Blockchain: The solution for the Internet in the AI era

Chris Dixon, a partner at the a16z crypto investment fund, recently shared his views on the intersection of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and blockchain technology.

He argues that the development of AI is posing challenges to the current operating model of the internet, and blockchain is the tool to solve these problems.

Specifically, AI is gradually replacing the role of humansin the creation and aggregation of content, which makes it less necessary for users to have direct access to the websites of content providers.

This not only threatens advertising revenue and the survival of many websites, but also enables the tech giants, which have abundant data and computing resources, to become more dominant.

Besides, the proliferation of AI-generated deepfakes and bots is leading to concerns about the authenticity of information, eroding users' trust in the online world.

In the face of these challenges, Dixon argues that blockchain is the key to maximizing the potential of AI, while limiting its negative effects.

He highlighted three key roles of blockchain in shaping the future of the Internet: property protection, identity verification, and information authentication.

The first benefit that blockchain brings is the ability to protect property rights.Thanks to its transparent and immutable nature, blockchain allows the establishment of clear commitments related to assets, payments and power.

Every transaction is recorded on a decentralized network, ensuring fairness and eliminating the possibility of manipulation from any individual or organization. In particular, smart contracts play an important role in automating the process of property rights enforcement, providing security and reliability to users.

This means that content creators have full control over how their work is used, including by ever-evolving AI systems.

Not only does it stop there, blockchain is also a powerful tool for identity verification. Blockchain-based electronic signatures provide a reliable authentication method, which distinguishes real users from bots and impersonators.

As a result, blockchain contributes to building a safe and transparent online environment, where users can interact with each other without worrying about counterfeiting.

Finally, blockchain helps ensure the authenticity of information.By creating anti-counterfeiting records for digital content, the blockchain makes it easy to detect any unauthorized modifications.

Each content is affixed with a unique digital fingerprint and metadata is stored on the blockchain, ensuring the integrity of the information. This is especially important in the context of deepfakes and fake news that are rampant on the Internet.

Dixon believes that blockchain can inherit and promote the core values of the Internet, which are openness, creativity and diversity.

As tech giants are increasingly gaining power, blockchain offers a decentralized alternative, handing control back to users.

Blockchain-based platforms encourage open source innovation and community-run governance models, create a healthy competitive environment, and foster the growth of the Internet.

Chris Dixon's article paints a big picture of the interrelationship between AI and blockchain, and points to the enormous potential of this combination in shaping the future of the Internet.

In his view, blockchain is not only the tool to solve the challenges posed by AI, but also the key to building a decentralized, transparent and user-dominated Internet.