In all chance, the transfer by the Sei Basis – the group behind layer1 blockchain Sei – to purchase bankrupt genetic knowledge firm 23andMe is a long-shot at finest, and doubtlessly only a publicity stunt. However, it stays an extremely thrilling concept that has acquired lots of people pondering.
Have been such a deal to undergo, we might see a Web3 firm rescue a Web2 firm, which might have monumental ramifications in and of itself. Web2 tech giants are already being challenged within the space of AI by a lot smaller, nimble, and extra versatile corporations. Nevertheless, the acquisition of what was as soon as considered one of Silicon Valley’s shiniest stars by a blockchain upstart could be a complete paradigm shift.
Past that, a deal could be a win for public understanding for knowledge safety and privateness. Whereas now we have all been vaguely conscious of how Meta, Google, Apple, and many others., take and use our knowledge, now we have chosen to disregard that for the comfort it affords us.
Then there has maybe by no means been such a case as 23andMe, which holds DNA and different knowledge for 15 million individuals. It exhibits the general public how weak their most private and intimate knowledge is within the fingers of centralized corporations and organizations.
It’s one factor when Fb and Instagram are monitoring our procuring and shopper habits and making our delicate messages and emails weak to leaks. With 23andMe, we’re speaking DNA knowledge; the very cloth of our human our bodies has simply been green-flagged on the market to the best bidder.
If Sei is just not profitable, which is most certainly, this knowledge can and might be offered to well being or life insurance coverage corporations. They could then be capable to use this knowledge to doubtlessly exclude individuals from very important healthcare or insurance coverage insurance policies, because of the questionable means by which the U.S. healthcare system is run and its discrimination insurance policies enforced.
Maybe, lastly, it is a turning level at which the general public could severely come to know the significance of proudly owning their very own knowledge. Possibly extra individuals will notice that to maintain their knowledge actually secure, they’ve full management of it themselves via using decentralized blockchain know-how.
After all, not each blockchain is created equal. Nevertheless, Sei definitely claims to be extremely safe, and tasks like Arweave – which is a everlasting storage chain constructed on a “pay one store forever” mannequin – have functions that may mean you can add and retailer your knowledge privately, securely and completely.
These are two amongst a rising record of choices in our business, however the level is that this: there’s merely no centralized resolution past a chunk of paper saved in a Swiss safety deposit field with keys buried deep within the floor that may evaluate. And even then, somebody can dig these keys up.
It is a watershed second for individuals to know the significance of information self-sovereignty. And it comes at a time when belief in centralized organizations, corporations, and even governments is breaking down. As such, the 23andMe sale may mark a real turning level in historical past, and one that would reshape how Web3 is seen, understood and utilized.
