BCSC 41 2 final

Summary

The speaker discusses the importance of decentralized storage and infrastructure in the context of advanced technologies like AI, machine learning, and blockchain. They emphasize the need for startups to engage with large enterprises like Oracle, AWS, and Google to ensure support for scaling up. The speaker also highlights the significance of true decentralization, questioning the authenticity of blockchain services that rely on centralized cloud providers and advocating for infrastructure that meets decentralized standards.

Takeaways

• 🚀 The speaker used to run Advanced Technologies for Oracle Cloud, focusing on AI, machine learning, high-performance computing, blockchain, and quantum simulation.
• 🌐 They launched their own company as an Oracle partner, continuing to help advanced technology companies leverage Oracle Cloud infrastructure for business success.
• 🤝 The speaker emphasizes the importance of startups asking large enterprises for business support rather than just infrastructure solutions.
• 🏛 The speaker discusses the significance of decentralized infrastructure, especially for election systems and local government processes, to ensure local control and resilience.
• 📚 They mention a project in Lancaster, South Carolina, to build data set technology for Indian tribes, marking the first time these tribes have their own dedicated and sovereign infrastructure.
• 🏦 The speaker highlights the need for states to have sovereign infrastructure to manage their own election and government processes, questioning why the federal government is the only one with its own cloud.
• 🔒 Decentralized storage is a crucial aspect of distributed ledger technology and federated machine learning, ensuring that data and AI processes are not solely reliant on centralized entities.
• 🗣️ The speaker challenges the authenticity of any decentralized application that runs primarily on cloud services like AWS, stating it's misleading to claim decentralization without infrastructure-level decentralization.
• 🛠️ There is a call to action for startups and founders to reach out to the speaker's company, Stem Practice, for help in scaling up their businesses using the power of global corporations.
• 🔑 The importance of understanding and questioning the infrastructure architecture of any blockchain service is stressed, as it's a key indicator of true decentralization.
• 💡 The speaker concludes by advocating for a deeper understanding of infrastructure in blockchain solutions, suggesting that without true decentralization at the infrastructure level, the solution is not truly a blockchain service.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the speaker's previous role at Advanced Technologies for Oracle Cloud?

The speaker's main focus was on infrastructure related to artificial intelligence, machine learning, high-performance computing, blockchain, distributed ledger, and quantum simulation.

What does the speaker's current company do?

The speaker's company, as an Oracle partner, helps advanced technology companies understand and work with Oracle Cloud infrastructure, and assists them in leveraging the support of large enterprises to succeed.

Why is the speaker emphasizing the importance of asking about business support from large enterprises?

The speaker believes that early-stage and startup companies often fail to ask how large enterprises can help them grow their business, which is a crucial question for leveraging the resources and support of these larger entities.

What is the significance of decentralized infrastructure in the context of the speaker's discussion?

Decentralized infrastructure is important for ensuring local control and sovereignty, especially in critical systems like election processes, and for avoiding single points of failure or control.

What project is the speaker involved in related to decentralized infrastructure for Indian tribes?

The speaker is involved in a project in Lancaster, South Carolina, to build dedicated and sovereign data set technology for Indian tribes, marking the first time they have their own infrastructure for advanced technologies.

Why is the speaker critical of companies that claim to be decentralized but run on cloud services?

The speaker argues that if a company's application is primarily running on a cloud service like AWS, it is not truly decentralized, as it can be subject to the control and potential shutdown of the cloud provider.

What does the speaker suggest as the first question to ask when engaging with hyperscalers like AWS, Microsoft, Google, or Oracle?

The speaker suggests asking how these companies can help with your business, rather than focusing solely on which infrastructure is right for you.

What is the role of federated machine learning in the context of decentralized storage solutions?

Federated machine learning is important for decentralized storage solutions because it allows for AI and machine learning processes to be distributed and not solely reliant on centralized platforms, enhancing data privacy and control.

What is the speaker's stance on the concept of anchor institutions in the context of blockchain solutions?

The speaker is skeptical about the concept of anchor institutions, pointing out that they can disappear or change, and thus should not be the sole basis for trust in blockchain solutions.

What advice does the speaker give to startup founders regarding their engagement with hyperscalers?

The speaker advises startup founders to reach out to his company, Stem Practice, if they are ready to scale their product, emphasizing the importance of leveraging the power of global corporations for proper scaling.

What is the key takeaway the speaker wants the audience to remember about decentralized applications?

The key takeaway is to question the infrastructure architecture of any decentralized application, and to be aware that if it runs on a cloud, it is not truly decentralized.