OKLink Research Institute 2024 Outlook: Web3 and AI Resonating to Ignite a Trustworthy Digital Society

Author: Bi Lianghuan, Chief Researcher at OKLink Research Institute

"AI is about to fundamentally change the way you use computers and disrupt the software industry." This headline by Bill Gates in an article last November attracted widespread attention.

It reminds me of a few years ago when blockchain technology was just starting to be widely discussed, and people often used the term "disruptive" to describe the potential of this technology. Looking back over the past few years, blockchain technology has evolved from the initial raw innovations like ERC20, zero-knowledge proofs, and BRC20, gradually developing into DeFi and DePIN, which integrate with other fields.

If the two are combined, could it produce a 1+1 greater than 2 effect?

At the beginning of last year, we proposed that super applications would be the key to mass adoption. This year, the focus of OKLink Research Institute is on the technological integration of AI and Web3, which, supported by a compliant environment, is expected to change the current user behavior habits of Web3, accelerate mass adoption, and jointly build a trustworthy digital society.

Figure: The integration of AI and Web3 technologies can help solve technical and application issues

Scalable Trust: The Foundation of a Trustworthy Digital Society

In a networked society filled with false information, Web3 has always been expected to evolve into a new value platform ecosystem, transforming the information platform of Web2. Imagine a platform where the flow of information is no longer threatened by misguidance and tampering. Economic activities on this value network platform become fairer and more transparent, with on-chain data clearly showcasing the value chain behind each transaction, making value transfer no longer a black box.

However, this development is constrained by the trade-off between decentralization, security, and scalability, forming an impossible triangle. Without scalability, it is challenging to build this new value platform. However, the introduction of AI is expected to help break this impossible triangle and promote Web3 in establishing a scalable and trustworthy digital society.

From a scalability perspective, the current Web3 ecosystem includes hundreds of blockchains, layer two networks, and application chains, but due to the lack of local communication capabilities with external systems, many "information islands" have formed. Technologies such as cross-chain bridges, atomic swaps, relay chains, and sidechains have been proposed as solutions. However, these solutions are not easily accessible to the general user. By introducing intelligent agents with autonomous decision-making and execution capabilities, i.e., AI Agents, which simulate and play human roles, users can choose the most suitable cross-chain solutions, breaking down the "information islands" between different blockchains and providing a better cross-chain experience.

From a security perspective, AI can help enhance the security of Web3 systems. Through real-time monitoring and analysis, AI can promptly detect and respond to potential security threats, effectively protecting users' assets and privacy. In addition to using AI as an efficiency tool, such as accelerating code audits and enhancing security reviews during coding, the blockchain large language model proposed by Berkeley RDI is a new direction that has garnered significant attention in academia. It aims to provide an infinite search space, unrestricted by predefined rules or patterns, allowing for the direct detection of a broader range of anomalies.

Figure: A simplified product design diagram of the blockchain large language model

Source: Berkeley RDI

Technology Integration Grants AI Trust

To build a trustworthy digital society, having a scalable and secure Web3 is not enough; what if AI itself goes wrong? A survey initiated by Ernst & Young shows that among the surveyed enterprises, 90% are still in the early stages of AI maturity, with only 4% reaching the most advanced stage. Low trust and concerns about the potential risks of AI have become major obstacles to accelerating AI adoption.

Low trust mainly stems from two aspects: one is that the information used to train AI is incorrect, and the other is that the training information is centralized and manipulable. However, Web3 technology can greatly benefit the trustworthiness of AI:

Web3 technology, leveraging the notarization function of blockchain, can help us combat AI's misinformation. For example, content developers can hash (Note 1) articles or videos, similar to creating digital fingerprints, ensuring that each piece of content is unique. Subsequently, the digital fingerprint is recorded on the blockchain and signed with a public key, ensuring the content's authenticity and integrity.

The integration of AI and Web3 is expected to provide new avenues for improving privacy and data ownership by offering decentralized data storage and management through blockchain technology, allowing users to have control and visibility over their data, providing alternatives for large-scale cloud development, and reducing the monopoly of centralized cloud service providers. In the future, some centralized cloud service providers may choose to collaborate with the Web3 ecosystem to integrate new technologies and services.

Once fundamental technical limitations are improved under the integration of Web3 and AI, the foundation for establishing a trustworthy digital society will be laid. A scalable Web3 will empower individuals. Around the individual economy, the application layer of Web3 and AI will present limitless potential. In this new ecosystem, individuals can directly participate in economic activities, having more control over their data and assets. Everyone can engage in innovative business models through AI-assisted smart contracts, digital identities, and other technologies, achieving a fairer and more transparent economic system. This emerging economic model will promote creativity and personalization, bringing more opportunities and fairness to society.

Figure: The multi-layer structure of multi-chain Web3

Bringing Web3 Back to "Human-Centric"

The user experience of Web3 is fundamentally different from that of AI. Large language models built by GenAI, such as ChatGPT, have gained immense popularity, attracting the first million users in just five days. However, for Web3, despite a range of professional and leading products and platforms available in the market, the number of adopters remains relatively low. Although compliance-driven recognition has increased among institutions in 2023, it has not rapidly exploded on the user side like ChatGPT.

User experience is one of the main reasons for the disparity in adoption rates between Web3 and AI at the user level. Compared to the operation where "users only need to input a conversation to use," understanding Web3 wallets, familiarizing oneself with addresses and keys that differ from bank card numbers, still poses challenges for Web3 in terms of interaction, speed, and usability. However, the emergence of AI can effectively improve this user experience, complementing Web3 and even becoming one of its main users.

By introducing AI Agents at the application layer, cumbersome processes can be designed in the background by AI Agents and presented and interacted with in a user-friendly manner in the foreground. For example, simplifying certain steps that differ in timeliness from traditional finance or Web2: using digital signatures for encrypted proof, generating signatures with known private keys of the creator, and verifying them with public keys.

By introducing AI Agents, the threshold for Web3 is lowered, bringing it back to a "human-centric" approach, allowing the application experience of Web2 to continue. Moreover, with the addition of AI, as Bill Gates mentioned, it could disrupt the software industry, changing human usage habits and lifestyles.

In the future, users may only need an accurate question or instruction when using DApps.

Figure: Flowchart of AI Agent

Individuals as Teams: AI and Web3 Unleash Human Creativity

In addition to increasing the ease of use of DApps and lowering the barriers for ordinary users, GenAI technology is another boost for the large-scale adoption of Web3 at the user level. From the initial text-to-image tool Midjourney to the current video generation tools like Runaway and PIKA, GenAI provides users with a fast and low-cost way to realize their imagination. In previous fields like Metaverse and GameFi, the biggest challenge in product development was not the code, but aspects involving art, game design, and character setting.

The integration of GenAI technology with Web3 technology will greatly accelerate the Metaverse. Web3 provides different rewards for character relationships, especially in games, connecting games with the outside world and improving operational efficiency, forming its own economic system. AI offers speed and diversity in virtual creation and content generation for the Metaverse. In addition to images, videos, and audio, users can create intelligent NPCs and virtual characters using GenAI, making the interactivity and immersion of the Metaverse more realistic. For GameFi, the generation and design of game content can leverage GenAI technology, enabling developers to create game items, scenes, and characters more quickly, providing personalized gaming experiences. These applications make fields like the Metaverse and GameFi more creative and attractive.

All of this allows an individual to act as a team; the fusion of the two technologies can liberate human energy in "how to do" aspects, thereby unleashing human creativity. In the future, the deep integration of Web3 and AI will give rise to a smarter and more innovative digital society. Individuals will become creators and artists, and with Web3 empowering individuals further, they will not need large teams, allowing creativity to flourish freely, ushering in a golden age of global creativity. Everyone will be able to shape their own Metaverse. This future is not just about technology; it is a milestone for humanity to redefine creation, sharing, and connection.

The future we envision is one where trust issues will gradually be resolved, user experiences will be more friendly, and individuals will be empowered with more rights and efficiency tools. Imagine such a digital world, which will redefine our way of life. In 2024, the integration of AI and Web3 will undoubtedly become the dual engines of the trustworthy digital era, unleashing everyone's infinite potential.

Note 1: Hashing is an algorithm that converts data of arbitrary length into a fixed-length string. A hash function maps input data to a fixed-length hash value, which is typically unique, with different inputs producing different hash values. This transformation process is one-way, meaning the original input data cannot be restored from the hash value.