A few days ago, I researched the Mind Network project and have a few small insights to share.

One, what is FHE? In simple terms, it means 'encrypted data can still be computed.'

1. Can perform calculations after encryption

Imagine you have a locked box (encrypted data), and others can perform addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division inside without opening the box (not decrypting), and you just open the box to get the result. This is the brilliance of FHE.

For example: you ask a friend to help calculate your salary, but you don't want them to know the specific number. You send them the encrypted salary, and they calculate directly on the encrypted data; you just decrypt the result, and they have no idea how much you earn.

2. The difference from ordinary encryption

Ordinary encryption is like locking a letter in a safe; you must unlock it to see the content. FHE allows others to operate on the content of the letter without unlocking it, for example, adding 10 to all the numbers in the letter without opening the safe.

Two, what can FHE do? These scenarios are super practical!

1. AI training that protects privacy

For example, hospitals want to use AI to analyze patient data but do not want to disclose medical records. FHE allows each hospital to send encrypted data to AI for training, and the AI can provide results without seeing the original data.

2. Secret transactions on the blockchain

Currently, blockchain transactions are all public (like Ethereum), but with FHE, the transfer amount and address can be encrypted, while smart contracts can still execute normally, protecting privacy without affecting functionality.

3. Voting and gaming anti-cheating

For example, voting: whale investors can hide their vote counts while the system can still calculate the total result to prevent being targeted.

For example, in games: like card games, players' cards are fully encrypted, but the system can still determine win or loss, ensuring fairness.

Three, which projects are currently working on FHE?

1. Zama

Specializing in 'threshold FHE', combining encryption technology with blockchain, focusing on privacy smart contracts. For example, their fhEVM allows programmers to write code using encrypted data.

2. Fhenix

Put FHE into the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), allowing users to choose to trade in privacy mode, suitable for institutions that do not want to expose amounts.

3. Privasea

Doing AI privacy computing, for example, face recognition without uploading original photos, directly comparing encrypted data to prevent privacy leakage.

Four, why is it popular now? Because it was too slow before!

Computational black hole: FHE computation is tens of thousands of times slower than ordinary operations, and it was previously unaffordable. Now, with hardware upgrades (like dedicated chips) and algorithm optimization, it is slowly becoming usable.

Exploding demand: AI needs data but fears leakage, blockchain needs privacy compliance, these pain points are forcing FHE to accelerate deployment.

  • FHE is like an 'invisible cloak' in the data world, allowing you to work with data without exposing privacy. Although it is still like a baby just learning to walk (slow and costly), in the future, it will definitely be a powerful tool in fields like AI, blockchain, and healthcare! Those looking to invest in projects can follow leaders like Zama and Fhenix~ #MindNetwork全同态加密FHE重塑AI未