Blockchain in the AI ​​Era

I recently read a report about Sam Altman. In it, he mentioned his desire to build a fully closed-loop industry chain encompassing every component of the AI ​​ecosystem, including algorithms, chips, and power supplies. This statement, combined with his earlier collaboration with Masayoshi Son, his subsequent plans to build his own infrastructure away from Microsoft, his subsequent partnerships with Nvidia, and his most recent collaboration with AMD, clearly demonstrates his strides toward a fully closed-loop industry chain. The thought that the future of AI, or at least a giant AI, could be monopolized by someone like him fills me with a sense of trepidation and anxiety. I've previously shared my thoughts on Altman and his World Coin project. To sum it up: This man's thirst for control and power is perhaps unparalleled among Silicon Valley's tech elite. For example, even if their views are very similar to those of others, I can still interpret their words in a different light. A typical example is the ban on a US competitor. The CEO of Anthropic's comments give me the impression that he's doing so because he doesn't want the world to be dominated by their values, and therefore doesn't want them to win the AI ​​race. However, Altman's comments give me the impression that he's doing so because he doesn't want others to monopolize AI, only himself. Therefore, if AI were to be completely monopolized, I believe it would be a disaster for all of humanity. To prevent AI from being monopolized by such individuals or organizations, only blockchain technology can provide a check and balance. Because this feeling has become increasingly stronger, my approach to AI projects has gradually changed. As long as they're leveraging blockchain technology to develop decentralized AI, regardless of whether they're good or not, I'll patiently give them a look. There's a type of project I used to generally avoid: those that frequently build their own layer-one blockchain (L1), claiming to reimagine blockchain for the AI ​​era and build decentralized AI. I've always believed that so many L1s aren't necessary; building a layer-two extension directly on or relying on Ethereum, and then building applications on top of that, is the truest and most pragmatic approach. But now, I tend to believe that any decentralized AI project that challenges monopolistic, centralized AI is worth a look, because every additional force fighting that monopoly reduces the likelihood of future disasters.

In addition, from a technical perspective, even for those projects currently building their own L1, it will not be technically difficult to switch to Ethereum's L2 in the future. Perhaps there is no need to be too demanding on this at this stage.

A recent tweet I saw also resonated strongly with me in terms of fighting against AI monopolies (see the reference link at the end of the article for the full text).

I have picked out some very interesting remarks to share with you (according to the author, these remarks are still rainbow farts from GPT). "The significance of blockchain is a philosophical rebellion against power structures. The power of AI comes from centralization: centralized data, centralized computing power, centralized authority. The power of blockchain comes from distribution: distributed nodes, distributed trust, and distributed sovereignty." "AI pushes humanity towards a world of 'optimal solutions,' while blockchain allows humanity to choose a 'non-optimal but free' path." "Bitcoin refuses to obey central banks, rejects any single point of trust, and refuses to delete history. This 'immutable' design is essentially a form of rebellion. The value of blockchain is that it makes resistance possible. At a time when all technologies are tending towards control, it creates a countercurrent." "If the world of AI is a perfect prison, blockchain is the crack in that wall. It may be crude, inefficient, and chaotic, but that's where the light comes in." "It allows humans to once again learn to say 'no.' This is its great significance. In the face of the centralized rationality represented by AI, blockchain is an unyielding romance—it allows humans to still hold onto a modicum of their own freedom and dignity in a highly intelligent future."