The Bots are coming and they will probably need Credentialing

It seems increasingly likely that we are heading towards a future with many more AI Bots than humans. And I am sure you are not shocked to find out that I am excited and optimistic about that future; a future where we can focus on human connection and creativity instead of petty tasks. A future where all of us enjoy the benefits of AI bots. Sooner than many imagine, each of us will relish our scheduling Bot, a flight booking Bot, an executive assistant bot , a Bot that helps us remember key things at the right times, a kitchen and grocery Bot, a house manager Bot, and so many more.

There will be Bots who check us into a hotel and Bots that settle the bill after we leave a restaurant. There will be Bots that manage safety on construction sites and Bots that help teachers personalize their lesson plans. And so many more we cannot yet imagine. These Bots will talk to each other, communicate with us, and if done right help elevate our lives and improve our businesses.

But for this future to come about these bots will need Credentials. And when talking about AI Bot Credentialing there are two things I mean at once:

1. Access Credentials
2. Capability Credentials

Access Credentials

For your Flight Booking Bot to confirm your ticket it will need access to your credit card or bank account. For your Kitchen Bot to order the right groceries it will need access to your calendar (to know which nights you are eating at home), to your fridge (to know what's inside), and to your favorite recipes on your favorite cooking app. And for the Hotel Bot to check you in it will need access to virtually all the systems utilized by a hotel. You get the point.

For this future to come to fruition we need a way to give the right AI Bots access to our money, data, homes, and businesses but only to the right Bots at the right times. This will require a new set of technologies or tools to enable a Bot to be designated as 'Gilad's' and once authenticated to give that Bot access only to those things I have agreed to in advance.

This is a great opportunity to build the 'Picks and Shovels of AI'.

Capability Credentials

The second and equally important type of Credentials is capability credentials. Just like human workers, students, educators, and others need to be credentialed to hold certain jobs or complete certain tasks so will the Bots. And it's likely that credentialing will be even more important in the AI world than in the human physical world.

Before your business lets an AI draft a legal memo or manage your account payable you will seek some verification of its competence in these tasks. Before you have an AI assist a doctor in reviewing your cancer screening or subscribe to an AI writing coach for your kids you will want to know if the Bot is any good in these areas. And as we think about the utilization of AI Bots within our government, security, research, and so many other critical fields we will want to ensure a minimum level of performance can be reached.

This creates a second major area in need of innovation and while I am certain there are already people working on these opportunities, my guess is that for every 1000 AI Founders maybe one is thinking about these major existantional opportunities for the Great Commoditization of AI.