Illia Polosukhin, co-founder of NEAR Protocol, recently took center stage at the 2024 Hong Kong Web3 Festival to deliver a keynote during the event.
NEAR Protocol Co-Founder: Pioneering AI and Web3 Integration
During the 2024 Hong Kong Web3 Festival, Illia Polosukhin, NEAR Protocol’s co-founder, discussed AI’s connection with Web3 technologies. He drew from his experience in AI development, including work with Google’s TensorFlow and transformative models like Transformers, to explain NEAR Protocol’s origins and its role in AI’s evolution today.
His journey from Google Research, where he specialized in natural language understanding, to the birth of NEAR Protocol, was driven by a fundamental challenge: locating the most viable and affordable payment solution for a global AI data tagging workforce. Moreover, this requirement for inclusivity, particularly for people who don’t have access to traditional banking services, was the impetus that sparked the investigation of the blockchain technology which led to the emergence of NEAR Protocol as a viable solution.
Transparency and Accountability in AI Development
Polosukhin discussed technological advancements that have elevated AI, like word embeddings introduced in 2013, greatly enhancing deep learning models. He also highlighted the limitations of Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs) and the subsequent introduction of powerful models like Transformers, which process computations concurrently, enabling AI scalability.
The focus on decentralized infrastructure was the highlight of the speech with the speaker raising the issue of centralized AI models that can be manipulated and are biased. However, He argued for the adoption of transparent and accountable AI development processes, incorporating cryptographic methods and blockchain-based reputation systems into the Web3 network.
A Glimpse into the Future: Illia Polosukhin Vision of Open and Transparent AI
The NEAR co-founder pushed the idea of the future where the AI models would be decentralized and running on user devices with the user expectations in mind but still maintaining the autonomy. In a nutshell, this decentralized system, which employs verifiable criteria and open-source principles, can usher a new age of AI governance which will be fair and open to all within the Web3 ecosystem.
Moreover, the co-founder focused on different approaches of AI applications, from zero-shot learning to reinforcement learning optimization, and showed the possibility of AI interaction with the blockchain and real world entities. Moreover, he stated an obvious choice between a closed AI system, which is controlled by the few and an open, decentralized future, which is powered by Web3 technologies.
At The End
Polosukhin’s keynote at the 2024 Hong Kong Web3 Festival highlighted NEAR Protocol’s commitment to realizing this vision of an integrated AI and Web3 landscape. As he simply summarized it by saying: “AI is NEAR,” inviting the community to engage with NEAR’s initiatives aimed at fostering a more equitable, transparent, and innovative digital ecosystem where AI and Web3 technologies thrive in harmony.
