Decentralized technologies have long promised a more open alternative to systems controlled by powerful corporations. Nowhere is this vision more consequential than in the realm of artificial intelligence, where a few tech giants have come to dominate development and applications. However, three projects are seeking to change this landscape by merging their efforts into an unprecedented alliance for decentralized AI.
Fetch.ai, SingularityNET and Ocean Protocol are decentralized networks building infrastructure for artificial intelligence without centralized control. Each was founded with a mission to establish open protocols and standards that enable transparent and collaborative development of advanced technologies.
Now, in a move that could reshape the AI landscape, these three platforms have agreed to consolidate their native cryptocurrency tokens into a single currency, $ASI, and form a combined entity to oversee coordinated development of their decentralized networks.
Proponents argue this alliance will create the world's largest open infrastructure for AI, presenting a viable alternative to systems controlled by corporate behemoths. However, such a vast consolidation also raises important questions.
Through technical, economic and philosophical lenses, I will use this essay to provide a critical examination of the merger's goals and potential impacts. Specifically, it will analyse challenges and opportunities around establishing shared global infrastructure at such scale, as well as implications for innovation, markets and human autonomy in an increasingly artificial and intelligent world.
Platform Goals and AI Landscape
Each of the three platforms merging to form this decentralized AI alliance began with distinct visions, yet shared a common goal of establishing more open and collaborative development of advanced technologies.
Fetch.ai envisioned a network of economic agents powered by artificial intelligence that autonomously exchange data and services without centralized control or intermediaries. This vision was aimed at bringing greater efficiency and fairness to distributed systems through self-organizing networks of AI.
SingularityNET similarly sought to build decentralized infrastructure for AI, but with a focus on ensuring the techniques and data that enable intelligence are openly accessible on a global scale. Their goal was to spread the benefits of advanced AI through transparent protocols that allow anyone to contribute or utilize machine learning components.
Ocean Protocol took a slightly different approach by developing blockchain-based data sharing technologies to make privately held data available for training AI models, while preserving security, privacy and ownership.
Each platform recognized that for open, decentralized systems to compete with the walled gardens constructed by tech giants, unprecedented scale and coordination would be needed. As AI has rapidly advanced, a handful of corporations have come to dominate the field through proprietary techniques and exclusive access to vast troves of customer data. This concentration of power raises valid concerns about transparency, oversight and equitable access in an age where new technologies of intelligence will transform nearly every sector and aspect of society.
By merging networks, development efforts and aligned cryptocurrency incentives, this alliance hopes to establish the first infrastructure-level solution capable of rivalling the scale and resources of corporate behemoths.
However, integrating diverse blockchains and coordinating contributions from individuals and organizations around the world presents immense technical challenges that must be overcome to realize this ambitious vision.
The Meat and Potatoes
The three platforms have agreed to combine their native cryptocurrency tokens - $FET, $AGIX and $OCEAN respectively - into a new unified token called ASI.
$ASI will have a total initial supply of around 2.63 billion tokens, with the individual tokens of each project converting to $ASI at set rates. SingularityNET's AGIX and Ocean Protocol's OCEAN will convert at a rate of around 0.433 tokens per 1 ASI.
The starting price of ASI was announced as $2.82, which based on total supply gives the combined market capitalization of the new token a fully diluted valuation of approximately $7.5 billion.
The goal of the merger is to create a large, integrated decentralized infrastructure for artificial intelligence development that can rival the scale of centralized systems controlled by big tech firms like Google, Microsoft and Amazon.
Economic and Market Impacts
This $7.5 billion market cap would make ASI one of the largest network tokens by value. For context, it would surpass tokens like Polygon and Uniswap which have struggled to reach $10 billion in recent bear markets. Such a large valuation from the start signals high expectations around the alliance's potential to realize its vision of an open, decentralized alternative to proprietary centralized AI systems.
However, the high initial valuation leaves little room for organic price growth and brings added volatility risks if the project underdelivers. For investors and token holders, the consolidation simplifies portfolio management but also means tying fortunes to the success or failure of a single, immense initiative. That being said, unifying economic incentives around a common currency could help drive more coordinated development.
For those contributing data, models or computational resources to the merged networks, the consolidation offers a standardized way to participate across platforms through a single token. But it also means any one participant's impact on the overall ecosystem and ability to capture value is more diluted.
Furthermore, centralization of governance presents additional risks if closed or contentious decision making emerges over time.
In Conclusion,
Each platform began with ambitious goals to establish open, decentralized infrastructure for advanced AI. However, the immense scale required to truly compete in this field has driven an unprecedented consolidation.
The alliance's vision promises a viable alternative to proprietary systems like OpenAI and Google Gemini that could help spread AI's benefits globally through transparent, collaborative development. Yet integrating diverse blockchains and coordinating worldwide contributions presents colossal technical challenges.
Meanwhile, consolidating into a $7.5 billion market entity introduces economic risks and centralizes influence I find a little find concerning.
Philosophically, the merger epitomizes tensions between open-source ideals and centralized control of powerful technologies. As AI's societal impacts intensify, moderating its development to protect human values like autonomy, privacy and access will grow ever more paramount. Whether this alliance can balance transparency and accountability over the long run may influence if future advanced intelligence is primarily guided by a few platforms or many diverse contributors.
While the goals of establishing open decentralized AI infrastructure are laudable, realizing such ambitions at global scale poses multifaceted obstacles and trade-offs requiring ongoing prudent navigation. Success or failure in overcoming these challenges could profoundly impact both the future of AI and models for developing consequential new technologies.
I hope you found this exploration of the merger of these crypto AI titans insightful. Please share this essay with others who may find its analysis thought-provoking. You can also subscribe for updates on this evolving story and more discussions at the cutting edge of finance's digital transformation.
