What role will blockchain play in securing the future of AI-driven infrastructure?

Originally published on Tech Radar Pro on November 20, 2024

Blockchain technology marks a pivotal moment in digital innovation.

The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain technology marks a pivotal moment in digital innovation, offering unprecedented opportunities to transform industries. When combined, they can not only enhance operational efficiencies but also address some of the most pressing challenges facing modern enterprises dealing with data at scale: data reliability and integrity.

AI relies heavily on data to learn and make decisions. However, the quality of that data is paramount. In an era where misinformation and data integrity issues abound, blockchain technology offers a robust solution. By providing a decentralized ledger that ensures data is tamper-proof and immutable, blockchain can help enhance the reliability of the data fed into AI systems.

Reducing AI hallucinations

One of the most significant challenges AI systems face is the phenomenon known as “hallucinations”—instances where AI generates responses that are inaccurate or entirely fabricated. These issues often stem from poor data quality or lack of verifiable sources, such as when AI models have gorged themselves on too much fast food data sources like forums, social media and blogs, where humor, gossip and misinformation abounds, or when they train on synthetic data produced by AI itself.

It’s like at the end of the first Matrix movie, when Neo dives into Agent Smith, who absorbs him, but then explodes. AI has to be careful what it consumes. Without quality data, Large Language Models risk “model collapse”. Here, blockchain proves invaluable.

Blockchain’s inherent properties of data integrity and immutability play a crucial role in mitigating risks associated with AI systems. By utilizing a decentralized ledger, these systems can access verified data, significantly reducing the likelihood of inaccuracies. Furthermore, unboundedly scalable blockchain technology can efficiently handle large volumes of transactions, making it well-suited to support AI tools that require real-time data. This ensures that the information used by AI is both accurate and trustworthy, ultimately enhancing the reliability of AI-driven insights and decisions.

Recognizing and rewarding creators

As AI technology continues to advance, the need to recognize and reward content creators becomes increasingly critical. Blockchain can play a role in this respect by facilitating micro-payments that reward creators directly for their contributions.

With smart contracts on a blockchain, payments can be automated and executed instantly when predefined conditions are met, ensuring creators receive fair compensation for their work. This transparency fosters a more equitable digital ecosystem, allowing artists, writers, and developers to benefit from their creations without the interference of intermediaries. This points to the potential for a brave new “creator economy 2.0” era. Similar to how the music industry was initially disrupted by piracy and file-sharing, before evolving for a new age with streaming services and monetizing live performances. So too can the creator economy evolve in this new era of AI models, by baking in financial rewards when creative content is featured in AI training data, similar to some of the early deals now starting to be struck between major media houses and AI foundational model owners.

Moreover, blockchain can help safeguard creators’ rights by recording ownership and usage rights for their content. This is particularly important in the context of AI, where data from various sources is often aggregated to train models. For creators who wish to maintain control over their work, blockchain provides a way to prevent unauthorized data trawling and ensure that their content is used in compliance with their terms.

Smart contracts & automation

The integration of AI and blockchain also enables the development of smart contracts—self-executing contracts with the terms directly written into code. AI can trigger these smart contracts, automating processes that traditionally require human intervention. This automation not only streamlines operations but also enhances transparency, as all transactions are recorded on the blockchain and accessible to relevant parties.

For example, in supply chain management, AI can analyze data to predict demand and trigger smart contracts that automatically adjust orders with suppliers. This leads to more responsive and efficient supply chains, reducing waste and ensuring that resources are allocated where they are needed most.

Moreover, smart contracts can facilitate compliance by automatically enforcing regulations and protocols. In industries like finance and healthcare, where adherence to strict guidelines is essential, this capability can significantly reduce the risk of non-compliance.

IPv6, blockchain, and Metanet

The future of the internet lies in the convergence of several technologies, including AI, blockchain, and IPv6. The introduction of IPv6, with its vastly increased IP address space, opens up opportunities for connecting an unprecedented number of devices. When combined with unboundedly scalable blockchain tech, this can lead to the creation of Metanet—a new internet framework that ensures data security and integrity.

In Metanet, devices can communicate securely and efficiently, leveraging the advantages of blockchain to verify identities and transactions. AI and machine learning can further enhance this ecosystem by providing intelligent insights into data patterns and behaviors, facilitating smarter and more secure interactions.

This integration promises to reshape industries by enabling real-time data sharing and collaboration among devices and users, ultimately fostering innovation and driving economic growth. With blockchain ensuring security and transparency, and AI providing actionable insights, the potential for creating new business models is limitless.

A truly scalable blockchain that can process over a million transactions per second will enable cost-effective and intermediary-free microtransactions, enabling new forms of digital commerce and restoring the internet’s original promise of a truly peer-to-peer platform.

The convergence of AI and blockchain represents a transformative shift in the digital landscape, driving future digital transformation. By addressing data reliability issues, recognizing, and rewarding creators, automating operations through smart contracts, and reshaping the internet, these technologies hold the key to a more secure, efficient, and equitable digital future.

As we continue to explore these possibilities, it’s clear that the synergy between AI and blockchain will not only enhance operational efficiencies but also help in building trust in the data-driven world we inhabit.

Enterprise blockchains are the only way to make AI real

Originally published on Fintech Magazine on November 05, 2024

Enterprise blockchains are revolutionising data management, ensuring scalability and security while enabling real-world applications beyond speculation.

People sometimes ask me what I mean by ‘enterprise blockchain,’ and how it differs from other blockchains. The difference lies in what a blockchain is used for and what it can be used for. Not all blockchains are created equal. 

For over a decade, blockchain have been seen as platforms for digital assets and speculative financial vehicles. 

Some blockchains— like those offering decentralised finance (DeFi) applications—focus on staking or loaning assets for yield, creating a daisy chain of interdependencies that historically doesn’t end well.

Enterprise blockchains are different. They offer unlimited scalability, allowing them to handle data-intensive tasks that overwhelm bandwidth-constricted networks. Enterprise blockchain technology balances efficiency and transparency, allowing businesses to scale without sacrificing security or auditability.

Enterprise blockchains provide the technical infrastructure to manage intellectual property agreements, AI training and development, micropayments and more in a seamless, auditable way.

These aren’t theoretical concepts – real-world use cases already exist, proving enterprise blockchains go beyond speculative uses.

Paying the piper

Consider copyright management, a growing issue as AI large language models (LLMs) scrape the web indiscriminately, without respect for the rights of data owners. Non-fungible token (NFT) technology on enterprise blockchains can help ensure right holders are compensated for their material.

Many dismissed NFTs long ago, having been led to believe that the technology began and ended with the speculative flipping of crudely rendered monkey JPEGs. But NFTs can be utilised in self-executing smart contracts that govern usage, resale and licensing of data.

The NFT is structured using Bitcoin Script, a Turing-incomplete language that can determine whether the pre-agreed conditions of a contract have been met. For an LLM accessing content, the contract can dictate terms, including how long access is granted, how the data can be used and what payments are required to compensate the data’s owner.

Enterprise blockchains create auditable trails that timestamp interactions with copyrighted material. Whenever AI systems consume on-chain content, the activity is logged and auditable by regulators, content creators and AI developers. 

Overlay networks & Payment channels

Enterprise blockchains enable dynamic and flexible interactions via overlay networks and payment channels. Overlays are secondary systems built on top of the main network, handling off-chain negotiations and updates until it’s time for final settlement.

Overlays allow custom, real-time agreements between businesses and AI systems. Content providers might offer tiered pricing levels based on whether an AI system requires simple reading of data, deeper integration into training models or the ability to resell or modify content.

Payment channels aggregate multiple interactions into a single, secure on-chain settlement, ensuring the efficient use of enterprise blockchain resources while retaining full auditability. 

For example, an AI developer and content provider can open a payment channel on the main network, locking up a portion of a blockchain’s native token. The parties negotiate terms off-chain, updating the balance within the channel based on the volume of content accessed/used. When the business is concluded, the payment channel is closed and a final settlement transaction is written to the main network, leaving an auditable and immutable record of their agreement.

Simply the best

I believe the BSV Blockchain is the only blockchain capable of securely and efficiently handling the above scenarios. BSV offers unbounded scalability—proven to handle over one million transactions per second—with transaction fees measured in fractions of a cent.

BSV is also the only chain capable of scaling to meet the IPv6 standard, a prerequisite for handling the immense data requirements of Metanet, which will combine with AI and machine learning to enable cost-effective, instant micropayments. Metanet represents a better, more inclusive and dynamic internet, an economically integrated system that restores the original vision of a peer-to-peer internet model.

I believe so strongly in BSV’s unique qualities that I challenge anyone building similar projects on other blockchains to present their work at the London Blockchain Conference (LBC) in 2025. To paraphrase some of my English football-loving friends, come and have a go if you think your blockchain’s hard enough.

All kidding aside, this is a sincere offer. After a long entrepreneurial career, I didn’t get to where I am without being willing to defend my views on the field of free market competition. The next edition of LBC is scheduled for October 2025, giving you plenty of time to prepare a presentation that will knock everyone’s socks off.

Assuming your foundation is a true enterprise blockchain, able to handle millions of cost-effective transactions per second. But if that foundation proves too shaky, you can always port your project over to BSV and label that initial effort a prototype.

Castles made of sand might look pretty but they don’t last long. Choose the enterprise blockchain that’s built to outperform and built to last.