tl;dr
Andreessen Horowitz's crypto division, a16z, advocates for integrating blockchain technology with artificial intelligence to promote user ownership, open standards, and innovation. Their report suggests using self-custodial wallets to store AI context and preferences, enabling seamless access withou...
Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto division, a16z, champions the integration of blockchain technology with artificial intelligence to empower user ownership, decentralized identity, and secure micropayments, thereby fostering open standards and reducing reliance on centralized cloud providers. Their vision includes using self-custodial wallets to store AI context and preferences, allowing seamless access without repeated retraining across platforms.
The report proposes a blockchain-based identity layer to verify user and agent credentials while employing proof-of-personhood systems to mitigate bot interference as generative AI expands. It advocates decentralized physical infrastructure (DePIN) networks that aggregate idle computing power, like gaming PCs and data centers, transforming them into permissionless marketplaces and lessening dependence on major cloud providers. Furthermore, on-chain synchrony layers would automatically align AI codebases, incentivizing developers through tokenized protocols and automated vulnerability rewards.
Micropayments could be executed on low-fee blockchains to fairly remunerate data sources and AI services, with mechanisms to manage web crawler access by requiring bots to post token deposits while allowing free browsing for verified humans. Immutable ledgers would track data usage and route royalties to content publishers, ensuring transparent intellectual property management via public on-chain registries and smart contract licensing, effectively automating royalty payments and controlling derivative usage.
Advertising models could leverage privacy-preserving, wallet-based zero-knowledge proofs to target users with minimal demographic disclosure, compensating them for their attention. Looking ahead, AI services such as tutors, health aides, and companionship bots are envisioned to operate under user control through censorship-resistant blockchains and sophisticated wallets, safeguarding privacy and data sovereignty. Optimistic and zero-knowledge coprocessors might provide the capacity needed for long-term AI relationships that store memories on-chain.
Overall, the report asserts that the fusion of blockchain and AI is crucial for maintaining an open internet by embedding incentives, provenance, and governance directly into the protocol layer, fundamentally reshaping how AI systems serve and empower their users.