Somi Arian: Blockchain can bring that transparency that AI desperately needs

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Blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI) are two emerging technologies that have grabbed global attention in the past decade. At the London Blockchain Conference, industry thought leaders delved into the intersection of the two. Somi Arian joined CoinGeek Backstage on the sidelines of the event to discuss the dynamics and integration of the two transformative technologies.

Arian is the founder and CEO of InPeak, a go-to community for startup founders that’s home to over 3,500 startups. She is also a multi-award-winning filmmaker and author, and at the London Blockchain Conference, she delivered a keynote address on Web3 and AI.

Speaking to CoinGeek Backstage’s Becky Liggero, she revealed that she was researching AI years before ChatGPT, which led to the global surge in adoption. Since then, she has focused on blockchain and believes AI can supercharge Web3 adoption.

“Without AI, blockchain is too rigid. On the other side, blockchain without AI is quite dangerous because it’s a black box controlled by centralized authorities, big corporations and governments,” she stated.

“Blockchain can bring that transparency that AI desperately needs, and AI can bring a level of acceptability to blockchain.”

AI has taken over the spotlight from blockchain in the past three years. In 2023, investment in generative AI alone hit $25 billion, while Web3 startups only attracted $7 billion. According to Arian, blockchain is losing the battle because the sector is obsessed with speculation and short-term gains.

“AI doesn’t have that problem, and that’s working in its favor,” she said.

Together, the two technologies could change the world, says Arian. While most of the focus is on the major applications, such as finance, automation, military, and content creation, she believes that there are massive opportunities in daily life to combine the two.

AI can learn about your preferences, beliefs, and goals and help you make day-to-day decisions, such as scanning terms and conditions to see if they align with you, said Arian. Blockchain integration into all this would ensure that transparency and security are upheld.

Within blockchain, smart contracts are an area ripe for AI disruption. While they were a great leap for technology, smart contracts have limitations—for instance, they are rigid and can only be triggered by a specific condition with no room for amendments.

“If we bring in machine learning into smart contracts, that’s potentially where we could get something really interesting,” Arian remarked.

In order for artificial intelligence (AI) to work right within the law and thrive in the face of growing challenges, it needs to integrate an enterprise blockchain system that ensures data input quality and ownership—allowing it to keep data safe while also guaranteeing the immutability of data. Check out CoinGeek’s coverage on this emerging tech to learn more why Enterprise blockchain will be the backbone of AI.

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