The US Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent lawsuits against Coinbase Global Inc. and Binance Holdings Ltd. have raised concerns about the future of cryptocurrency. As crypto is facing numerous regulatory and market problems, it has lost its position as the latest technology trend. The launch of the OpenAI ChatGPT bot in November unlocked a range of possibilities for the application of AI, attracting the attention of founders and investors, which once powered the crypto boom.
Adam Struck, founder and managing partner of Struck Crypto, believes that AI could be the catalyst for blockchain technology to shine again. He said that blockchain could add more transparency and decentralization to AI, which is often difficult to understand when it comes to data used for training.
The $115 million investment in Tools for Humanity, co-founded by OpenAI’s Sam Altman, is one of the real-life examples of the use of crypto in AI. The project developed the Worldcoin digital currency and a small orb that uses blockchain to scan people’s eyes to create a unique ID for each individual. The Worldcoin and the “proof of personhood” can also be used for secure payments.
Tiago Sada, Head of Product at Tools for Humanity, expressed that crypto is the answer to the question of where AI is going. Alex Felix, managing partner and chief investment officer at the crypto VC firm CoinFund, compared the current AI craze to the crypto ICO boom of 2017. He added that it is easier to evaluate new projects and determine if the team has enough proficiency in AI due to the small circles of AI experts.
In addition to that, blockchain can improve the ways digital-asset platforms sort data, safeguard information and interact with users. AI bots can be used to prevent cyberattacks that plague decentralized finance, as well as moderate content on messaging platforms.
Solana Labs launched a ChatGPT plugin to make the user experience better and to explain blockchain transactions in a conversational way. On the other hand, Bitget chose not to integrate ChatGPT due to fears of users getting false information. Similarly, Tools for Humanity has been criticized for its eye-scanning technology and the safety of the biometric data it collects.
The Graph, an indexing protocol, has been using AI and machine learning to make blockchain data simpler to search and use, but Tegan Kline, CEO of Edge & Node that created the platform, does not want GRT currency to be classified as an AI token. She believes that blockchain should be Edge & Node’s primary focus, as AI still carries many risks, such as making it harder to recognize what is true or false online.
