Podcast Summary
This podcast features Illia Polosukhin, co-founder of NEAR, a blockchain project that aims to be the home for user-owned AI. The discussion revolves around the origins of NEAR, its mission to address scalability and usability challenges of blockchain technology, and its focus on user-owned AI. The podcast also delves into the future of AI and the potential of the crypto economy in creating sustainable user-owned AI models.
Key Takeaways
NEAR’s Mission and Achievements
- Origins and Pivot: NEAR started as a machine learning company teaching machines to code but pivoted to address scalability and usability issues of blockchain technology. It has since become one of the largest platforms in Web 3 by number of active users and addresses.
- Scalability and Usability: NEAR prioritizes scalability, ease of use, and developer-friendly features. It has demonstrated the importance of sharding for scalability by adding two more shards to its network during a spike in fees.
User-Owned AI
- Empowering Individuals: NEAR’s focus on user-owned AI highlights the potential for blockchain technology to empower individuals and decentralize control over AI systems. User-owned AI models are optimized for individual user success and well-being, focusing on the user’s community and shielding against misinformation and external pressures.
- Challenges: The challenge lies in finding a sustainable model for user-owned AI that can compete with the revenue-driven model of big corporations.
AI and Crypto Economy
- AI as a Strategic Investment: NEAR sees AI as a strategic investment and is consolidating its AI efforts with the NEAR ecosystem. It is working on a proof of response system to ensure reliable communication between users and applications.
- Crypto Economy: The crypto economy is seen as a potential solution, creating new business models and structures that allow users to participate in the AI economy without taking away from others.
NEAR AI R&D Lab
- Research and Development: The NEAR AI R&D lab aims to bring together experts in crypto AI to research and solve challenges in the field. The lab’s main focus is on building applications for Web 3.0 that incorporate AI, with the goal of competing with Web 2.0 and increasing the number of applications in the crypto space.
- Formal Verification: The lab also aims to research formal verification proofs for AI-generated smart contracts, which is crucial for AI safety and the security of systems.
Sentiment Analysis
- Bullish: The podcast presents a bullish sentiment towards NEAR and its mission to address the scalability and usability challenges of blockchain technology. The discussion around NEAR’s focus on user-owned AI and its potential to empower individuals and decentralize control over AI systems also reflects a positive outlook.
- Neutral: While the podcast acknowledges the potential of the crypto economy in creating sustainable user-owned AI models, it also recognizes the challenges in finding a sustainable model that can compete with the revenue-driven model of big corporations. This balanced view suggests a neutral sentiment.
