Ethereum and AI: Part 1

By now, you probably all know what the Ethereum Network is.

Because of this, you probably also already understand that it is both arguably the perfect place and the worst place for AI to exist, at the same time.

If you don’t already know what I mean by this, then stick around for this series on the existing and possible future connections between the Ethereum Network and the AI industry. First and foremost, it is most important to understand that the Ethereum Network is a Blockchain network, so it’s also P2P and completely decentralized due to the fact that its users keep it online with their stakes of coins.

Because this is true and because it was built with Solidity, which is a Turing complete programming language, just about any sort of application can be placed on top of its foundational Blockchain. This is possible because a Turing complete programming language is one with which any sort of logic can be used. On a deeper level, this seems to mean that programming strings or sets of instructions can be brought in from any other language and used in connection with this particular language. To give you another quick example of what this means, just think about someone who is used to programming in Java, versus someone who is used to programming in C++. Solidity lets these people and more work together in one arena, in one central language.

Going back to our discussion, however, the fact that Ethereum is a Blockchain network that is completely decentralized is arguably its most important feature. Close behind this, lies its current major use case.

In short, Ethereum does appear to be the new internet.

The internet, as we know it today, gained its value from the applications that were built upon it. Before this happened, it was nothing more than a powerful foundation with a lot of hope behind it. In the case of Ethereum, even though the Blockchain industry is still in its infancy, the network already has every sort of application from Tamagotchi-like games to new voting mechanisms, to decentralized AI networks.This last sort of application is where we will hone in for the majority of our series on this topic.

What are decentralized AI networks?

In truth, we’ve spoken about them in previous pieces on projects like the Golem network. A decentralized AI network is one that has no servers in any sort of central location. All of its servers that help to keep it running are actually on each user’s version of the AI Network’s Blockchain. Because this is how such a network is structured, with more users, comes more computing power to draw upon.

In simpler terms, when we consider the Ethereum network in this way, then we can consider it to be the world’s largest and most powerful supercomputer as long as it retains and gains enough users to outpace the supercomputers that already exist. Therefore, the potential of Ethereum to change the capabilities of the average AI network are almost limitless, as long as its user base continues to grow.

In connection with this, as the old saying goes, with great power comes great responsibility. Due to the foundational nature of the Ethereum network, it is immutable, just like the Blockchain is at its core. If we take this in context with an Ethereum-based AI network, then this means that in practice, it is hard to figure out how such an AI could be turned off. Once it begins running on the Ethereum blockchain, even as a sidechain, then the only way to shut such a project off is for all of its users to quit the network.

Herein lies what is perhaps the biggest issue with decentralized AI networks. How do we protect ourselves against a future in which such networks have limitless power that goes hand in hand with the growth of Ethereum? As of now, the answer is not yet apparent. In the context of all of this, it could be said that once we find this answer, then overall, the future of AI as well as the human population will possibly be secure.

Until then, keep your eyes on the research in this field, because while this chip still has not fallen, the risk still remains.