Key Takeaways:
- Ben Goertzel has promoted Decentralized AI since the 1990s. He believes AI should be open and not centrally controlled.
- Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) is AI that can think like humans. It might be here in 1-3 years, making its control very important.
- SingularityNET, led by Goertzel, is creating a decentralized market for AI services. It’s part of the ASI Alliance, the top open-source decentralized AGI project.
- Goertzel believes AGI needs to be decentralized from the start. This can stop monopolies and ensure it helps humanity, learning from how the internet became centralized.
- Early thoughts on decentralized systems, like decentralized money, show the long history behind concepts now powering Decentralized AI and AI and blockchain.
Thirty years ago, computer scientist Ben Goertzel had a groundbreaking idea. He started coding for Decentralized AI. At the time, the internet was young and open.
Goertzel believed artificial intelligence should be similar: open, shared, and not controlled by just one company. Today, AI is making huge leaps. Understanding Goertzel’s early vision for Decentralized AI is more important than ever.
Why did he believe in it so early? And what does it mean for us now that AI is becoming so powerful?
Ben Goertzel’s Vision: AI for Everyone, Not Just a Few
Ben Goertzel didn’t just want to build smart AI. He cared about how it would be controlled and who would benefit. For decades, he has strongly supported Decentralized AI.
His work continues to push this idea. He even thinks we are close to Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). This might happen in the next one to three years.
AGI isn’t like today’s AI. It can think, learn, and adapt much like a human. Imagine how AGI could change the world!
This makes it vital to decide who will guide AGI’s development. This decision is crucial for all of humanity.
Also read:
SingularityNET: Building a Decentralized AI Marketplace
So, how is Ben Goertzel AI ideas becoming real? SingularityNET is a key project. Think of it as a global, open market for AI services.
AI tools are often locked inside big tech companies. SingularityNET wants to change that. It aims to create a system where anyone can use, share, and build AI.
They’ve taken big steps to achieve this:
- They’re investing a lot (about $53 million!) in a special supercomputer. This computer is designed just for Decentralized AI. It’s not just about power. It’s about building the foundation for an open AI network.
- They’ve teamed up with others through the Artificial Superintelligence (ASI) Alliance. Goertzel founded this group in 2024. It includes Ocean Protocol and Fetch.ai after they merged their tokens. The ASI Alliance is now the world’s biggest open-source project for decentralized AGI. Their goal? To make sure super-intelligent AI is developed openly and together.
Goertzel feels that projects like SingularityNET and the ASI Alliance are rare. They are serious AGI research teams outside Big Tech. They are also unique in the crypto world, which is exploring more about AI and blockchain connections.
Why Decentralization? Learning from the Internet
You might ask, “Why focus so much on decentralization?” Goertzel says that in the early 1990s, it seemed obvious. The internet he used back then was naturally decentralized.
It was a network of networks, and no one owned it. So, he felt AI should be the same. He wrote his first Decentralized AI code in 1996 with an early Java version.
“I didn’t realize then,” Goertzel says, “that the internet would become so centralized.” He notes how companies like Google, Facebook, and Tencent built huge, central “mirrors” of the internet. These were hosted on their massive data centers.
This change took away some of the internet’s original openness. Now, with AGI on the horizon, Goertzel believes decentralization is essential. It’s a key safeguard.
It can stop a few powerful groups from controlling and misusing AGI. This idea is built into SingularityNET, its technology Hyperon, and the new ASI Chain. The ASI Chain is a special blockchain for Decentralized AI.
The main point is that AGI must be decentralized from the start to truly help everyone.
The Future of AGI: Open or Controlled?
The path AGI takes could greatly shape our future. Goertzel states, “The way the post-AGI period goes may be quite different depending on whether the decentralized ecosystem plays a role in it or not.” He and his teams are working hard.
They hope their open, decentralized method will be among the first to create true AGI. Their vision is for this powerful technology to serve everyone, not just a few powerful interests.
A Quick Look Back: Ideas of Decentralized Money
Interestingly, Goertzel had early anarchist ideas. He wanted to “make anarchism real in cyberspace.” In the 90s, he and his friends even thought about decentralized money.
They decided it wouldn’t work well. They thought transaction times would be too slow and costly. Decades later, Bitcoin appeared as the first successful decentralized money.
Goertzel finds it ironic that Bitcoin transactions can still be slow and expensive. So, his early doubts weren’t completely wrong. He also joked that they weren’t business-savvy enough back then.
They didn’t think of online markets for illegal goods, like Silk Road, which used early crypto. This little story shows how long the basic ideas behind AI and blockchain and decentralized systems have been around.
Conclusion
Ben Goertzel has supported Decentralized AI for decades. His consistent vision offers a powerful idea for AI’s future. We are getting closer to Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).
His work with SingularityNET and the ASI Alliance shows a way forward. It’s a path where this amazing technology can be developed openly. It can benefit everyone, not just a select few.
Understanding Decentralized AI is becoming very important for anyone interested in technology’s future.
What are your thoughts on the future of Decentralized AI? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
