The summit served as a powerful platform for driving a bipartisan national security tech agenda, with U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan outlining the Biden Administration’s technology strategy. Key members of Congress from both sides of the aisle also outlined their legislative priorities and accomplishments. Allies and partners from various countries shared their vision and initiatives.

During the summit, SCSP CEO, Ylli Bajraktari, had the opportunity to participate in a fireside chat with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. The discussion was a highlight of the summit, and Dr. Kissinger stressed the importance of SCSP’s work given the challenges facing America today.

Phas3 was also a contributor to the SCSP Report, titled “Mid-Decade Challenges to National Competitiveness”. The report establishes the importance of the United States caring about China and other authoritarian countries securing an advantage in emerging technologies and what can be done to win the technology competition.

In the report, Phas3 played a key role in providing expert advice on the topic of DeSci (Decentralised Science). As Phas3 has a deep understanding of the latest trends and advancements in the field, we were able to provide valuable insights and recommendations to the SCSP on how to address the opportunities and challenges of DeSci. Phas3’s contributions to the SCSP Report were instrumental in shaping the report's recommendations on how to address the challenges of DeSci and stay ahead of the competition in the field of emerging technologies.

Overall, the SCSP Global Emerging Technology Summit 2022 was a tremendous success, and Phas3 was honored to be a part of it. The summit reinforced the importance of a national, bipartisan priority to win in establishing technology platforms for the globe that the U.S. invent and drive.

This idea originated from a need expressed by a previous employer to be able to gather insights on employee well-being but not wanting to collect and store the raw data. LYNX came about as an answer to this problem. It also emerged as a solution to empower individuals to maintain ownership and control over their data, whilst being able to permit it for specific uses and maintain data privacy. Originally the solution did not use any Web3 tooling but as we started to think through the problem it became clearer that Web3 tooling could prove useful for data provenance tracking and implementing incentive mechanisms.

Initially, the team carried out market and user research on version 1 of the ‘Lite Paper’ to inform the solution. Insights from this research clarified that users felt a lack of ownership over their data and issues with data privacy and anonymity. They also highlighted that any solution should guard against future threats. Participants also wanted information on pricing and user experience. The research also highlighted that communication needed to be clearer around:

• How Web3 tools offer advanced protections/security and AI analysis capabilities

• What are the benefits of data ownership

• What will happen to data once it is shared

This research informed version 2 of the ‘Lite Paper’ and FAQs. Following this, LYNX partnered with Algovera to host a joint hackathon to test the tech, test the human element, and kickstart the community (learn more here).

We have also been incredibly lucky to have partnered with DataUnion which has helped us think through the data journey from the perspective of a data union or MID (mediators of individual data). Their weekly DAO calls explored topics that are “bubbling”; things that are “hot” right now; and any updates from the different DAO members.

The team also took part in ETHAmsterdam – an ETH Global hackathon – to explore decentralised tools for biometric wearable data. Their entry won three prizes (learn more here).

An interested and engaged community for LYNX has emerged – starting with a Telegram group which grew to over 94 members. Then, after the AlgoLYNXathon – the joint hackathon hosted with Algovera – a dedicated Discord with weekly community calls was established which focused on the key themes of engineering; data ethics and regulation; value proposition.

Throughout our work on LYNX, we have identified the problem in great detail. From this, a range of open questions related to the problem and possible solutions has been identified. These include (but are not limited to):

The overarching problem

• Users want to have more autonomy over their data

• Existing data silos hinder the ability to connect data in a useful way

• Data and insights from the data are difficult to share between different parties - for example, results from a sleep study conducted by company A cannot be easily shared with company B due to data privacy regulations such as GDPR

The questions posed during the working groups can be distilled into the following:

Ethical

• How could the unlocking from data silos go wrong?

• What is personal data and when does data no longer belong to you?

• How can anonymised data from multiple sources be linked to an individual?

• How do we enable people to retain their right to withdraw and the right to be forgotten?

• How can we identify and understand all the risks involved in achieving informed consent?

• How can we make the solution understandable to a general audience for achieving informed consent?

• How can we ensure vulnerable users are not exploited by incentives for data sharing?

• In a decentralised ecosystem, how can research studies obtain ethics board approval?

• In a decentralised ecosystem, who is accountable for data breaches and ensuring they are resolved?

• Ethics related to science, data and AI are culturally defined. In a decentralised ecosystem, what are the global red lines for human data?

• What functions in a data union can help with data ethics governance?

Technical

• How do we architect a data ecosystem that has longevity?

• What good examples of Web2/Web3 hybrids already exist?

• How would a decentralised solution be better as DLTs are currently slower than centralised databases and the data is less secure as its location(s) cannot be established with certainty?

• How do we react to data breaches in Web3?

• Can we ensure security moving on-chain to off-chain? i.e. how would data oracles work with personal data?

• What are the encryption failure modes?

• How would data unions or MIDs (mediators of individual data) organise themselves? - would it require some type of centralisation?

• Identified major trade-offs between storing data on-chain and off-chain:

Next steps

Biometric data from wearable devices is extremely sensitive (for example, a woman’s body temperature could indicate pregnancy and abortion, resulting in murder charges in some locations). It is therefore imperative that any new solution is more secure and ethical than current solutions.

• As a consequence of the above unknowns and concerns, we have transitioned LYNX from an R&D project to an interest group. To get involved in the LYNX biometric data interest group, please join the LYNX Discord and introduce yourself.

• We have identified a need in the Web3 ecosystem for global ethical guidelines for human data – from data collection (i.e. informed consent), through the data pipeline, to analysis (e.g. using decentralised AI protocols). To help achieve this, we have created a Web3 human data ethics community. We encourage anyone who is interested in this topic to please join (Telegram link).

Out of multiple startups, phas3 was awarded two prizes – Finalist for the Hatchery Startup of the Year award and Finalist for the Most promising female-led startup award.

The Santander event sponsor commented that phas3 was the first business to mention blockchain and “web3” across all the university entrepreneur events across the UK they had hosted so far.

For the female-led startup award, phas3 pitched for 3 minutes to a judging panel. For the startup of the year award, pitching took place as part of the UCL Santander Summer Showcase event – alongside two other finalists, phas3 pitched for 2 minutes to an audience of UCL students and staff, and the public. The winner was then chosen by audience vote. The Summer Showcase event culminated in a prize-giving ceremony.

Overall, it was a fantastic and inspiring event for the startup community and phas3 thanks the UCL Innovation & Enterprise team for all the hard work they put into arranging it.

The purpose was to foster a community and crowdsource ideas on web3 for international development.

The event was a collaboration between phas3 and the Frontier Technologies Hub, funded by UK Aid.

Teams were given a list of five themes and were asked to work through a series of tasks to help develop their idea over 48hrs. There were four prizes up for grabs.

The Themes

• Supporting sustainable economies

• Female empowerment & protection

• Humanitarian response

• Climate change & protection of nature

• Global health

The Prizes:

• Best use of web3 technology to solve a problem (awarded to Blockchain-Bio Commerce)

• Greatest involvement of relevant communities (awarded to The Failsafe)

• Most inspiring idea (awarded to Cure DAO)

• Most thorough exploration of risks (not awarded)

To find out more, check out the ideathon guide and framework here. You can also watch the kick-off call, featuring talks from Seb Mhatre and Kendra Leong, and an additional talk by Ale Borda. We have also made the protocol we used open-source – you can access it here.

Since completing ID3, some projects have applied for funding from the web3 ecosystem (e.g. Bio commerce) or are in the process (e.g. Women’s health data is applying to OceanDAO).

Key takeaways

• The submissions showed a strong interest in the environment and health – echoing the emergence of ReFi and DeSci for biotech.

• Most projects had a global focus and were not targeted at a particular country or location-based community – echoing the global mindset of web3.

• Maintaining personal data privacy whilst leveraging web3 was a key component of many submissions. Global standards and recommendations to ensure ethical and safe methods to achieve this are necessary but currently lacking.

• Communities would benefit from support for thinking through risks. Exploration of risks was insufficient across all entries. Consequently, this prize was not awarded and funds were distributed across the remaining three prizes.

• There is a notable divergence between the language of traditional international development and web3, whilst describing similar things – “Public goods” and “Impact DAOs” often align with “international development”. For example, ReFi relates to the theme “Climate change and protection of nature”; while DeSci often relates to “Global health”.

Sarah and Alexandra were joined on stage by Diana Biggs to discuss “DeFi, DeSci, and Innovation”. The discussion was expertly moderated by Samuel Burke.

The panel firstly discussed “What is DeSci?” for the room of investors who may not have encountered the term before. They then delved into the issues scientists face every day – from funding gaps to the replication crisis. The panel then discussed what is emerging in the DeSci space, including IP-NFTs, decentralised data and AI. This was followed by a range of interesting and engaging questions from the audience.

On the second day of the conference, Alex and Sarah were invited to speak about Opportunities and Risks for DeSci. This was followed by a workshop hosted by the pair focused on values and principles for DeSci.

You can watch the talk here.

Key risks for DeSci highlighted in the talk included:

• The commercialisation of science and communities

• Erosion of scientific quality and the rise of pseudoscience

• Collective cognition – preventing echo chambers and encouraging cognitive flexibility

• Lack of diversity

Values and principles for DeSci highlighted in the talk included:

1. Put science first

2. Science as a public good

3. Improving scientific quality

During the talk, the pair also highlighted lessons that can be learnt from elsewhere, including both the Open Science and the Open Source Software movements.

The workshop consisted of two activities. First, a Crazy-8s task, where attendees were asked to ideate on how to crowdsource values and principles for DeSci from the wider community. Secondly, a role-play task, where attendees were asked to advocate for the values and principles of different stakeholders (including a scientist, patient, member of the public, and investor).

The workshop was well attended and sparked some great conversations and ideas. Attendees were invited to share their ideas and continue the conversation on Twitter after the workshop.

We’d like to thank the organisers for hosting such a fantastic event for the DeSci community, and to all those who attended our talk and workshop!

Our present focus is on creating ethical guidelines for human data in web3 – please reach out to join our working group if you are interested in contributing.

We at phas3 present to you ID3 – an ideation hackathon focused on international development.

The purpose of this ideathon is to foster a community focused on sharing and exploring ideas around Web3 and international development.

International development focuses on empowering people and countries to tackle worldwide challenges, for more prosperous, peaceful, and healthier populations. Such challenges include climate change, global health, female empowerment, economic growth, and humanitarian crises.

If you are an individual who is interested in web3 movements (including but not limited to #DeFi, #ReFi, and #DeSci), in addition to those with an interest in international development who are new to web3, this is the perfect opportunity for you to not only explore your interests but also connect with like-minded people in the space and provide interesting solutions to ongoing issues. Note, You can join as a team or join alone and be matched with others.

The key themes ID3 will be focusing on are:

1. Supporting countries to grow their economies sustainably

2. Provide women and girls with freedom, education, empowerment, and protection against violence

3. Effective international response to humanitarian crises

4. Climate change and protection of nature

5. Global health

To join ID3, hop into our Discord and sign-up for our ideation hackathon taking place July 22nd - 24th! This ideathon is completely remote. People can join as a team or find teammates in the discord. When the event starts, you and your team will ideate together to develop one idea to submit. We will provide key questions to think about and judging criteria to help you develop your idea.

Hosted by phas3 & the Frontier Tech Hub; Funded by UK Aid

Somachi

Hello, I’m Somachi Ngoka, a third-year student at UCL studying Information Management for Business. My degree is a combination of IT, Management and Business; therefore, I feel this gives me the range to explore different career fields. I recently joined the Phas3 team as the Communications Lead and I am helping with community building as well as social media outreach.

Having worked in different backgrounds, I believe I have gained multiple transferrable skills which I feel would be useful to this role. These include communication skills, team-building skills and analytical skills. Additionally, I have relevant experience working with social media for an advisory company, therefore the job description for this role was familiar to me.

With regards to phas3, I am so excited to work with a company in the Web 3 space. I believe there is so much to learn and gain from this community in the process of building it further. I hope I can use the best of my abilities to take phas3 to new levels in this space.

Zachary

Hi, I’m Zachary McCarroll, the interim Product Lead at LYNX. Coincidentally, I am also Alexandra’s brother and have put my hat in the ring to help out with the product research and service design of LYNX. I have a Masters degree in Integrated Design Engineering from the University of Bath with a particular specialism in product design.

Additionally, I have spent time working for Rolls-Royce as an electronic engineering intern on their new Pearl engine. A highlight of my experience was working with Pacsafe and Dropsafe; two twinned companies that use stainless steel mesh in exciting and novel ways.

Working at LYNX has allowed me to explore the world of DeSci and the Web3 universe. Through Web3, I am hoping we can deliver new and improved experiences for users of LYNX.

We covered the technology basics before giving an overview of how web3 is disrupting diverse industries, what’s emerging, and how people can get involved.

The event culminated with a panel discussion featuring Rachel Black (Cofounder Good Ghosting) and & Jonathan Clark (Cofounder Float Capital & Wildcards) about their web3 journey and advice for entrepreneurs in the space.

Check out a highlight and the full recording below:

Our co-founders, Alexandra and Sarah, recruited three talented teammates through the ETH Global discord – Oliver Klingefjord @klingfjord, Ashwin Konale @konaleashwin, and Javier Bullrich @javierbullrich.

The team submitted a healthy habits “dApp” entry, which won three prizes – Best Overall Project Built with Tatum.io, and two honourable mentions by WalletConnect and Optimism Network.

The concept

The aim of taking part in the hack was to explore decentralised tools for biometric wearable data. This is motivated by a desire to enable users to own and leverage their own biometric data. For example, to allow users to permission non-proprietary algorithms to access and analyse this data, and to participate in scientific studies.

After speaking with Rachel Black from GoodGhosting the day before the hack, an idea was formulated to leverage DeFi savings to incentivise users to participate in and grow the decentralised biometric data ecosystem. The resulting concept was Health.Wealth – a protocol to empower users to achieve both their health and wealth goals, by investing in themselves (literally).

Users pledge crypto to achieve their health goals (e.g. run 5k three times a week for a month) and connect their wearable device. Pledges are pooled into a high yield DeFi savings protocol (we leveraged Yearn.Finance for this). Over the goal period, user activity is verified through tracking devices. We’re big fans of Oura and chose to leverage their API for our use case in the hack!

Users which meet their goals have their stake plus yield returned. Users who do not meet their goals have their stake returned but their yield is diverted into a community pool to fund scientific research related to health and wellbeing.

User biometric data is encrypted and stored on IPFS, using Tatum. Users receive an NFT of their data, which they can collect, share and/or sell. NFTs are minted from a custom ERC721 contract deployed into Optimism’s Kovan network.

The Hack

At the start of the hack, we explored the sponsor technologies and identified which could be leveraged to build our solution.

We carried out user research with attendees at the event to refine the concept. A key insight from this research concerned the balance between “carrot and stick”. Originally, we planned to slash the savings of those who didn’t meet their goals and give this to those who did, but after feedback, we decided this was too harsh of a stick for many, and therefore decided to only slash the yields to those who didn’t meet their goals. In the future, we would have different user personas with a range of different risk/reward solutions offered.

The team built the frontend of the dApp with React and Typescript. We also used the WalletConnect modal, ethers.js and Tatum. Verification of user goals is achieved through a cron job Firebase function.

Check out our submission below to learn more and see our demo dApp.

https://showcase.ethglobal.com/ethamsterdam/health-wealth-650ik

Next steps

If we’d had more time in the hack we’d have added a dashboard to show users their progress in terms of health goals achieved, savings and earnings to date, and a list of personal data NFTs.

Going forwards, we’ll be exploring encryption solutions and methods for identifying and preventing cheating.

We’d also like to carry out user research to identify personas, determine user needs, and refine the solution.

Check out our kick-off video here:

The aim of the hack was three-fold:

1. Test the “tech”: Specifically, Ocean Protocol’s compute-to-data functionality with an open-source EEG dataset on decentralised data storage (IPFS with estuary.tech & web3.storage).

2. Test the “human” element: Can a decentralised group of people unite around the shared aim of building specialist algorithms, and together create ML capable of pulling out insights from brain data (EEG)?

3. Kickstart our community: All who submitted an entry at the end of the hack received a LYNX POAP, enabling them to enter our Discord and continue to co-create LYNX. We also had four expert speakers (see the two talks below) from across the data ethics and neurotech space to help the community learn about these topics and catalyse ideation across these key themes.

Talk 1

Talk 2

The hack had 27 people sign-up from all over the world. This resulted in eight different teams. By day four, it became apparent that Ocean’s compute-to-data was not able to run on the large dataset. After learning this, we pivoted to give the teams access to the full data stored on IPFS.

The winning team - Team A made up of Arshy (@Arshy), Dr Prakash (@drprk.eth), Jimmy (@jneuro), Ben (@Ben) - did an excellent job at creating a classifier ML algorithm able to differentiate between eyes-open vs eyes-closed brain activity with an accuracy between 80% and 89%! You can see their code repository here.

Winning Team Walkthrough

Key insights:

• IPFS successfully served the decentralised data storage needs of the hack and provided a good user experience for researchers.

• Decentralised teams were able to successfully co-create specialist AI to pull out insights into brain activity together.

• Ocean’s compute-to-data functionality worked for the smaller sample file and hackers were able to use it. However, it is currently limited to smaller files (<200MB). Feedback on this functionality was obtained and communicated to Ocean. We will get there!

• We were able to pivot successfully and provided the large training & validation dataset (~2.5GB) via IPFS.

• There are a lot of incredible people out there who are interested in co-creating bespoke AI to pull out insights from biometric data! Thank you to all those who took part and have joined our community.

• Those previously unaware of compute-to-data found it a fascinating concept:

• We have had fantastic feedback on the hack overall:

“I really liked the way the hackathon was structured, the talks, and the intro call. The reaction to comments and unforeseen events. Also that there were the iPython notebooks already was helpful.”

We are really looking forward to growing out the LYNX community and partner with exciting and innovative wearables to further explore and co-create what is possible with this privacy-preserving technology.

The session had hundreds of people tune in from all over the world during which Sarah and Alexandra explained what DeSci is; What pain points of traditional science could DeSci solve; What are some of the most exciting things happening in the space?; What are the roadblocks to DeSci?; What are we building with LYNX; and What can investors look at if they want to invest in DeSci?

The session was well received by the host, Santiago Velez, and the Real Vision community. Please see some of the feedback below.

Sarah and Alex talk about how they found their way into web3 from backgrounds in traditional science and software engineering. They discuss some of the problems traditional science is facing and how DeSci can solve them. Then they cover the issue of censorship, and how blockchain can be used to expand participation in science.

Sarah and Alex also dive into LYNX — what it’s all about, the problems it solves, and how it uses blockchain and decentralised ledger technologies. They talk about the dangers involved in centralised entities getting hold of our personal data from wearables, and some specific use cases for LYNX.

Finally, they talk about collaboration in the DeSci community and how it compares to more traditional industries. Sarah and Alex share their long-term vision for LYNX and DeSci in general.

Links:

🎧Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0pPjN36eMB8dSKNHdU2hOX?si=c06a9f1c499d40d6…

🎧Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s1-e15-an-introduction-to-desci-and-the-builders/id1596150103?i=1000551537248…

📹YouTube:

This introductory guide covers how DeSci came to be, what its defining features are, what the major debates and open questions are within the movement, and where the greatest opportunities and challenges lie.

As it is behind a paywall, it has since been uploaded to IPFS. You can read this article here: “Call to join the decentralised science movement”.