Data Ownership Reimagined: Flock.io Founder On Why Users Will Profit From Their Data In The Coming Years

Jiahao Sun, founder of Flock.io on Monday laid out a clear vision of the data economy's evolution over the next three to five years, one where users finally begin to earn from their data instead of giving it away for free.

Sun believes the core technical hurdle to decentralized data sharing lies in enabling connectivity between datasets while preserving privacy.

"If there are technologies where we don't have to mix all data up but still respect the privacy… that's the way forward," he said.

Flock's approach combines federated learning with blockchain governance, aiming to keep data local while enabling collaborative AI training.

Sun pointed to use cases like Google’s on-device typing models as examples of federated learning—but stressed that unlike Google, their platform uses blockchain to ensure transparency and decentralization. "You don't have to believe in a big tech giant, it can just be openly accessible and auditable."

Sun emphasized that privacy alone won't win users if it comes at the cost of convenience.

Instead, Flock targets sectors like healthcare, finance, and deeply personal AI applications where privacy isn't optional, but a regulatory or ethical necessity.

"There are certain things I never can share," he said, noting that private AI is uniquely suited to such domains.

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Asked if users will genuinely profit from their data in the near term, Sun was optimistic.

"I think users will earn from data and we are seeing this happening," he noted, referencing platforms like YouTube and Substack as early proof-points of a shift from open-access content to rev-share models.

Still, Sun acknowledged a broad tension in the Web3 ecosystem: many decentralization-focused projects still depend on centralized cloud infrastructure.

But he sees change coming, citing emerging decentralized compute projects like Akash (CRYPTO: AKT) and decentralized storage systems such as IPFS as signs of a maturing ecosystem.

Ultimately, Sun foresees a shift where decentralized AI systems can reward contributors more fairly, both through on-chain transparency and game theory.

"With blockchain and the financial effect behind it… attackers will eventually be eliminated."

As multimodal AI tools expand their capabilities, from short-form to full-length generative video, Sun argues that the true economic transformation will lie in how data is gathered, valued, and rewarded.

"It's happening," he said. "We're at the start of that shift."

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