Is the future of AI decentralized? Experts say blockchain holds the key

Artificial intelligence (AI), touted as the most powerful and expressive technology of our time, is approaching a pivotal moment of transition towards decentralization.

Decentralization of AI

Nick Emmons, co-founder and CEO of Upshot, highlighted the move from traditional, centralized AI systems, dominated by a handful of powerful companies, to a decentralized approach that leverages blockchain technology for greater transparency and collaboration.

Decentralized AI transforms opaque, centralized systems into transparent networks that coordinate machine intelligence for common goals. This shift not only democratizes AI but also ensures that applications can operate in a trustless environment, free from the need to rely on a select group of organizations.

Despite the growth of open-source AI, with platforms like Hugging Face offering over 450,000 models, Emmons points out that these developments often occur in isolation. For AI to be truly decentralized, he calls for a collaborative effort among developers to create models that learn from one another over time.

Emmons highlights the necessity of reimagining the AI stack to decentralize its development and application fully. This involves all layers of AI, from computing power to data processing and model training. Decentralization then can be achieved through markets that incentivize collaboration and use blockchain technology to facilitate transparent, trustless interactions.

The decentralization of AI also offers a way to distribute control over technology, align development with diverse needs, and safeguard against mass surveillance and manipulation.

Facing a critical crossroads in artificial intelligence development, Nick outlines a compelling argument for the decentralization of AI. The current dichotomy presents two imperfect choices: sacrifice decentralization for cutting-edge proprietary AI or commit to strictly decentralized alternatives that, while promising, currently fall short of their centralized counterparts in performance.

Emmons explains that overcoming this dilemma requires concerted efforts across all participants in the AI ecosystem. The goal is to create a collaborative environment where decentralized AI can thrive without sacrificing access to advanced technology. This involves ensuring decentralization spans the entire AI stack, from data collection to model deployment, to maintain a trustless, accessible architecture.

Need for collaborative development

The centralization of AI, while efficient in terms of coordination costs, concentrates power and control, which ultimately harms innovation and privacy. In contrast, decentralized AI promises numerous benefits, including collective intelligence, universal access, tamper-proof outputs, scalability, privacy protection, and reduced bias.

To transition towards a decentralized AI future, Emmons calls for a new edition of the AI stack as an open ecosystem, encouraging synergy between components traditionally siloed within closed systems. This shift could democratize AI development, ensuring broad access to AI tools and technologies, and mitigating the risks associated with centralized control.

Toufi Saliba, the CEO and founder of HyperCycle, told Investing.com that he believes artificial intelligence is "arguably the most important innovation since the internet itself.”

Saliba highlighted the critical role of collaborative development in the future of AI, stressing the need for "shared training models and open source technology" to unlock its full potential.

He compared the evolution of the internet with the path AI must take, noting, "Just as the web would have never taken off if it had remained under the control of ARPA, for AI to realize its true potential, its development needs to be collaborative."

Saliba called for "decentralized systems that enable innovators to iterate on existing models," fostering an ecosystem where the best ideas can flourish. He concluded with a vision of the future where such an approach enables "this transformative technology to change the world."

This article first appeared in Investing.com