Chris Dixon's latest view: In 2025, blockchain will further "decentralize" the AI-driven internet

Original Title: Blockchain Innovation Will Put an AI-Powered Internet Back Into Users' Hands

Author: Chris Dixon, Founding Partner at a16z Crypto

Translated by: Hailsman, ChainCatcher

Doomsayers are wrong. Artificial intelligence will not destroy the world— but it will destroy the internet as we know it.

AI has disrupted the internet economic contract that has existed since the advent of search: a few companies (primarily Google) create demand, while creators provide supply (and earn some ad revenue or recognition from it). AI tools have generated and summarized content, eliminating the need for users to click through to content provider websites, thus breaking the balance.

Meanwhile, the proliferation of AI-driven deepfakes and bots will lead us to question what is real and diminish trust in the online world. As we enter the AI era, large tech companies with the power to handle vast amounts of data and computational capabilities will continue to invest in AI, becoming even more powerful by monopolizing resources, making the already closed-off parts of the internet even more so.

Technological advancement is inevitable. My call to attention is not to shout that the sky is falling or to hinder progress. We need to help individual users gain some control over their digital lives. Thoughtful government regulation may help, but it often slows innovation. A one-size-fits-all solution may create as many problems as it solves. And let’s face it, users are not going to give up their online lives.

Major technological movements often progress in tandem—think of the rise of social media, cloud computing, and mobile computing in the 21st century. This time is no different: AI needs blockchain-supported computing.

Why? First, blockchain can enforce ownership. Blockchain can make credible commitments regarding property, spending, and power. A decentralized network of computers (not big companies or other centralized intermediaries) verifies transactions, ensuring that rules and records cannot be changed without consensus. Smart contracts automate and enforce these ownership rights, creating a system that ensures transparency, security, and trust, allowing users to fully control and own their digital lives. For creators, this means they can decide how others (including AI systems) can use their works.

Another fundamental ownership that blockchain can enforce is identity. If your identity is what you claim it to be, you can sign a cryptographic statement to prove it. We can carry our identities online without relying on third parties. On-chain identity can also help distinguish real users from bots and impersonators. In the 1990s, nobody on the internet knew if you were a dog or a bot. Now, people can know exactly whether you are a dog or a bot. By 2025, due to advancements in these technologies, I expect to see more "proof of humanity" on the internet.

By 2025, blockchain will be used to create tamper-proof records of original digital content, becoming a fortress against deepfakes. When creating videos, photos, or recordings, blockchain can provide and store a unique digital fingerprint. Any changes to the content will alter that signature, making tampering easily detectable. Blockchain can also store metadata and verification proofs from trusted sources, further ensuring the authenticity of content.

Finally, by 2025, blockchain will help realize the internet's original ideals, promoting a more creative, open, and diverse web. Currently, users rely on a few internet giants—these giants have invested heavily in AI (and are lobbying for regulations to keep smaller competitors out). Once-open websites and applications have added paywalls, restricted or shut down APIs, deleted archives, edited past content without permission, and added intrusive banners and ads.

By 2025, blockchain alternatives will offer more choices, open-source innovations, and community-controlled options. They will carry the torch for an open internet. Cryptocurrency will begin to take power away from large tech companies and return it to users.