Cloud outages, centralization, and data sovereignty were on Web3’s mind this week
Google Cloud outage shows conflict between modern demands, older systems
“(The recent) Google Cloud outage, which affected users and businesses across the globe, shows archaic systems crumbling under the immense pressure of modern-day data demand. It also demonstrates the urgent need to decentralize our global cloud infrastructure.
“A handful of companies operating a few computer warehouses choking on surging demand can no longer be relied upon to run the global Internet.
“Indeed, it is irresponsible that not only private but also state actors are increasingly placing system-critical infrastructure in the hands of these aged hyperscalers.
“The global cloud is now the foundation for the operations of an increasing number of businesses, and it shouldn’t be exposed to these obvious, single-point-of-failure-related risks; risks that can be significantly decreased by migrating to decentralized networks.
“This time it was Gmail, Google Maps, Spotify, and Snapchat – but what about tomorrow? This mega outage is also just the tip of the iceberg. Small cloud disruptions that go unmentioned happen every day, yet impact critical infrastructure.
“As cloud compute needs surge, reducing our global reliance on a handful of data centres run by a monopoly is not only sensible, but essential.”
– Sebastian Pfeiffer, managing director of Impossible Cloud Network
“(The) major Google Cloud outage, which affected a wide range of access and services – from Gmail and Maps to Spotify, SnapChat, and Discord – shows how vulnerable the world is in the hands of a few centralized cloud providers.
“When everything we do depends on the Internet, we can’t afford to have the Internet break. This is not least due to the massive risk of data loss that these events carry.
“Losing access to Spotify for a few hours is annoying, but that pales in comparison to losing access to healthcare systems and the data stored inside them – maybe permanently. Such potential losses have huge implications on everything from revenue to productivity, and most significantly, human health and safety.
“In a digital world, the risks of relying on centralized cloud systems for data storage are becoming too high.
“It is critical that we start to decentralize global cloud systems to reduce the risk of single points of failure and irreversible data loss. Data should be stored permanently, and, on the blockchain, it can be, immutably and verifiably. This huge outage is yet another wake-up call that we must start to make that transition.”
– Phil Mataras, founder of permanent cloud network AR.IO
The vulnerability of centralized AI systems
“The global ChatGPT outage reveals a critical issue that’s not being discussed enough. Despite being highly advanced technology, current dominant AI systems are also highly centralized and so vulnerable to single points of failure that, when relied upon heavily, can cause global chaos.
“And that, of course, is to say nothing of the potential for data manipulation, deletion, censorship, and worse, that is hard-wired into centralized AI systems.
“Despite this, centrally controlled AI is being increasingly integrated into our infrastructure, from educational institutions to governmental frameworks. Yet, we still have very little visibility into how these systems are trained, updated, or what happens when they fail.
“Apple downplayed the advancement of AI in its latest iPhone launch on Tuesday, arguably due to product limitations, yet the message was not wrong. AI is not yet as advanced as we think – it’s far from perfected and highly vulnerable. And, when controlled by opaque centralized systems, these vulnerabilities are compounded.
“The development of AI is operating behind the scenes without any accountability or transparency on systems controlled by a select few. Before we allow these systems to guide policy, healthcare, or public safety, we need tools that provide real oversight, starting with permanent, tamper-proof records of how the models are built and how they evolve.”
– Mataras
Now is the time for Europe to embrace decentralization
“Last week, Amazon Web Services made a big show of rolling out a supposedly sovereign European cloud service, run independently from its American operations. Unsurprisingly, there was little positive reaction. Despite AWS’s best efforts, we all see through the PR.
“AWS is an American company, and a mega American company at that, so it is entirely subject to the whims of American politics. And with American politics the way it is, Europe is right to be as deeply concerned as it is about its over-reliance on US hyperscalers for its cloud infrastructure – a 70% over-reliance.
“Some claim there is nothing Europe can do about it at this stage. That there is no amount of building around the clock that would see Europe construct data centers in time to compete with US hyperscaler capability. And that is true.
“But this is exactly why yesterday’s less-reported news that Ethereum has proposed changes to its network to comply with Europe’s GDPR rules is significant. The “world’s computer” is signalling its commitment to complying with European laws – now it’s Europe’s turn to embrace decentralization, rather than putting unnecessary roadblocks in place.
“The only way Europe can be free of US political control over its cloud infrastructure is to leave the archaic mega data center model of the past where it belongs and move into the future with decentralized cloud networks that can scale quickly, provide true sovereignty, far more resilience, and are infinitely more environmentally sustainable than these archaic electrical barnyard systems.
“Some, including European leaders, may see this as a huge challenge. But it is also a huge opportunity, should these leaders finally decide to move out from underneath the yoke of the US, and take it.”
– Pfeiffer
Xchat’s centralization and sovereignty issues
“XChat sounds super, but it’s still part of X’s super-centralized “super-app” ecosystem.
“Bitcoin’s fame, on the other hand, comes from being a fully decentralized ecosystem, not just its cryptography. Encryption is the means, not the goal. Claiming ‘Bitcoin-style’ encryption for XChat feels off unless it’s truly P2P and decentralized.
“A real ‘Bitcoin-style’ messenger would look more like pre-Microsoft Skype, which used P2P for voice/video calls, connecting users directly and leveraging supernodes (users’ devices) to lighten server load.
“A modern example is Session, a decentralized fork of Signal’s protocol, which routes encrypted messages through a network of nodes, with no central server needed. That’s the kind of structure XChat needs to live up to its Bitcoin-level security claims.
“Ultimately, sovereignty is the real issue here. With XChat’s centralized servers, X controls all user data, including messages, metadata, and maybe more. If X is hacked, censored, or pressured by authorities, then user privacy and communication can be heavily compromised.
“True sovereignty means owning your communication, and this requires decentralized alternatives where no single entity can pull the plug. Centralization trades convenience for control, and that’s a risky bet for everyone.”
– Kai Wawrzinek, co-founder of Impossible Cloud Network
Execution must be archivable, verifiable
“EigenCloud is selling data verifiability, but without immutable storage, it’s just another black box cloud and a sleeker version of AWS that verifies today and forgets tomorrow.
“If you can’t permanently audit how off-chain results were generated, or trust that the logs won’t disappear, it’s not a trustless system. It’s just an expensive illusion.
“What we need isn’t just verifiable execution, but archived execution. Provenance, context, and results must be locked into something permanent where no investors, founders, or protocol upgrades can rewrite the record.
“We need to rebuild our data foundations for permanence. Without this, we can’t ensure the future sustainability or protection of data for AI, finance, media, and more. That foundation has to be decentralized, indelible, and inspectable; anything less is just vaporware with a validator set.
“If we want to verify the future, we must store the past. And so, as our data needs expand, permanent data preservation must be the goal we all strive to achieve.”
– Mataras