hashd0x

We have built tools, that at our fingertips can compute virtually anything, now we need tools capable of computing truth

Hashd0x [Proof of War] came about as a technical and tactical proposal aimed to address common tactics of misinformation and propaganda at the core of ongoing warfare, in particular its infowar front. At this point, hashd0x is presented via a series of software and hardware prototypes. The team strives to scale it up towards a feature-rich platform and protocol for computationally driven investigation. Its solutionist design revolves around peer-to-peer, decentralised, user-owned, blockchain-based and serverless computing that makes it possible to record and verify the authenticity of still and moving images via hashing their metadata on-chain. The image or video is meant to be recorded via a dedicated mobile app so that before the file itself gets to be recorded into devices’ storage, its metadata, including timestamp, signature,

location data & algorithmically assigned unique hash value gets recorded onto a publicly owned database distributed on a planetary scale across individual nodes (blockchain, if we were to use assigned terminology). Of course so is only possible in areas where mobile or satellite internet is available, hence future scaling of infrastructure is vital to the success of this proposal. Collecting evidence is also possible in more advanced ways via a specially designed camera based on a popular microcomputer platform (raspberry pi) which can utilise professional optics and is also highly programmable. At the moment of writing Hashd0x app exists on app stores; the protocol functions in NEAR blockchain test-net; the camera software undergoes development.

Hashd0x is a series of tactical open source soft- & hard-ware prototypes, designed to combat misinformation in photographic & video content. The software tools revolve around issuance and registration of instant & tamper-proof hashmark, blockchain native alternative of watermark and a proposed fix for our computationally accelerated & disturbed information ecology.

Comprised of a series of smart contracts, the protocol functions across web dashboards, mobile apps and a highly programmable hardware camera compatible with telephoto optics & drones.

↑ The custom-made camera based on Raspberry Pi allows shooting images and store them on the Blockchain.

↑ The model is reconstructed from photographic evidence captured using Hashd0x. Time, location, authorship and each pixel are indisputable as they are captured on-chain.

↑ Raspberry Pi computer calculates the image hash and stores it on Blockchain,

↑ Hashd0x app (already deployed and tested) for capturing images, generating hash (unique identification code of the image), storing it on blockchain and sharing the image file on the network.

↑ Blockchain can find direct applications in combating misinformation. The use of cryptographic hash functions ensures the authenticity of uploaded photographic evidence, in a way that any attempt to tamper with its pixels or metadata is trivial to detect. Eyewitnesses have the option to claim authorship and cryptographically sign their material, effectively binding it to their digital identity. The decentralized nature of blockchain and peer-to-peer storage networks such as Swarm, guarantee that nobody can either block the upload of photographic evidence or take it down once shared with other computers across the world.

In essence, our proposal leverages blockchain as a global archive of chronologically timestamped entries that is resistant to censorship, manipulation, or impersonation, to generate proofs of authenticity for journalistic material. Finally, Web3 economic, governance and reputation mechanisms such as tokens and Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) have the potential to incentivize evidence collection and build an ecosystem of trustworthy media for open-source investigation.

Hashmark

Decentralised Backends

- Cryptographic commitments to content, metadata and the identity of the attestant;
- Offline, self-signed;
- Optimized for indexing on blockchains.

-Tamper-proof and censorship-resistant;
- Online timestamp service;
- New sustainability mechanisms (e.g. DAOs).

Social validation
Web of trust

Hardware stack

- Public vouchers for legitimacy;
- Integrated into the dashboard for spam prevention;
- Point of view dependent on each individual's trust relationships.

- Raspberry Pi;
- Raspberry Pi camera module;
- Nikon mount type telescopic lens;
- Custom-built LED panel modular screen;
- Server rack / RJ45 cables;
- Patch panels;
- Smartphone.

Artwork

↑ Lies, Half-Truths & Propaganda [The Bad, the Worse, and the Worst], alexanderlevy Gallery, Berlin, DEU, 2022

↑ Hashd0x Installation in Zeppelin Museum, Friedrichshafen, 2023.

Team

Egor Kraft

Concept, installation, protocol, design, UI/UX design, technical research, production, documentation, essay and film.

Marios Isaakidis

Blockchain architecture, privacy engineering and protocol design, Front-end and back-end development.

Support