# Anna Kazlauskas Discusses Vana’s Vision for User Data Ownership and Decentralization
Anna Kazlauskas, founder of Vana and CEO of Open Data Labs, shared insights on Vana Protocol’s innovations and future vision in an interview with The Defiant. Vana is pioneering the realm of user data ownership and decentralized protocols, leveraging the synergy between data sovereignty and artificial intelligence (AI).
Vana operates as the first network based on user-owned data. It provides a platform where users can own and utilize their data across various applications while contributing to collaboratively owned AI models. The primary goals of Vana include transforming user data into asset classes, building AI models using this data, and reinforcing data ownership.
Kazlauskas discovered the potential of decentralized systems through her experience at central banks and research work at MIT. A significant realization that drove her toward developing Vana Protocol was the insight that “better AI models require better data.” She and her co-founders conceptualized a novel form of collaboration based on data, resulting in the creation of Decentralized Organizations (DOs).
# Addressing AI Development Challenges Through User Data Participation
In the interview, Kazlauskas highlighted a critical issue faced by AI researchers—data scarcity. “Publicly available internet data has reached its limit, and better AI models need a new approach to data access,” she explained. Vana allows users to bring their data to the platform, forming a communal data pool that can be utilized to train AI models.
For example, the Reddit Data DO has seen over 140,000 users contributing their data to train AI models, forming a collaboratively owned model. This approach not only supplies innovative data for AI development but also provides income to data owners.
# Creating New Value in the AI Era with User Data Ownership
User data ownership extends beyond legal rights, creating economic opportunities. Kazlauskas emphasized, “We have built a system where users can own their data, use it to train AI, and share in the revenue generated by the resulting models.” She added that this data economy model has the potential to disrupt the centralized tech company business model.
Currently, Vana operates 12 data DAOs on its mainnet, with over 300 additional data DAOs projected for gradual release. Participants can contribute their data, exercise ownership through data-specific tokens, and engage in decision-making regarding data utilization.
Kazlauskas stated, “The combination of user-owned data and AI can unlock new economic value and innovation.” She forecasted that Vana Protocol could become a platform integrating data from billions of users, potentially developing superior AI models compared to centralized tech companies.
Moreover, she underscored that “data ownership is essential for user-centric technological innovation and economic inclusion,” advocating that data should not be exclusively held by centralized corporations but should directly benefit the users. There is significant anticipation around whether Vana will usher in a new era of user data ownership, transforming the technological and economic paradigm.
