A Crypto Solution for an AI World

Last week I was listening to Max Tegmark, a physicist and AI researcher, on the Lex Fridman Podcast and it got me thinking about how crazy the world is about to get in the next 2-5 years. (watch the episode here: https://youtu.be/VcVfceTsD0A)

There are several trends that are happening in parallel that I’ll try to weave together so that you can see what I’m talking about.

The Human Brain’s Limitations 🧠

Our brains were not designed to understand exponential growth intuitively. We’re used to thinking linearly because that’s how our brains evolved. Our ancestors were able to hunt with bows and arrows because an animal running away from you runs at a linear speed. Understanding linear thinking is what kept us alive.

If you get paid $1 today, $2 tomorrow, and $3 the day after that … you can intuit that on day 30, you’ll get paid $30.

Whereas if you did the same thing but applied exponential growth, on day 30 you would get paid $536,870,912!

Exponential growth is rare in nature. That’s why COVID-19 (and other pandemics in history) caught us off guard.

Moore’s Law 📈

Moore’s Law states that every 2 years, the amount of transistors on a computer doubles. This has been true for the past 50 years!

I remember back in the late 90s and early 2000s when my friends and I would compete for new computers. Each time one of us upgraded our computers, it would literally be 2x better than the year before. Back then a faster PC meant a significant advantage in every game (no lag!).

The advances don’t FEEL like that now but just look at how good iPhone cameras got in 10 years.

Artificial Intelligence 🧠

The main limitation of AI in the past has been computing power and data. All of those limitations are gone now. As we throw more compute and data at AI, the better it’s going to get.

Almost every single piece of software you use in the next few years will have AI embedded into it (just like every business has to use the internet in some form).

And who wouldn’t want to use it? Things that used to take you days or weeks can now be done in hours.

While that sounds great, it also amplifies the bots, trolls, and disinformation campaigns that are weaponized against us.

Dangers of AI 🤖

With generative AI, it’s possible to create a fake video of the president endorsing a candidate just days before an election. Even if the video is discovered to be a fake later on, the damage would have already been done.

You will be flooded with highly believable misinformation campaigns that are hyper-targeted to your beliefs. In a world like this, how are you supposed to know if the content you’re watching is real or AI-generated?

Proof-of-Humanity 🤝

The way we prove we’re human today is by completing a CAPTCHA test.

It’s not long before AI can easily spoof these kinds of tests. We’re gonna need something better.

Crypto seems like it was purpose-built for a problem like this. But to do this, we will need digital identities.

With blockchains and a crypto wallet, you can create an “Internet Passport” that serves as your identity across many platforms (like sign-in with Google). Registering an internet passport will require some form of verification to prove you are a human. Let’s not get into HOW we do that for now.

But once you have your passport, you’ll be able to sign every single tweet, youtube video, email, etc. with your signature to prove that the message is coming from you.

The best part is that it would be impossible to spoof because your signature is verifiable on the blockchain.

What would signing everything do? It would separate your content from all of the bots and spam. Another benefit of having Proof of Humanity crypto wallets is the introduction of trust scores.

This concept of trust scores could be extended to other areas as well, such as journalism, scientific research, or even reviews of products and services. Imagine a world where the credibility of information is based on the trust score of the person sharing it, making it harder for misinformation to spread.

One potential downside to this system could be the risk of creating a trust-based hierarchy that might lead to new forms of discrimination or exclusion. To mitigate this, there could be mechanisms in place to ensure fairness and provide opportunities for people to rebuild their trust score if it gets damaged.

The Challenges Ahead ⚡

Implementing a Proof of Humanity system would require a significant shift in how we use the internet and manage our online identities. Privacy and security concerns would have to be addressed, as well as the logistics of creating a universally accepted standard for this digital passport. This would involve collaboration between governments, technology companies, and users themselves.

The Cambridge Analytica scandal of 2015 was just a precursor of what’s to come. As we venture into a world of rapidly advancing technology and artificial intelligence, the need for reliable and verifiable information becomes crucial. These technologies have the potential to reshape our entire society.

However, this transformation will not be easy for many (humans hate change). To ensure a positive future, we must work together to create an inclusive, fair, and secure framework for digital identity and trust management.

The next 2-5 years will undoubtedly bring exciting developments and new possibilities, but we must also be prepared to address the risks and ethical concerns that arise along the way.

That’s it for this week!

If you liked this, do me a solid and forward it to someone who would be interested in learning about Web3. It’s the best way you can help grow The Crypto Bootcamp!

Thanks,
Kesh