The potential of blockchain technology is thought by many to be huge – the technology could not only affect the economy, but also medicine, scientific research, government, education, and several other fields. The same is thought about artificial intelligence. If both technologies have so much potential, what could happen if the two are combined? According to some computer scientists, venture capitalists, and entrepreneurs, decentralization of AI-based systems is one of the expected outcomes.
Some people from the AI sector have raised concerns about the extent to which companies such as Google or Facebook have taken control over online data and how this control could limit the training of machine learning programs. Dawn Song, a computer science professor from UC Berkeley believes that blockchain technology could significantly limit the control that Internet giants have over online information. Song defends the importance to have machine learning capabilities that are under the users’ control and he believes blockchain could be the answer. More specifically, blockchain technology could be used to provide AI networks access to stores of online data without the need to involve third parties in the process.
Song also found a way to test his beliefs, as he is currently developing a blockchain named Oasis, which will provide encryption bundles for all the data moving through the system. This will ensure that information would be run through machine learning algorithms and data will be computed without the need to see the underlying data. Oasis might prove to be one of the early important projects that test the power of blockchain in research, and particularly in medicine. More specifically, the blockchain will be used to allow medical researchers to train machine learning models with data from real patients while completely securing the privacy of it. As most of those working in the healthcare sector probably know, it is challenging to ensure patients’ privacy in the era of electronic health records and projects such as Oasis may finally solve some key issues.
Ben Goertzel, the chief scientist at Hanson Robotics and owner of the humanoid Sophia, also believes the blockchain could be used to provide a broader distribution of online data, and ultimately have a significant effect on the development of AI. In fact, he is already planning to use his blockchain-based AI marketplace, SingularityNET, as the source from where his famous humanoid will get information. More specifically, SingularityNET will function as space where different AI programs around the world would communicate with each other. The rationale behind this approach is straightforward-if one AI doesn’t know the answer, others might know it and communicate it in exchange for a compensation.
There are several other projects that seek to use blockchain and AI together. One example is Ocean Protocol, a startup from Berlin that wants to develop an online environment where anyone can exchange any type of data for digital tokens. Ocean is working with automakers in data collection with the goal of creating AI for autonomous cars. Since all the automakers will share data, there will be no monopoly.
Ocean Protocol is clear about what makes their marketing environment better compared to their more traditional competition-it does not take data from its users and, as such, users feel protected. However, for those concerned about the power that Internet giants have over user privacy, Ocean Protocol seems to have even a more noble purpose – it shows how data can be decentralized. Better yet, it decentralizes data in a profitable way, which stimulated investors and new similar projects.
Conclusion
These startups and their projects are just new examples of how technological innovations that were initially meant to address a certain lack often end up revolutionizing a wide variety of fields. Blockchain technology is the underlying technology of Bitcoin but it is obvious for many that it has much more potential applications. As a driver of decentralization, blockchain may help address one of the most important issues faced by many AI-based systems: monopolization and the use of users’ information in malicious ways. Both the blockchain and AI technologies seem to be here to stay and it may be the right time to enjoy the power that comes with making the two work together.
