The explosion of interest in Artificial Intelligence (AI) in 2023 is significant. Applications like ChatGPT are revolutionizing the way a variety of sectors can go about working on projects.
While digital assets and AI are both futuristic concepts, they differ from each other in fundamental ways which we’ll break down later in this piece. Both AI and crypto do have similarities, but they can both exist separate from each other, or in conjunction, depending on how blockchain technology and adoption grows over time. We’re going to break down what AI is, what’s similar about it and cryptocurrencies, and what is different. Let’s start by looking at AI.
What is AI?
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the ability for computers, data, and machines to deploy programs that can help with research tasks, decision-making, and of course, problem-solving. Ideally, it can do this efficiently and at scale.
AI can also include the sub-fields of machine learning and deep learning. These use algorithms trained on data to make predictions or classifications for things such as technical analysis of stocks or crypto. AI offers various advantages to users, such as streamlining repetitive tasks, providing background data without much research, and enhancing decision-making processes through trained data sets.
How Is AI Different from Crypto?
For starters, crypto and blockchain technology doesn’t really do any of the above things that AI can. A blockchain is a distributed ledger or database that is shared across multiple computers in a network (these computers are referred to as nodes). The difference between a regular database, such as one used by a bank, and blockchain is the way the data is collected and stored: in blocks.
Blocks have a set storage capacity for data (such as transactions between users) and when the block is filled it gets closed and linked to the previous block, creating a chain, hence, blockchain. It’s an immutable ledger that facilitates a secure and transparent exchange of encrypted data shared across a network where information is available to all participants simultaneously.
Blockchain is capable of tracking various types of information such as orders, payments, accounts, production and more. Transactions are encrypted with a unique hash and stored in the aforementioned blocks, along with other transaction records. This is all done in a decentralized manner, meaning there are a variety of participants around the globe verifying transactions and not requiring a single data source, but instead relying on nodes.
AI differs from blockchain in the sense that it necessitates centralized data caches for training, in contrast to crypto’s decentralized structure. This doesn’t change the potential for both technologies to work together and evolve, but they are both at early stages of development. Blockchain has the potential to give new benefits to AI-based applications and vice-versa.
So What’s Similar About Them?
Both blockchain and AI have the potential to change the conveniences in everyone’s daily lives. While the technologies have fundamental differences at this current time, there are AI projects within crypto such as Singularity (AGIX).
These sorts of projects look to create a decentralized version of AI, and combine the benefits of both technologies into one. If successful, a synergistic system between AI and blockchain is likely to exist, with AI helping digital asset applications in a variety of ways, but with the decentralized benefits of blockchain.
How AI Can Help Digital Asset Applications and Vice-Versa
There are a variety of ways in which AI can help digital asset applications, such as:
- Improving crypto mining efficiency by using probability distribution and AI
- Monetization and tokenization of AI ecosystems and services (such as AGIX)
- AI doing sentiment analysis to aid with cryptocurrency trading
- AI can use decentralized data to personalize itself for users across various blockchain platforms and apps
The above synergies are far from an exhaustive list, and it’s likely that as both technologies develop, even more will arise. There is no reason why the two can’t exist in harmony and provide benefits both ways.
Closing Thoughts: AI and Crypto Are Fundamentally Different
Crypto and AI really aren’t the same thing. While both have the potential to revolutionize daily lives for people around the world, they are fundamentally different concepts.
We are still in the early stages of both technologies, and it’s only going to get more interesting as time goes by. Hopefully, they combine to help society become more transparent and streamlined in ways we cannot even imagine yet.
