...which is why blockchain and Web 3.0 are crucial.
Think about this for a moment: who is responsible for the Internet today? What companies come to mind?
If you are like me, the likes of Meta, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Twitter (X) probably come to mind. Guess who are some of the leading companies related to AI development.
The reason why I mention "broke the Internet" is because we moved away from a medium of freedom. Instead, we have a siloed system that is controlled by Big Tech. We cannot access our YouTube videos with our Meta account. The followers we amass on X do not appear on Instagram. Each company has accounts partitioned off, keeping the data separate.
Surveillance is the norm. Privacy non-existent. All power is in the hands of a handful of companies.
What would happen if Meta, X, Amazon, Google, and PayPal instantly disappeared? How much of the Internet (that people use) would be left?
Image generated by Ideogram
The Ones Who Broke The Internet Are Building AI
Do you trust Big Tech?
What have they done to warrant that? Meta is known for Cambridge Analytics. The social media platforms were all censoring information via instruction of the United States government. Careers were destroyed and money lost through this activity.
Speaking of businesses, how many went bankrupt overnight due to PayPal closing an account or Facebook changing an algorithm?
With great power comes great responsibility.
Can anyone state these companies behaved in a responsible manner?
AI, specificially generative, is one of the most powerful technologies we have seen. Many compare the need for safety with atomic technology. This shows how powerful it can be.
Are we willing to put it in the hands of entities that we do not trust?
Then we have government. In the United States, there is no accounting for the hundreds of billions that was sent to Ukraine. This is not new since the Pentagon is frequently "losing" billions of dollars.
Look at the leaders around the world, especially in the West. Whether it is a President, Prime Minister, or member of Congress/Parliament, do they strike you as people who have a clue about AI? Even worse, do you think they are concerned about what is best for humanity?
My view is AI is a cornerstone of Web 3.0. The next generation Internet will have AI woven throughout. AI agents will be the norm, eventually replacing website as the main component. This means the old hyperlinking structure will be eliminated.
If you thought Google had a lot of power due to search, consider what happens when a company controls the model that people are using.
The AI Race
There is a race taking place. What we are looking at is a numbers game.
Big Tech as the advantage due to the enormous amount of compute and data it is sitting on. Google probably has more data than any company in the world. It spend decades indexing the Internet.
Social media platforms, Meta and X, also have a ton of data. Google, through YouTube, is also in the game, compiling more of it on a daily basis as users engage.
For the most part, these are closed systems. Even Meta, which is an open source model, seeks to build a "closed" ecosystem similar to Android. While it is open for anyone to build upon, the majority of the value is pushed to that company. Meta is looking to replicate this.
That said, people are dependent upon someone doing the heavy lifting. Zuckerberg has the financial resources to amass the compute necessary to keep training the models. Smaller players cannot do this.
Open source allows a lot more people to enter. What is interesting is the entire online population is already in the game. Sadly, they are not focused upon the "freedom" aspect of things. Daily, billions of people provide data for Big Tech. While it is hard to get away from, few place anything outside its control.
As repeatedly stated, here is where blockchain enters. Decentralized, permissionless networks are crucial to the future. Data that is outside the control of Big Tech is a vital component.
Remember: Data + Algorithms + Compute = AI
If we are heading towards an AI future, we need to make sure the 3 factors are pulled from Big Tech. Data is one area where people can start the shift.
AI Tools
One of the key factors is the development of AI tools. This is already taking place. Unfortunately, it is being done by Big Tech, rolling out on their platforms.
The open source world needs to catch up. Here is where the numbers can turn. As more developers jump onto the bandwagon, tools roll out. The advantage to AI is it operates as a force multiplier. Anything that it does results in compounding.
AI tools from the open source world need to be accessible AND easy to use. The latter tends to be a problem for start ups. Big Tech, again, has the advantage of platforms that hundreds of millions know how to use. The learning curve is minimal.
Integration is easier when a decade old platform is the basis. The company can introduce features in stages, so as not to overwhelm the userbase.
This is why Web 3.0 platforms are crucial. So far, the entire industry is lagging on this end of things. While there are some financial applications that are popular, few would qualify as a digital platform in the traditional sense.
The Internet is primarly controlled by about 20 companies. When the next generation rolls out, there is the potential for this number to decrease to under 10. As we can see, the network effects could make for even more powerful corporations.
As always, it all starts with the data. This is the equalizer which could allow for other companies to put their hat in the ring. It is through the fragmentation process that Web 3.0 will emerge. Networks can become abundant.
The challenge is to ensure they are AI driven. If not, we will have a repeat of what went before.