The AI industry ‘hates crypto people’—but they may need them all the same

The artificial intelligence community in the Bay Area tends to have disdain for those involved in cryptocurrency, according to Tricia Wang, a seasoned tech industry veteran. Wang explains that when AI professionals hear terms like "blockchain" or "crypto," they view those individuals as lacking credibility. While this sentiment may be justified due to the prevalence of scams within the crypto space, and the sometimes unprofessional behavior of crypto leaders, Wang argues that the AI industry could potentially benefit from the underlying blockchain technology.

Wang is the founder of the Advanced AI Society, an organization that aims to create a "proof of control" infrastructure to prevent malicious activities by AI agents, such as the recent incident involving OpenAI. Traditionally, the approach to preventing AI mishaps has been to implement "human-in-the-loop" systems, but Wang argues that as AI scales to trillions of transactions, this approach becomes impractical.

Instead, she proposes a machine-to-machine monitoring system, which would require agents to prove their authorization before carrying out actions. This process, called "proof of control," can be achieved using technology developed by the crypto industry, including distributed ledgers and zero-knowledge proofs.

While some AI professionals may dismiss Wang's ideas as self-serving, as the Advanced AI Society includes several blockchain figures, it has already gained support from notable figures outside the crypto world, such as Bruce Schneier and Clay Shirky. Wang maintains that blockchain developers have a proven track record of creating decentralized, robust technology, citing Bitcoin as a notable example. She believes the AI industry should not dismiss blockchain technology too quickly.