At the Ai4 2024 conference held at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas from August 12 to 14, Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson delivered a keynote address focusing on the challenges of combining blockchain and AI technologies. Romain Pellerin, CTO at Input Output, summarized Highlights of Charles Hoskinson’s inaugural address delivered through X.

Cardano Founder: How to Combine AI and Blockchain

Hoskinson argued that blockchain can fundamentally support AI by providing a decentralized marketplace for data, models, and insights, thereby acting as a necessary incentive and layer of trust. “AI can leverage blockchain as an incentive and layer of trust to build decentralized markets for data, models, and insights,” Pellerin quoted Hoskinson as saying.

During his talk, Hoskinson traced the evolution of blockchain from “first to third generation” and highlighted challenges and potential solutions. “The evolution of blockchain, from carrying information to value, has encountered obstacles in a multipolar world,” the Cardano founder noted.

Governance issues, particularly in how decentralized technologies like blockchain and AI manage autonomy and control, were a significant theme of Hoskinson’s speech. “Both blockchain and AI grapple with governance issues, particularly around decentralization and disintermediation of infrastructures, which pose parallel challenges for the industry,” Hoskinson said.

He noted the parallel challenges that both fields face, emphasizing the need for groundbreaking governance that facilitates decentralization while ensuring effective governance and integrity. “AI’s reliance on massive data and computing power creates challenges in collecting and sharing data. Tokenization and incentives can offer solutions,” the Cardano founder said.

Hoskinson also addressed significant data privacy challenges in AI, advocating for advanced solutions such as fully homomorphic encryption to ensure data is processed without compromising privacy. He noted that this could enable truly private intelligent contracts and secure data exchange.

The Cardano founder further discussed the regulatory and philosophical challenges that both technologies face. As Pellerin said, “Blockchain, AI, quantum computing, and synthetic biology all face similar regulatory and data ownership challenges.” Hoskinson emphasized the importance of aligning these technologies with ethical and legal frameworks to ensure responsible development and implementation.

Practical applications of blockchain in the context of AI, such as royalty management and vehicle identification systems, were highlighted by Hoskinson as areas where blockchain can manage sophisticated computations and enable novel functionalities. However, there are challenges. “AI and blockchain integration are hampered by technical incompatibility and the first-mover problem, but complementary solutions may emerge to address these challenges. Blockchain can secure data and reduce hacking incidents, addressing the neglected data economy in the West, currently dominated by monopolies,” Hoskinson explained.

Wrapping up Hoskinson’s speech, Pellerin concluded with a reflection on the technical and philosophical challenges of combining these powerful technologies. “The intersection of blockchain and AI creates significant challenges, but also opens up opportunities for innovation. From data governance and privacy to decentralized markets and ethical considerations, the intersection of these technologies requires careful coordination and alignment of incentives to unlock its full potential.”

At the time of going to press, the ADA rate was $0.3382.

Featured image with X, chart from TradingView.com