Blog:
Blockchain and AI: beyond the hype
There is a certain timeliness in the rise of blockchain and AI technologies.
Although AI has been around for much longer, it is gaining mass attention at the same time that blockchain technology is beginning to demonstrate its potential. The two technologies don't have massive similarities on the fundamental level; yet what they share is the potential to transform almost every industry imaginable.
This comes at a cost. There are, perhaps, no two technologies that have attracted more hype – more ideas, without plans, more theory, without execution.
Looking beyond the hype, let us begin to think about how these two technologies - so often now signals of modernity - can work together to enrich both.
The power of the technologies has led to a proliferation of new businesses and projects seeking to unlock new opportunities – PWC predicts that AI alone will contribute $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030.
AI has become an increasingly attractive word.
One of the five things we learned at Paris Blockchain Week was the rise of AI. It seemed that there were more companies at the event that were using AI, than those that were not. Most importantly, projects featured AI highly in marketing materials. More than ever, there is a real sense that AI has power.
That is true. The arrival of ChatGPT testifies to it.
But the attention on AI does not guarantee real, valuable use cases that improve businesses.
In fact, more than ever, it is important to be discerning about the application of AI use cases, and to think meaningfully about how it can be applied.
The same is true of blockchain technology.
For two new technologies that are, on a detailed level, very different, it may be hard to think of ways in which the two can complement each other.
But AI has some problems that blockchain can solve.
HUMAN Protocol sits at that intersection; it does not blend AI and blockchain, but leverages one to power the other. It uses blockchain technology to provide the people building AI with the data they need.
The future of AI requires more data.
The open ecosystems of blockchain networks can provide a solution. HUMAN Protocol, for example, as a permissionless and open-source infrastructure, can allow any data scientist, of any budget, more equitable access to data. To be precise, it can provide access to fresh sources of the data they specify.
Blockchain-based data solutions can provide volumes of better data to those who need it most.
The requirement for that data poses another problem – security.
Breaches are a concern in a world of proliferating data. Blockchain provides a secure way to store and manage data without relying on centralized authorities.
In many ways, blockchain and AI are great complements to each other.
Perhaps the greatest link between blockchains and data relates to the size of the units being discussed.
The units at the granular level – the transactions of blockchains, and the data of AI – are often very small.
While it is easy to focus on the scale of these technologies – the billions of transactions that make up a blockchain, and the many trillions of data points that power AI – it is important to remember that they are the sum of many smaller pieces.
This is where they blend together neatly.
For example, rewarding people, either for selling their data, or for annotating data, can require microtransactions. Traditional accounting doesn’t suit this; it’s too expensive. But blockchains are built for that kind of granular transaction.
AI and blockchain intersect at data and transactions on a micro-level
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The HUMAN Protocol Foundation makes no representation, warranty, or undertaking, express or implied, as to the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or reasonableness of the information contained here. Any assumptions, opinions, and estimations expressed constitute the HUMAN Protocol Foundation’s judgment as of the time of publishing and are subject to change without notice. Any projection contained within the information presented here is based on a number of assumptions, and there can be no guarantee that any projected outcomes will be achieved.
