Talking about Filecoin with Megan Kilmen

Featured in our digital edition we spoke to Megan Klimen, Filecoin Foundation’s Founding Officer, all about bockchain science and it’s future.

Could you start by sharing a bit about your background and what led you to work in your current role? 

I actually got into the world of decentralised data storage and cryptocurrency by caring about scientific data sets. I founded a biotech startup that developed 3D robotic serial sectioning microscopes, with the mission of enabling big data analysis of human tissue. I was paying Amazon something like $150k a month to store 17 PB (petabytes) of data for use in critical areas – like creating better cancer drugs. One of the things that really affected me was realising that the problems we were having in solving these very fundamental human issues were not a fault of biology or of science, but actually of data infrastructure and the limited ability to store, access, and run interrogations on large datasets. 

This major flaw in our digital architecture doesn’t just impede scientific innovation; it impacts historical and cultural archives, human rights records, public government data, and enterprise data. I wanted to find a way to address the problem at the source. 

Can you give us the mini version of what Filecoin is and how it works? 

Filecoin provides the infrastructure for a decentralised web (or “DWeb”) that is completely distributed, with data stored on a network of computers around the world. It’s a peer-to-peer network to store files, with built-in economic incentives to ensure data is stored reliably over time. On the network, storage providers can “rent out” extra digital storage space to people who pay to store their data. A proof system regularly checks that the files are still being stored correctly and securely, and the file owner automatically pays the storage provider in filecoin. 

The Filecoin protocol serves as an incentive layer for the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS). Here, each piece of content on the network is assigned a content ID (or CID) that makes content discoverable and indicates whether the digital asset has been changed. 

Filecoin is a foundational technology for the next generation of the web, putting users in control of their data and finally giving them an open-source alternative to Big Tech. The Filecoin network also allows users to store many copies of their files on hardware around the world, so data remains accessible even if some devices fail. 

Filecoin provides an affordable and reliable data management solution for the sciences. Content-addressability promotes data sharing and reproducibility. Cryptographic proof-of-storage mechanisms ensure data is stored securely and unaltered, cementing trust in results. Competitive marketplaces make storing large amounts of data affordable for researchers on a tight budget. 

The mission of the Filecoin network is to create a decentralised, efficient, and robust foundation for humanity’s most important information. For me, preserving scientific research is central to this work. 

And tell us all about the Filecoin Foundation and Filecoin Foundation for the Decentralised Web. 

The Filecoin Foundation’s (FF) mission is to preserve humanity’s most important information, as well as to facilitate the open-source governance of the Filecoin network, fund research and development projects for decentralised technologies, and support the growth of the Filecoin ecosystem and community. 

Filecoin Foundation for the Decentralised Web (FFDW) is the sister non-profit of FF. FFDW’s mission is to serve the public good by supporting the entire decentralised web ecosystem. In the pursuit of preserving humanity’s most important information, FFDW envisages a crucial role for decentralised storage systems – such as those built by the many participants in the Filecoin ecosystem. 

While FF stewards the Filecoin network’s future, FFDW supports the broader development of decentralised technology. This includes supporting institutions that can provide for the long-term collection, digitisation, and distribution of all forms of knowledge, as well as projects working on open-source software and protocols that can protect our cultural and scientific heritage from fragile single points of failure and centralised institutions. 

The Filecoin Foundation and FFDW provide funding for projects. Could you discuss any specific grants or initiatives that target scientific research or the dissemination of scientific knowledge?

You can read Megan’s answer to this last question the rest of her brilliant interview in Lab Horizons Issue 5 where Megan takes us through how Filecoin sees the future, and she gives advice on decentralised science.