# AI Advances Spotlight Blockchain’s New Role
Since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, artificial intelligence has emerged as a globally dominant technology. Tech giants known as the “Magnificent Seven” (Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Nvidia, Tesla, Meta) are all leveraging AI to innovate products, services, and to tap into new markets.
Some argue that this rapid growth of AI has sidelined blockchain technology. However, there are compelling opinions that integrating blockchain is crucial for the evolution of AI.
Forbes highlighted the insights of Anna Kazlauskas, co-founder of blockchain network Vana, who underscores the indispensable role of blockchain in the AI ecosystem. Kazlauskas contends that blockchain can democratize AI, redistributing power concentrated in a few hands back to the people.
Vana, a blockchain infrastructure project, aims to enable individuals to fully own and manage the data they contribute to AI systems. It has attracted investments from major cryptocurrency firms like Paradigm and Polychain.
Kazlauskas projects a future where the value of personal data increases with AI advancements. She envisions a server infrastructure that not only observes data utilization but also compensates data contributors fairly.
“Many big tech companies are currently collecting data across the internet to train AI models, putting individuals, who cannot propel AI advancement, at a disadvantage,” Kazlauskas pointed out.
Vana advocates for a network that protects personal data, supporting ‘self-hosted,’ ‘portable,’ and ‘monetizable’ data structures. The network plans to integrate these capabilities through its blockchain architecture.
Users can upload their data to Vana’s network via a blockchain wallet. This data is stored in an encrypted format within a Data Liquidity Pool, enabling peer-to-peer trading facilitated by Vana’s blockchain.
Vana’s network allows businesses, decentralized applications within the blockchain ecosystem, and researchers to access encrypted personal data on demand. This process creates a blockchain-based data transaction market driven by supply and demand.
“As AI grows, individual data will gain more value, and Vana’s network will help people maintain data ownership in a future dominated by AI,” Kazlauskas emphasized.
Vana’s testnet already hosts various data utilization DAOs. Kazlauskas noted ongoing activities involving data from platforms like Reddit, ChatGPT, and LinkedIn, aimed at making this data valuable to AI.
The internet today is drifting away from its initial decentralized structure. While data was once fragmented across global databases, it is now largely owned by a handful of centralized big tech companies. This centralization of data is further exacerbated by the rise of AI, as personal data managed by big tech fuels AI development, accelerating technological progress and deepening the existing data concentration.
The concept of personal data ownership offers a counterbalance to the monopolistic tendencies in AI development, promoting a blockchain-based network of ‘openness and collaboration’ instead of ‘dominance and control.’ Vana aims to create a user-centric AI data infrastructure, where individuals, not central institutions, hold their data.
Blockchain networks, unlike traditional ones, lack the exclusivity influenced by geography, capital, or credentials. This enables the creation of a genuinely ‘open-source AI,’ with a universally accessible data repository on a blockchain.
“AI is too powerful to be controlled by a few. Its benefits and ownership should be in the hands of all contributors,” said Kazlauskas.
Vana positions blockchain technology as the linchpin for developing a more inclusive global AI and data ecosystem. As AI continues to integrate into society, the role of blockchain in fostering a better future remains a crucial focal point.
