But computer scientists have been working on alternative models, even as the public has grown weary of having their data used and abused. Dawn Song, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and one of the world's foremost experts in computer security and trustworthy artificial intelligence, envisions a new paradigm in which people control their data and are compensated for its use by corporations. While there have been many proposals for such a system, Professor Song is one actually building the platform to make it a reality. "As we talk about data as the new oil, it's particularly important to develop technologies that can utilize data in a privacy-preserving way," Professor Song said recently from her San Francisco office with an expansive view of the bay. It is an unlikely trajectory for Professor Song, who grew up in Dalian, China, a seaport in the northeastern province of Liaoning.

Dawn Song, a computer science professor at the University of California, and Ben Goertzel, the chief scientist at Hanson Robotics, have been among the big names arguing that the blockchain could be a crucial way to push back against some of the most worrying trends facing the field of artificial intelligence. Many A.I. experts are concerned that Facebook, Google and a few other big companies are hoarding talent in the field. The internet giants also control the massive troves of online data that are necessary to train and refine the best machine learning programs. Professor Song, Dr. Goertzel and other entrepreneurs say they believe the blockchain could encourage a broader distribution of the data and algorithms that will determine the future development of artificial intelligence. "It's important to have machine learning capabilities that are more under the user's control, rather than relying on these big companies to get access to these capabilities," Professor Song said in an interview.

Dawn Song, a computer science professor at the University of California, and Ben Goertzel, the chief scientist at Hanson Robotics, have been among the big names arguing that the blockchain could be a crucial way to push back against some of the most worrying trends facing the field of artificial intelligence. Many A.I. experts are concerned that Facebook, Google and a few other big companies are hoarding talent in the field. The internet giants also control the massive troves of online data that are necessary to train and refine the best machine learning programs. Professor Song, Mr. Goertzel and other entrepreneurs say they believe the blockchain could encourage a broader distribution of the data and algorithms that will determine the future development of artificial intelligence. "It's important to have machine learning capabilities that are more under the user's control, rather than relying on these big companies to get access to these capabilities," Professor Song said in an interview.