The relationship between blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI)

What can blockchain technologies and artificial intelligence have in common and can they be blended together for the sake of satisfaction and joy? Certainly they can and several steps have already been made along this path. The question is – how exactly.

The integration of blockchain and AI reveals new business models, enhances operational efficiency, helps to take off repetitive routine from individuals and improve security, transparency and trust in decision-making, data exchange and other infrastructure and economic processes. This integration shows potential benefits compared to traditional business applications and other novel schemes. Combination of AI capabilities with secure decentralized blockchain technology can transform a wide variety of industries.

Every collaboration has its pros and cons, and the relationship between blockchain technologies and artificial intelligence is no exception, with its unique benefits and challenges.

All AI-blockchain projects are revolutionary and promise unprecedented results. Blockchain offers higher transparency, operation efficiency and simpler and more secure access to information, which leads to the increase of popularity and public trust. In turn, AI-based algorithms help to better understand the processes and tasks on the blockchain. The AI’s ability to learn and evolve open opportunities of constant improvement and innovation. Blockchain and AI improve each other’s capabilities, offering higher flexibility and efficiency. On a side note, encryption is one of the main advantages of both structures, leading to a cumulative security enhancement. AI offers improved algorithms creation using encrypted data only, and blockchain helps in understanding and explaining AI solutions. 

However, there are some issues. Artificial intelligence sometimes has problems with data collecting, especially when it needs to connect to different parties’ databases to do so. Thus, interoperability is key, and there must be standards established for increasing connectivity and ensuring compatibility between the technologies. Another challenge is data privacy and user privacy standards, which need to be upheld to maintain user trust during the integration of AI and blockchain. Unfortunately, public awareness of the benefits associated with integration AI and blockchain is very low. Spreading the knowledge of the benefits and risks of this process can help to increase public trust and demand for AI-based systems with blockchain security mechanisms.

Use cases

What are possible use cases, where potential benefits of integrating artificial intelligence and blockchain technologies can be found?

• Security. Blockchain decentralized infrastructure can protect AI systems, acting as encryption-based guardians. Such built-in safeguards cut down the possibility of misuse. Particular parameters are encoded, and private keys enforce security conditions with the help of tamper-proof decentralized infrastructure. The security and decentralized nature of blockchain systems help to reduce the number of possible attack vectors, increase AI application security and maintain high standards owing to cryptographic guarantees which allow exploring the whole potential of AI.
• Authenticity verification. The capabilities of AI deep learning models are profound and they can increase and supercharge human creativity, but also lead to risk of spreading misinformation and manipulation of public opinion. Blockchain technologies, blended with AI, can help to validate image, test and video authenticity by verifying cryptographically where each piece of content originates from and if it was altered somehow. Cryptographic watermarking may be also used for tamper-proof timestamping and authenticity verification. AI-blockchain platforms allow content creators and other users to establish trust and ensure that video, text or other types of media are authentic and underpinned by transparent and feasible history.
• Data analysis. The large-scale analytics, where blockchain is involved, tends to use machine learning models as it is necessary to work with vast amounts of data. Artificial intelligence helps to speed up the process and optimize calculation for algorithms in consensus processes on a blockchain (such as mining), decreasing latency and computing requirements for the nodes.
• Finance. AI models can be useful in the field of decentralized finance. They can use DeFi as a layer of economy to perform tasks and actions based on predetermined instructions. AI models can carry out interconnected loops of transactions avoiding the involvement of intermediaries and reducing the need to rely on bulky paper-based traditional financial systems. AI-powered investment strategies in DeFi applications offer innovative financial services supported by secure and transparent infrastructure. Moreover, the combination of AI and blockchain technologies can offer automated compliance and fraud detection carried out by machine learning algorithms.
• Healthcare. Blockchain technology can help to store sensitive data, which AI models use for health data analysis, recurring patterns identification and precise diagnostics. Encryption techniques allow running computations without compromising personal data. The combination of AI and blockchain in the field of healthcare helps to improve data management, security and privacy, making storage and sharing of sensitive information (such as patients’ records, medical research data, etc.) easier and more reliable. Thus, healthcare and longevity researchers can collaborate more effectively while being away from each other, and at the same time meet high data security standards.
• Transparency. Current deep learning models, being too complex, are usually far from being transparent in their decision making process. The inherent transparency of blockchain can solve this problem. It can facilitate data recording and make it more convenient and transparent, allowing AI models to provide clear frameworks for their operations.
• Data storage. The amounts of data AI deals with are usually enormous. Blockchain-based systems can preserve training data and ensure its accurate provenance later. Blockchain-based storage solutions help to enhance the security and reliability of AI systems on the one hand and provide transparency and public trust on the other.
• Smart contracts. The emergence of AI-assisted development tools significantly increased the productivity of smart contract developers. Smart contract apps infused with AI-powered API (providing generative models, sentiment analysis, etc.) can give birth to a new generation of applications. In games development, AI can enable game designers to generate game worlds, assets, NPCs, events and code game mechanics using natural language and generative models. Games can be created by groups of enthusiasts by means of open-source code and AI technologies.

Project examples

The interest in AI and blockchain integration based projects is constantly growing. Some companies are ready to apply and benefit from this integration and there are several symbiotic projects already available on the market. Among the most attractive and popular are the following:

• SingularityNET. One of the leading AI-blockchain projects, playing an active role in the creation of a decentralized AI market. SingularityNET was developed initially as a global network for AI algorithms and it can help to stimulate the investments in the AI sphere as a trading platform. The platform helps developers and companies to create their projects and sell tools, data, services and algorithms. In other words, it helps to cover the gap between the developers of AI instruments and possible customers and companies, in accordance with particular goals. It can also help with projects which require processing huge data amounts.
• DeepBrain Chain. It is a kind of decentralized computing AI platform with high economic efficiency and guarantees of confidentiality. It functions as a decentralized neural network based on blockchain technology. It is famous as one of the best sources for decentralized cloud computations, which supports AI project development. It can also serve as a reliable platform for data trading, providing an increase of data value and privacy by means of distributed data storage. 
• Thought AI. A unique blend of AI and blockchain technologies, combining analytical AI approach with blockchain. It unites data and logic and creates efficient and useful AI solutions. It helps to adjust AI to a certain business scale, reduce the development time and operate projects efficiently.
• BlackBird.AI. One of the best solutions for content analysis, detecting and reducing the amount of fake news based on an integrated AI-blockchain framework. It uses AI to filter and classify the content on the basis of certain factors and identifiers which also help to detect signs and distinguish hatred, insult, fake information or satire.
• Matrix AI. A specific project including features related to dynamic delegation networks, intellectual contracts with automated coding, blockchain adaptative parameters and blockchain-based AI security. It uses an AI-based secure virtual machine, which helps to detect possible loopholes and suspicious behavior, helping to increase the security and reliability level.
• Core Scientific. A solution which helps to integrate blockchain and AI infrastructure with business networks by upgrading physical infrastructure, servers and software. Its facilities were created for long-term asset mining and hashrate maximization. It ensures company data centers reach optimal efficiency levels and reduce time and energy consumption.
• Bext360. A very peculiar project, which uses integration of blockchain and AI to boost transparency and efficiency in coffee, timber, seafood and mineral industries. AI helps to analyze crops and predict growing patterns and weather conditions, measuring coffee beans quality. Blockchain technology is responsible for the recording of product supply chain, the farms and bean shipment and works as a payment ledger.
• Dobby. With a funny and familiar name and respectable power under the hood, this is a home service platform for homeowners who are looking for maintenance or renovation. It helps to connect possible customers with local services of maintenance and repair. An AI and blockchain blend make the data exchange quicker and reduce expenses.
• Hannah Systems. A special project for autonomous vehicles. It includes a data-exchange platform, powered by AI, a real-time mapping tool and an insights dashboard. It helps a vehicle to absorb, interpret and store the data securely. Moreover, its deep learning can predict the road information based on human behavior in the street and take note of current weather conditions and traffic situation.