Research challenges for the Fujitsu team working on the advanced Web3 Acceleration Platform (Part 2)

Fujitsu aims to create a world of Web3 through the Fujitsu Web3 Acceleration Platform, where individuals and companies can securely connect with each other in an autonomous and decentralized manner to create value in the digital space. New businesses are being explored across various areas such as finance, media, healthcare, and manufacturing, using ConnectionChain for trust in data sharing and Trustable Internet for trust in the data itself. However, there are also many challenges that need to be addressed.

Yuki Hasegawa: It is particularly difficult for R&D in Web3 to meet customer requirements while maintaining decentralization. Decentralization improves fairness of processing and data accessibility, making it possible to distribute the data and value to other organizations instead of keeping them within a particular organization. However, decentralization on a wide scale can compromise performance and privacy. We are required to determine the need for decentralization and to develop technologies that balance decentralization with performance and privacy.

Yuki Hasegawa: Since there are few precedents for distributed systems, we have to weight up both new possibilities and risks. In particular, when we tackle requirements and issues, we do not look at any single point but also consider how the distributed system should be formulated, as well as assessing the trade-offs between fairness and processing performance. In addition, we work to acquire patents and publish papers, using the insights we have obtained during the process.

Yuki Yonekura: Yuki Hasegawa is absolutely right. Trends in the Web3 field change quickly, so it is necessary to monitor technology continuously, together with market trends and the services of other companies both in domestic and overseas markets. Overseas companies tend to take actions quickly, so we are aware of the need to collaborate with our internal business unit to identify business areas and sort out technical issues rapidly and responsively.

Yuki Hasegawa: The format and mechanism of transactions are different among the blockchain platforms. It required us to develop separate connection processing for each use case, resulting in high development costs. Therefore, we have developed a common function for federated processing logic (multi-scenario function). This function has allowed us to write federated processing logic in a common script format, without needing to be aware of the federated blockchain’s complex transaction and monitoring methods. We identified the connection element that absorbs the differences between the various highly public platforms, and made it open-source as Hyperledger Cacti to improve reusability. These efforts have substantially reduced development costs.

Yuki Yonekura: ConnectionChain is the underlying technology that connects the blockchain. The actual use of ConnectionChain requires the creation of a wallet application. However, it has not been easy for users who are not familiar with blockchain technology to create and manage wallet applications. When issuing NFT, they need to be aware of how to create and manage wallets, registering images and metadata to IPFS (*4), and linking with Ethereum. To address these issues, we are developing functions for wallet creation, management, and NFT issuance as WebAPI, promoting the creation of a system that can be used by users with little experience in blockchain technology.

Yoshitomo: There are two main challenges. The first is that there is no defined format for data that describes the results of AI decisions on multimodal data such as images and text. It is not possible to indicate uniquely who is assigning the rationale for which content. Therefore, we have defined a common data format for expressing the information that serves as the rationale. Specifically, we defined a writing format that uniquely indicates the grantor of the rationale, the content to which it is granted, and the information to be granted as the rationale.

Yoshitomo: The second challenge is to show evidence information so that viewers can easily judge the authenticity of the content. Even if a data format is established, it is complicated and difficult to check dozens of pieces of data written based on that format, and then to determine whether they are correct or not. As a solution, by applying the evidence information described in the data format and a large-scale language model, we automatically generate sentences that explain the basis for the truth or falsehood of the content. We then show these explanations to the content viewer, so that they can easily judge the content’s veracity or falsehood.

Yoshitomo: By conducting joint research with universities, we delve into technical issues and propose solution methods to realize the Trustable Internet, based on our professional and academic knowledge of web technologies. We also collaborate with university professors to improve the presence of our technology by writing papers and white papers, and by making presentations and holding discussions at standardization conferences and academic meetings.

Yuki Hasegawa: In the technological development related to Web3, it is crucial to leverage technologies published by third parties and accelerate development through organizational collaboration, both internally and externally. As part of our activities toward this goal, we are also engaged in activities to generate new collaborations. Recently, we introduced ConnectionChain technology at the Open Source Summit Europe 2023 (*5), held in Spain, with a live demonstration of an environmental value trading sample application.

Yuki Hasegawa: Many people stopped by the Fujitsu booth and expressed their interest in using the ConnectionChain technology. Many of them were also interested in data reliability and cross-border data collaboration. We realized that our initiatives can meet the needs of the market. We feel that exhibiting at such events is very meaningful as it opens up possibilities for application and collaboration in other fields.

Yoshitomo: In order to enhance the presence of Trustable Internet not only domestically but also among web professionals worldwide, we hosted a session on Trustable Internet during the W3C TPAC 2023 (*6), an international standardization conference held in Spain in September 2023. During the session, we provided technical explanations and demonstrations of the technology. It was impressive to see that the conference was not limited to technology companies, but also included a number of publishing and credit card-related companies. As Trustable Internet technology is in its early stages, we feel it is important to participate in international standardization conferences and work with various related companies to promote standardization.

Yuki Hasegawa: Blockchain is making it possible for anyone to record values that have been difficult to visualize and distribute in a highly public manner. On the other hand, in order for the recorded value to be widely used, it is essential to link with various systems. I believe that a decentralized account management and authorization mechanism will be important to achieve this. I would like to realize the Web3 society while making use of my past knowledge, as well as co-creating widely with people inside and outside the company.

Yuki Yonekura: In order for Web3 technologies including ConnectionChain to spread throughout society, it is essential to create a wallet that can be easily used by end users and a marketplace that encourages continuous use of the wallet. I would like to work more with our own and other companies’ technologies to realize a Web3 society from both end-users’ and platforms’ perspectives.

Yoshitomo: Recently, it has become more difficult for visitors to confirm whether a piece of web content is real or not just by looking at it, especially since technologies such as image-generating AI have become more sophisticated. Therefore, through the R&D of Trustable Internet, I would like to realize a society where users can use the web without being misled by false information.

Takayoshi: We would like to contribute to the goals of No. 9, “Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation,” and No. 11, “Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”. The goal of No. 9 is the vision of the Web3 Acceleration Platform: to build a reliable and sustainable technology infrastructure based on a technology platform that can be used equitably by all, and to contribute to making this available to as many people as possible. As for No. 11, we hope to contribute to the formation of an autonomous and decentralized society where everyone in the city can connect with each other without anxiety, and contribute to the creation of a sustainable community through the realization of a Web3 world where individuals and companies can connect with each other in the digital space and create value.

Click here for Part 1:
Research challenges for the Fujitsu team working on the advanced Web3 Acceleration Platform (Part 1)