Crypto venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) has made some positive predictions for industry advancement next year. The firm is specifically optimistic about advances in artificial intelligence and decentralization.
On December 6, a16z released its “big ideas” report on what the firm is looking forward to in 2024—artificial intelligence and decentralization are featured heavily.
Sponsoreda16z: Decentralizing Artificial Intelligence
The firm noted that decentralization has been hard to achieve due to the control of systems by large corporations or governments.
However, Web3’s growth has included the emergence of new models of decentralization. These new models can accommodate applications with richer features; “and also include methods such as DAOs embracing Machiavellian principles,” it noted.
“As such models evolve, we should soon see unprecedented levels of decentralized coordination, operational functionality, and innovations.”
Many have previously criticized DAOs and crypto project governance. Whales with substantial token voting power can commandeer governance decisions, as evidenced by Uniswap.
Read more: AI Stocks: Best Artificial Intelligence Companies To Know in 2023
The firm also noted that decentralized blockchains counterbalance centralized artificial intelligence models. These currently require massive resources only accessible to tech giants.
However, combining AI and crypto enables permissionless markets where anyone can contribute computing power and data to train large language models.
Sponsored“With crypto, it becomes possible to create multi-sided, global, permissionless markets where anyone can contribute — and be compensated — for contributing compute or a new dataset to the network.”
Moreover, crypto technology can also track the origin of AI-generated content like deepfakes, it noted.
Web3 is “the laboratory” for figuring out how to decentralize AI. The purpose is to prevent a handful of tech giants from controlling it:
“Decentralized, open-source crypto networks will democratize (vs. concentrate) AI innovation, ultimately making it safer for consumers.”
Meta and Google Up the AI Ante
In related news, Meta has announced that it is testing more than 20 new ways generative AI can improve user experiences across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp.
The firm formerly known as Facebook is integrating its AI model across its suite of services. It has launched an AI image generator and is planning to watermark images created by artificial intelligence.
Meanwhile, Google launched Gemini on December 6, its multimodal “ChatGPT killer” that can process text, images, audio, and video.
Gemini is streets ahead of its competitors in a range of tests and simulations the company has carried out. It will be integrated into Google Bard and available on its flagship smartphone. It will then be deployed on Chrome, Ads, and Search platforms next year.
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