# Accelerators vs. Game Changers

*The Difference between AI and Crypto*

By [Jer979](https://paragraph.com/@jer979) · 2023-03-31

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AI and ChatGPT are the new, cool "it" technologies.

Meanwhile, Web3/crypto is the ugly stepchild. It's on the regulatory ropes and has a ton of brand baggage.

I've spent the last 7 years in crypto, dedicated to the values that lay at its core, enamored by the innovative technologies, and excited by the possibilities.

Since I began by [Career Gap](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jer979) and [Operation Florence](https://mirror.xyz/0x7201079Be2BDD71CbE9B999373752E731139fe33/K3nd44zoDLbk0u3RyJUtlO0x6BBNylubcgVRhHkyoYY) following my tour of duty as CMO at [Radix](https://www.radixdlt.com), I have spent days upon days going deep into the AI world. This list of [100 AI tools](https://joinsuperhuman.notion.site/The-Ultimate-100-AI-Tools-568436f72af7490cadfc13338f245435) hasn't made it any easier, that's for sure.

But here's the thing about AI (in its current form) vs. crypto.

AI is an accelerator.

It will help us do the things we have done at exponentially greater speeds. You could argue, fairly, that this in and of itself is a game changer. So maybe the title of this post is entirely wrong, but here's where I see the difference so far (and perhaps it's too myopic) between crypto and AI.

AI accelerates work as we know it and perhaps changes the paradigms surrounding work (where, how, when, and who)...none of which are to be dismissed.

But crypto, as the economic foundational layer, alters the underlying _business models_ that are possible.

This is what [Fred Wilson discussed back in 2006](https://avc.com/2006/04/technical_innov/) as the difference between technical and business model innovation and it has greatly influenced my thinking.

At the end of the day, ChatGPT is amazing, but it's business model is a freemium one.

Nothing new to see here.

Netflix disrupted Blockbuster because it was a business model innovation (enabled by a technical innovation).

Crypto + AI, yes. That's the sweet spot...even if today it feels separate and far off.

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*Originally published on [Jer979](https://paragraph.com/@jer979/accelerators-vs-game-changers)*