Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, has highlighted that there are certain promises and challenges that the combination of AI + crypto brings with it. This comes in the wake of both technologies gaining momentum. Their adoption is rising with time, and implementation is only obvious. Buterin believes that both will coexist to the extent that they will progress to heights of collaboration.
The crux of his explanation is that crypto’s decentralization and AI’s centralization will balance each other out.
Their intersection is in seven layers: data ownership, transparency, cost-cutting, monetization, inclusiveness, innovation, and competition. There are differences, too, apart from their basic fundamentals of being centralized and decentralized. This includes energy consumption, the monopolistic nature of AI, efficiency, and accessibility for blockchain, the foundation for crypto.
Next, Vitalik has divided AI into four categories. AI as:
- A player in the game
- An interface to the game
- The rules of the game
- The objective of the game
AI working as a player in the game entails its direct involvement in the process, often interacting with users on the platform. For instance, users can ask questions, and AI will pitch its answers. These could be based on analyzing what already exists on the Internet. Asking if, say, Bitcoin ETF applications will be approved could see users getting an answer of Yes, considering most of the experts believe that and have shared their thoughts on the Internet.
Bitcoin ETF applications have been approved, and the example has been quoted only for reference. UX improvements are on the way for this.
As the game’s interface, artificial intelligence would separate users from potential hazards in the virtual world. If a user visits a website without first determining its security status, then AI should notify them of the potential hazard. Essentially, it will identify the threat and issue a warning in advance. Moreover, AI could provide information regarding the dApps users interact with.
AI’s core objective pertains to taking its advantages and mechanisms beyond the boundaries of blockchains. NEAR protocol, for one, is attempting to do this. There are two reasons: to assure users that the system is now biased, but it is based on democratic governance; and to create decentralized AI with natural skills to safeguard the system from receiving queries from malicious sources.
The most challenging aspect of all is AI acting as the game’s rules. In essence, it documents the regulations governing the system or undertaking. This could lead to subjective decision-making or constraining AI to the confines of a contract or DAO to enforce the rules. Regardless of the implementation, Vitalik Buterin has emphasized that the AI model cannot be kept open since it will allow attackers to download and stimulate it locally.
Some community members are in splits, stating that what he has written in his blog post is a fantasy.
