With most of the world’s computing power concentrated in Internet companies’ data centers, the Internet has become a very centralized place. The Golem project aims to build the sharing economy of computing power. This “global, open sourced, decentralized supercomputer” will function thanks to the combined power of a massive network of machines, from personal laptops to whole data centers. We’re joined by Julian Zawistowski and Alex Leverington, CEO and P2P engineer at Golem. We discuss how Golem hopes to create a more balanced distribution of computing power for the Internet. Topics covered in this episode: What is Golem and the problem it is addressing What may people and companies use Golem for How Golem compares to other projects like iExec or TrueBit Who are the different participants in the Golem network How Golem executes computations The role Ethereum has to play in Golem How payments work in Golem The economic model for Golem’s decentralized marketplace The project’s current status and roadmap Episode links: Golem Website Golem Blog Pre-Brass Golem 0.6.0 Released! This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/187

The saying goes: if you’re not paying for it, it’s likely that you’re the product. And with the rise of targeted ads, user behavior tracking, and alike, more and more users are turning to ad blocking software to protect their privacy and improve their browsing experience. In the last 25 years, the content monetization and Internet advertising industries have evolved to become complex ecosystems with multiple intermediating layers between users, publishers, and advertisers. This has created a situation where user’s rights are constantly violated and where little accountability exists. We’re joined by Brendan Eich, Founder, and CEO of Brave. As an early Internet pioneer, Brendan created Javascript while working at Netscape in the mid 90’s, and helped found the Mozilla Foundation and Mozilla Corporation, where he served as CEO for several years. Brave is a new desktop and mobile browser which blocks ads and tracking by default. This has the advantage of drastically improves page load times while protecting users’ privacy. But Brave is much more than just a browser. Their team will launch the Basic Attention Token, which will serve as the currency of attention marketplaces between publishers, advertisers, and users. With the ambition to turn the Internet advertising industry on its head, this new attention economy marketplace will eliminate the need for unneeded intermediaries, provide publishers with new content monetization models and remunerate users when they chose to share their data with advertisers. Topics covered in this episode: Brendan’s background as an early Internet pioneer How monetization of content and attention on the Internet are broken How the Internet advertising industry works and the players involved A high-level overview of the Brave browser Brave’s features and product roadmap The Basic Attention Token and its role as a currency for attention How BAT will serve to create attention marketplaces between publishers, advertisers, and users Episode links: Brave Website Basic Attention Token This episode is hosted by Meher Roy and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/185