yet exist and this is the reason we are building what we are building.
Only then can data truly possess superior “value store” properties to “money” — properties with a solid social and moral foundation — that underpin a “true” data economy.
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