The second law of thermodynamics proves that certain types of data markets are mathematically impossible to keep profitable.

The Takeaway

Data markets are subject to the same physical constraints as heat engines and steam turbines. Using the Jarzynski equality, researchers proved that non-rival data has a finite limit on its potential free energy. If a market tries to exceed this limit, it violates fundamental physical laws. This provides a hard mathematical ceiling for how much value can be extracted from a given dataset. Companies must stop treating data as a magical asset and start viewing it as a physical system.