With 8+ billion mobile devices in the world, the future of AI must be decentralized

For many people, the idea of “decentralized artificial intelligence” might look like a cynical ploy by entrepreneurs and startups looking to cash in one two of the hottest buzzwords in tech today, namely blockchain and AI. But it’s an idea that actually has a lot of merit, and it’s one that’s fast gaining ground as the numerous moving parts required to support it come together.

The AI industry’s rapid pace of innovation is being led by AI model makers, chipmakers, and cloud infrastructure providers like OpenAI, Anthropic, Nvidia, AWS, and Google Cloud – highly centralized organizations, many of whom happen to be the same power players that already dominate the internet now. But a lot of people don’t like the dominance of these internet giants. So the question must be asked, is it really in the best interests of society that these companies also take control of the emerging AI industry?

Why we don’t want centralized AI?

Given how disruptive the AI industry is likely to be, the answer is surely no. As AI becomes more intertwined with our digital and daily lives, it will gain the power to shape how we perceive the world, how we work and play, and ultimately even how we think.

Let’s consider an example for a moment. One of the next frontiers of generative AI is the concept of the AI agent, which can perform tasks for people such as paying their phone bills, booking a restaurant table, and investing money on their behalf. There have been numerous forecasts that predict billions of people will start using AI agents in ways like this – perhaps even as personal coaches, digital friends, and therapists.

Should such a powerful and influential force really be controlled by a handful of billionaire tech executives such as Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg? When we think about all of the value they have provided to their shareholders, at the expense of everyone else, perhaps it’s not such a great idea.

Decentralizing AI with DePIN

This is exactly why the idea of decentralized AI has so much merit. It’s a solution that could give us all of the benefits of AI, such as enhanced creativity and productivity, but without the privacy-poisoning that comes from a reliance on big tech.

Decentralized AI has the potential to redefine both the way we interact with technology and also the impact it has on our economy. AI promises to be one the single most disruptive innovations in our lifetimes, and decentralization is the only viable path forward if we’re to make sure that everyone benefits.

Fortunately, there are serious initiatives afoot that intend to usher in this more equitable AI future. For instance, NeurochainAI aims to create a one-stop shop that will enable everyone to participate in the AI economy. It provides all of the tools and data needed by developers to create AI applications, supported by an infrastructure platform that everyone can contribute towards.

The company is one of several startups invested in the idea of a Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network (DePIN), which is based on the idea of consumer-grade GPUs aggregating their enormous computing power. It’s building a DePIN network that’s made up of thousands, and one day perhaps even billions, of mobile devices.

With NeurochainAI, anyone with a GPU will be able to connect to its network and provide resources to AI developers, earning crypto-based rewards for their contributions. It’s also building a community-powered data ecosystem, in which anyone can provide data for AI model training or participate in validating that information to ensure its accuracy. Moreover, it also offers an AI model marketplace, where developers can list their AI applications for guaranteed royalties via smart contracts, should anyone decide to use them.

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NeurochainAI isn’t alone in this endeavor, with startups such as Gensyn and Synapse AI building rival decentralized networks that aim to encourage everyone to take part in the AI economy of the future. These networks, powered by blockchain, will extend across the billions of mobile devices in the world, spanning smartphones, laptops, and connected cars.

Many of the world’s devices are almost permanently connected to the internet, yet they’re often underutilized because they’re not always being used, for example when a smartphone is sitting in its owner’s pocket. So there’s plenty of computing power out there that DePIN can tap into. The beauty of DePIN is that any device fitted with a computer chip and an internet connection can become an active contributor, where it will process AI workloads and data, learn new things, and utilize the network’s collective intelligence to make decisions.

A more equitable AI world

Decentralized AI has the potential to solve the same kinds of challenges as centralized AI, acting as our personal assistant, handling customer service tasks, managing city traffic flows, and forecasting the weather. Within DePIN networks, the interconnected devices will not operate in isolation but instead collaborate by sharing information, learning from each other, and evolving together to create a collective system of intelligence.

Decentralization gives AI an edge in terms of robustness. If one device fails or is disconnected from the web, the network will continue to function without any downtime, due to the way data and tasks are distributed across every device. That wouldn’t happen in a centralized AI world, where the impact of data center downtime is often felt globally.

In addition, decentralized AI will also be more democratic, as every stakeholder in the network will have a say on its development and applications.

Moreover, decentralized AI provides new economic opportunities for every participant. In a world that’s dominated by AI, there are justifiable fears that many jobs will become automated. As such, participating in an AI network can provide an alternative source of income. Just like cryptocurrency, where users are incentivized to process transactions through mining or staking, DePIN rewards users for providing intelligence to the network. It provides a way for device owners to effectively rent out their idle computing resources in a dynamic marketplace where compute power is a valuable resource.

Final thoughts

In a decentralized AI ecosystem, everyone will have a role to play, whether they’re a developer, an entrepreneur looking for lower-cost computing resources, or simply a user donating their computational power. Other opportunities include users performing small tasks on their devices as part of much larger AI research projects, in areas like healthcare and environmental studies.

The decentralization of AI has the potential to create a newer, more collaborative economy where everyone participates to co-create value for everyone else. It’s an alternative model that can foster a rapid pace of technological innovation, redistributing the benefits and revenue created by AI in a more equitable way.

Featured image credit: Freepik