Brian Armstrong, co-founder of Research Hub and CEO of Coinbase, and Patrick Joyce, scientist and co-founder of Research Hub, discuss the history of science, pitfalls of TradFi, and how crypto technology can build better incentive mechanisms for a more enlightened future. They explore the similarities between science and blockchain, the broken incentives in the current scientific system, and the role of Research Hub in financially rewarding scientists for high-quality research. They also discuss the need for privately funded science and the role of crypto in addressing incentives in science.
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Quick takeaways
The current system of science relies on public funding and the citation method, which can lead to issues such as bad capital allocation, bad science, and poor incentives.
Risk aversion among scientists is a consequence of the current system, discouraging transparency and hindering breakthroughs.
The current funding model of science has resulted in a broken incentive structure, but decentralized platforms like Research Hub can address these issues by aligning financial incentives with high-quality knowledge creation.
Crypto technology offers tools to address challenges in the scientific system, and Research Hub aims to create a decentralized science model that rewards scientists and accelerates scientific progress.
Deep dives
The Modern System of Science and its Challenges
The current system of science relies on public funding and employs the citation method as a consensus mechanism for truth. However, this system has its flaws as capital influences the allocation of funds and scientists optimize their research outputs for citations rather than creating high-quality knowledge. This leads to issues such as bad capital allocation, where funding may not be allocated efficiently, bad science, where papers with positive results are prioritized over negative results, and poor incentives, where talented individuals may choose other career paths instead of pursuing scientific research.
The Negative Impact of Risk Aversion
One of the consequences of the current system of science is a culture of risk aversion among scientists. Researchers are incentivized to publish positive results and are discouraged from sharing negative results, leading to a lack of transparency and a reduction in the sharing of valuable knowledge. Risk aversion also hinders breakthroughs and fosters incrementalism, as scientists prioritize safe research in order to secure funding and advance their careers.
The Importance of Financial Incentives in Science
The current funding model of science, largely relying on public institutions and the citation method, has resulted in a broken incentive structure. Scientists are driven to optimize their outputs to secure funding, often at the expense of pursuing groundbreaking research. By aligning financial incentives with the creation of high-quality knowledge, such as through decentralized platforms like Research Hub, the inefficiencies and limitations of the current system can be addressed. Private funding and rewards for negative results could foster innovation and breakthroughs in science.
The Role of Crypto in Fixing Science
Crypto provides tools to address the challenges in the current scientific system. By leveraging blockchain technology, Research Hub aims to create a new system that rewards scientists for producing high-quality research and verifiable knowledge. This can help mitigate issues such as risk aversion, improve capital allocation, and incentivize groundbreaking research. Decentralized science, or DeSci, holds the potential to align incentives and accelerate scientific progress, providing an alternative to the traditional model of science funding and publication.
Creating an Economy for High-Quality Science
Research Hub aims to establish an economy where high-quality science is supported with economic value. The platform allows users to earn Research Coin (RSC) for creating and sharing high-quality scientific content. This includes activities like summarizing papers, participating in bounties, and providing scientific tasks. The goal is to iterate on a reward structure that compensates scientists in an evidence-based fashion, moving away from traditional proxy metrics like citations.
Building a Peer-to-Peer Scientific Platform
Research Hub serves as a peer-to-peer platform for science, enabling scientists to connect, collaborate, and engage in discussions. Users can share and discuss scientific papers, create bounties to address scientific tasks, and earn RSC for their participation. With its Reddit-style interface, Research Hub facilitates the prioritization, discovery, and dissemination of scientific content in a more efficient and accessible manner. The platform encourages open science, allowing anyone with an internet connection to contribute and participate in shaping the scientific consensus.
Towards Democratized Science and Commercialization
Research Hub envisions a future where science is democratized and accessible to all, fostering innovation and scientific progress. The platform aims to decentralize science, allowing good ideas and breakthroughs to emerge from anywhere in the world. By incentivizing scientific contributions through RSC and introducing a consensus-based governance model, Research Hub strives to maintain decentralization and prevent corruption. The long-term vision includes enabling easy commercialization of scientific breakthroughs by establishing standard licensing agreements, similar to Creative Commons or Getty Images, creating a more efficient funding pipeline and translation of science into viable products.
------ Science is a consensus technology. So is crypto. How can we use crypto to fix science?
We have Brian Armstrong on today to talk about this. Yes, the Brian Amstrong from Coinbase. He’s joined by his co-founder for Research Hub and scientist Patrick Joyce.
In this episode, we explore the history of science, the pitfalls of TradFi, and how we can use crypto technology to build better incentive mechanisms for a more enlightened future.
0:00 Intro 4:00 We’re Talking About Science 12:00 Consensus Technology 23:00 The Mission of Science 28:00 Metascience 33:00 The Problem with Science Today 43:00 Bad Incentive Structures 47:30 How Crypto Can Help 50:00 Research Hub 48:30 Peer to Peer Science 1:04:00 DeSci vs TradSci 1:11:000 The SciFi Future 1:16:00 Life at Research Hub
