This article was originally published on https://vmblog.com/archive/2023/11/07/vmblog-expert-interview-truebit-explores-truebit-verify-its-new-verified-computing-platform.aspx
This week, Truebit announced its new platform, Verify. To find out more, VMblog spoke to Blane Sims, Head of Product at Truebit.
VMblog: What did Truebit announce this week?
Blane Sims: We announced our new verified computing platform, Truebit Verify, a platform for enhancing functionality and interoperability of Web3 enterprise applications, extending capabilities beyond traditional blockchains. Truebit’s integration framework allows developers to read and write code to any API, deploy applications iteratively and quickly, optimize workflow, as well as improve security, data integrity and process transparency. Truebit Verify leverages decentralization for developers to build applications that interact with multiple data sources, including blockchains, and verifiably execute complex code or data used in AI and other automated processing. The Truebit platform provides a secure way for developers to create interoperable Web3 applications.
VMblog: Truebit has an interesting approach to application development. Can you tell us how the company has evolved since its inception?
Sims: Dr. Jason Teutsch, founder of Truebit, designed the original Truebit protocol to verify complex computations for smart contracts, as detailed in the white paper he co-authored with Christian Reitwiessner, creator of Solidity, Ethereum’s smart contract language. We are taking the same decentralized platform approach to change the blockchain narrative by enabling developers to build real-world, decentralized applications that go beyond the constraints of blockchains.
VMblog: What are the benefits of Web3 in the enterprise landscape?
Sims: A new generation of infrastructure is emerging leveraging consensus, verification, and transparency to address some of the most significant new challenges in enterprise computing today. To understand where Web3 fits in, we need to consider the push for a more open market for compute. The factors driving the shift to hybrid, multi-cloud infrastructures are the same forces underlying Web3: security, reliability, risk mitigation, portability, interoperability, and cost control. As we refactor cloud architectures to accommodate this shift, Web3 naturally emerges as the next evolution of the compute we rely on today – from VMs to containers to serverless functions.
VMblog: What are the key features of Truebit Verify?
Sims: The Truebit platform provides a secure way for developers to integrate Web3 applications with real-world systems. Truebit Verify provides proof of correct execution of code, and certifies data inputs and outputs. We see this as combining the flexibility of serverless compute with blockchain-like security. Key features include:
- Web3 Microservices – Truebit secures critical offchain code. Truebit Tasks are always-on, accessible from a standard REST interface, and ready to support an applications’ event-driven architecture.
- Language Compatibility – Truebit Verify provides out-of-the box support for JavaScript, Rust, C++ and is extensible to any language supported by WebAssembly (Wasm).
- Secure, Fast Execution – Truebit Verify’s Wasm architecture provides a fully isolated sandbox for safe execution of off-ledger tasks. Wasm’s compact footprint provides immediate availability of code across any of Truebit’s Nodes, enabling instant response times.
- API Integration – Truebit Tasks can read and write data from public and private APIs while providing fully verified operations for any data transformations or calculations.
- Continuous Verification – Multiple, independent Nodes automatically verify each task. Truebit Verify ensures that the code written is the same as the code executed
VMblog: Why is decentralization important for IT teams and developers?
Sims: Decentralization is about providing transparency in an increasingly complex world where developers rely on other people’s data, other people’s code and other people’s servers. As serverless cloud compute expands to edge compute and beyond, decentralization provides a way to secure potentially untrustworthy, arms-length partnerships. It is a natural next step for enterprises, as it allows more partners and integration with third parties.
According to IDC, within the next 5 years, 80 percent of enterprises will be part of industry ecosystems that rely on decentralized Web3 code. However, as workloads run on a more decentralized network, organizations must determine how to trust a vast distributed network of providers that they may not be able to vet individually. This is where verified computing plays a crucial role – by establishing trust and transparency in a decentralized environment.
In a world of low-code and open-source solutions, verifying correctness when data and processes come from unknown or black-box sources becomes increasingly important. Verified compute, transparent protocols, and immutable records address these concerns. As IT organizations continue to adopt serverless compute, the composable web, and large-scale AI, embracing Web3 becomes increasingly important. The future of enterprise computing lies in harnessing the power of Web3 to build automated, distributed ecosystems beyond the confines of individual organizations.
VMblog: What are some use cases of the Truebit verified computing platform?
Sims: Truebit provides a solution for application developers and data owners to certify truth so they can prove the integrity of data, systems and organizations to others. Our team works together with customers and technologists to build innovative applications that interact with real-world systems. For example, we are working with a company that provides blockchain technology to trace and digitally authenticate food and textile products, enabling a transparent, safe, and reliable supply chain ecosystem. The company leverages Truebit to achieve development goals by providing transparent and tamper-proof tracking to reduce fraud and enable interoperability across data systems, including multiple blockchains and accounting systems. Truebit creates a single source of transparent truth with an audit trail of transcripts certifying task execution. In the financial services sector, we provide a full audit trail of identity validation and AI-based fraud detection. Truebit provides a certified transcript of identity validation services provided by a third-party, verified integration with AI/ML-based algorithms that monitor transactions for suspicious activities, including independent verification to ensure smart contracts function as intended and trades settle accurately, and certifies data reported to investors and regulators (e.g. financial statements) are correct.
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Published Tuesday, November 07, 2023 7:29 AM by David Marshall
