AI x Blockchain: Key Takeaways from our Generative NYC event

Fascinating chat with Illia Polosukhin Alex Atallah on the future of AI x Blockchain. 3 high-level takeaways:

1. Hardware constraints are a real issue
2. Decentralized AI + open-source models are essential for progress
3. AI & Crypto have non-linear progressions

Last week, I had the privilege of moderating a panel at Lightspeed Generative NYC AI Blockchain event, where we delved into the intersection of AI and Blockchain. The speakers of the evening were Illia Poloushkin, co-founder of NEAR, and Alex Atallah, co-founder of OpenSea. Their insights shed light on the promising future of decentralized AI and the challenges of building on current infrastructure.

Illia, originally an AI researcher at Google, emphasized the need for more equitable, decentralized ownership models for AI and blockchain. He believes in the importance of open-source AI, transparent governance, and the potential of AI agents in managing communities around a shared goal.

Alex, who had been exploring decentralized AI and its implications for consumer use cases, highlighted the philosophical parallels between AI and crypto. He also shared his journey with projects like Big Sleep, Window AI, and Openrouter, emphasizing the importance of understanding the fundamentals of AI and its potential societal impact.

A key point of discussion was the importance of model choice in decentralized AI and the potential of open-source models. They discussed the challenges and potential opportunities in fine-tuning and developing these models, indicating that the future of AI and Blockchain could see an increase in the diversity of hardware choices, lower costs, and increased hackability of large models.

As we look towards the future, I posed the question - what might we see in AI & Blockchain by September 2024/2025? Both Illia and Alex predict advancements in hardware choices, increased model hackability, and an ecosystem rich with open-source models.

A special mention was made to 英伟达 ASML AMD for being at the heart of this rapidly evolving space - their contributions will doubtlessly continue to shape the landscape of AI and blockchain.

Thank you, Illia Poloushkin and Alex Atallah, for your enlightening perspectives. It's clear that the intersection of AI and Blockchain holds immense potential and I am excited to see how it unfolds.

And huge thanks to Meredith K. Maines Lightspeed Faction VC for helping organize!