AI and Web3: Dual Engines of Technological Growth or Idealized Narrative?

Author: far, Centreless

The combination of AI and Web3 is widely regarded as a core driving force behind the next technological revolution, but its actual impact and feasibility still require dialectical analysis from technical, economic, and social dimensions.

The following discusses the synergistic potential, current practices, and points of contention between the two.

The Underlying Logic of Technical Synergy

1. Complementarity: Reconstruction of Productive Forces and Production Relations

AI, as a "productive force tool," enhances efficiency through algorithm optimization, automated decision-making, and big data analysis; Web3, as a "producer of production relations," reshapes data ownership, trust mechanisms, and economic incentives through decentralized architecture. The combination of the two aims to address the centralized drawbacks of traditional AI (such as data monopolies and privacy breaches) and the practicality issues of Web3 (such as inefficient interactions and lack of killer applications).

Case: Decentralized AI computing networks (such as 0G Labs, IO.NET) reduce model training costs by integrating idle computing power globally while utilizing blockchain to ensure transparency in resource allocation.

2. Data Sovereignty and Privacy Protection

Web3's encryption technology and distributed storage (such as IPFS) provide a secure data-sharing framework for AI. For example, the Vana platform tokenizes user data through blockchain, allowing individuals to control data usage rights and profit from it, providing compliant data sources for AI training. Zero-Knowledge Machine Learning (ZKML) further ensures the verifiability of model inference, avoiding "black box" operations.

Breakthroughs and Limitations in Practice

1. Initial Implementation of Decentralized AI

Infrastructure Layer: Projects like DeAgentAI and Gaia Network have built distributed frameworks for multi-agent collaboration, supporting business automation and on-chain governance.

Application Layer: AI agents have penetrated DeFi (such as AIXBT market analysis), gaming (such as Narra's dynamic narrative generation), and social fields, with some projects incentivizing user participation through token economies.

Financial Innovation: X.Game Bitcoin futures combine AI algorithms to optimize trading strategies, utilizing smart contracts to enhance transparency, becoming a typical case of technological integration.

2. Technical Bottlenecks and Market Bubbles

Performance and Cost: The throughput limitations of blockchain conflict with the real-time demands of AI. For instance, decentralized computing networks may experience reduced training efficiency due to communication overhead.

Data Quality Dilemma: Decentralized data labeling markets (such as Public AI) rely on manual review, leading to low labeling efficiency and immature incentive mechanisms.

Pseudo-Demand Controversy: Some projects (such as meme coins combined with AI agents) are questioned as "hitching a ride on trends," lacking actual value support.

Controversies and Reflections: The Gap Between Ideal and Reality

1. Technological Idealism vs. Commercial Viability

The "decentralized faith" of Web3 conflicts with the "centralized efficiency" of AI. For example, the training of large language models (such as GPT-5) still relies on centralized computing power, while decentralized networks (such as Akash) have yet to prove their scalability.

2. Regulatory and Ethical Challenges

Compliance Risks: The anonymity of decentralized AI may exacerbate issues such as deepfakes and financial fraud, while existing legal frameworks struggle to cover on-chain behavior.

Power Transfer Paradox: Although Web3 advocates for user sovereignty, the complexity of technology may lead to resource concentration among a few developers, forming a new type of monopoly.

Future Outlook: Key Pathways from Narrative to Implementation

1. Prioritizing Technological Integration

• Short-term: Optimize intermediate layer technologies such as ZKML and edge computing to enhance the feasibility and efficiency of on-chain AI.

• Long-term: Build a complete Web3 AI stack to achieve full-process decentralization from data collection, model training to inference deployment.

2. The Necessity of Ecological Co-construction

Cross-domain collaboration is needed to address the issue of missing standards. For example, traditional public chains (such as Sui, Near) are upgrading their underlying architectures to support AI agent interactions, while academia (such as Hong Kong University of Science and Technology) promotes the integration of industry, academia, and research.

Conclusion

The combination of AI and Web3 has the potential to reshape technological paradigms, but whether its "dual-engine" status can be established depends on overcoming performance bottlenecks, pseudo-demand traps, and regulatory blind spots.

Currently, the two are more in a "narrative validation period," with some fields (such as decentralized computing and data sovereignty) showing initial value, but large-scale implementation still requires time. If technological iteration and ecological collaboration can continue to deepen, this combination may become the infrastructure of the digital society; otherwise, it may become an overhyped concept.