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Cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence (AI) have been two transformative forces reshaping the digital landscape, and Ethereum cofounder Vitalik Buterin recently delved into the potential intersections and challenges when these technologies converge.
Categories of crypto and AI intersection
In a blog post released today, Buterin explored the usage of AI as a player, an interface, the rules themselves and an objective of the game. The concept of AI acting as a player within a protocol emerged as the most viable and promising intersection.
Alex DovbnyaButerin stressed the potential for AI to participate in systems where incentives are driven by a protocol involving human input. This approach, similar to decentralized market-based reinforcement learning with human feedback, holds the immediate promise of enhancing the efficiency of mechanisms by introducing AI as players at a micro-scale.
For the second category, where AI serves as an interface to the crypto space, Buterin warned of associated risks. While emphasizing that AIs can play a role in real-time tutoring and protecting users from errors, Buterin noted that caution is necessary when using them against malicious actors, as many machine learning models are susceptible to adversarial examples.
Known for his deep thoughts, Buterin went on to state that the third category involves blockchains, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) and similar mechanisms directly calling into AIs, essentially creating "AI judges." Buterin urges caution, emphasizing the need to tread carefully due to the inherent biases present in AI systems.
While the concept is intriguing, the potential pitfalls and ethical considerations call for thorough examination and responsible deployment.
Striking balance in the crypto-AI interactions
As both blockchains and AIs continue to gain power, the intersection of these technologies offers a multitude of use cases.
However, some applications make more sense and are more robust than others. Buterin highlighted the immediate promise of use cases where the underlying mechanism remains largely unchanged, with individual players evolving into AI, allowing for effective micro-scale operation.
On the other hand, applications attempting to create a decentralized, trusted AI present more challenges. Despite their promise, the highly technical Ethereum cofounder's statement highlighted that underlying assumptions may fail, warranting careful consideration, especially in contexts with high stakes. Buterin expressed anticipation for more constructive attempts at integrating AI into these areas, hoping to ascertain which applications prove viable at scale.
Alex Dovbnya
Dan Burgin
U.Today Editorial Team
Vladislav Sopov