a16z: Blockchain will shape the future of AI

According to a report published on June 11, the cryptocurrency investment branch of Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) believes that blockchain could play an important role in guiding artificial intelligence (AI) towards emphasizing personal ownership and open standards.

The report suggests that core contextual information and the “agent passport” (agent passport) should be stored in a self-custody wallet, allowing AI interfaces such as large language models (LLM) to have instant access to user preferences without the need for retraining multiple times.

A blockchain-based identity layer will help AI “agents” carry proof of ownership, capabilities, and payment information across platforms such as email, Slack, and many other systems. At the same time, user identity verification systems like World ID from World Chain can help distinguish between real people and bots, especially in the context of rapidly evolving content generation models.

Decentralized Computing and Payment Infrastructure

In terms of infrastructure, the report emphasizes the role of DePIN networks – systems that leverage GPUs and idle energy from gaming PCs or data centers to create a decentralized computing market, reducing dependence on major cloud providers.

The “on-chain synchronization layers” will ensure that the AI-generated source code is always up-to-date and consistent. Developers can package standards into tokenized protocols, receiving automatic rewards when security vulnerabilities are detected, while all connecting applications will receive updates without manual intervention.

The report also emphasizes the importance of micropayments (micropayment), envisioning a scenario where each purchase is a nano transaction on a low-fee blockchain network, distributing rewards to the data sources and AI being queried before providing product recommendations.

This mechanism can also be applied to control bot access to the website. Bots will need to deposit tokens and pay fees based on traffic, while verified users can access for free.

The immutable ledger will record the segments of data that have been used to train the model, thereby distributing royalties back to the publishers.

Intellectual Property and Privacy Management

To manage intellectual property rights, a16z proposes building on-chain public registration systems ( on the chain ), embedding ownership metadata directly into creative assets.

The licensing through smart contracts will allow brands to automatically collect fees or grant rights for derivative creation, turning the risk of infringement into a traceable royalty revenue stream.

At the same time, advertising can rely on (zero-knowledge proofs) linked to the user’s wallet. Users only need to disclose minimal demographic information and will be rewarded with a small amount for viewing relevant ads, protecting their privacy.

AI accompanying under user control

In the future, reports suggest that AI-assisted learning, healthcare, and companionship should operate under the user’s personal lock, rather than being controlled by a business interface.

Censorship-resistant blockchains combined with (account abstraction) account abstract wallets will simplify the experience, removing the barrier of (seed phrase) keyword phrases, while optimistic or zero-knowledge coprocessors can provide the bandwidth needed to maintain long-term relationships. store memories on the chain.

a16z concludes that the combination of blockchain and machine learning can sustain an open Internet by integrating economic incentives, data provenance, and governance mechanisms right at the base protocol layer.

Thach Sanh