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The world of artificial intelligence is buzzing with excitement as OpenAI and Google showcase their latest advancements in generative AI. OpenAI’s recent demo hinted at new features for its wildly popular ChatGPT, including a potential voice assistant. Not to be outdone, Google flexed its AI muscles at its annual I/O 2024 Keynote, promising breakthroughs in search, voice assistants, and Pixel devices.
While these developments are undeniably thrilling, the concentration of such powerful technology in the hands of a few tech giants raises important questions and concerns.
Google and OpenAI’s Latest Moves
OpenAI’s event gave us a tantalizing glimpse into the future of ChatGPT. The company, backed by Microsoft, introduced a search function, further blurring the lines between traditional search engines (like Google) and AI-powered chatbots.
However, Google is hot on Microsoft’s tail, showing the world how generative AI can revolutionize its entire ecosystem, from search to hardware, such as its Pixel smartphone and Nest home devices.
Both companies are locked in a high-stakes battle to become users’ go-to source for instant answers, collaboration, images, and all manner of assistance.
The tech world has seen this kind of arms race before: In the early days of the Internet, search engines like Yahoo and Ask Jeeves competed fiercely for dominance, with Google emerging as the undisputed victor. That win secured Google’s control over the Web — and brought in staggering profits.
The company now pays Apple more than $20 billion annually to be the default search provider on iPhones. However, Google is facing increasing antitrust scrutiny, with a decision looming in a major lawsuit brought by the U.S. Department of Justice. This lawsuit alleges that Google has monopolized key digital advertising technologies, potentially leading to significant changes in the ad tech industry.
The High Stakes Battle for AI Dominance
The AI race is shaping up to be just as consequential as the ‘search engine wars.’ Tech giants see generative AI as the next big tech shift, on par with mobile computing, cloud services, and social media. So, they are betting big on AI, knowing full well that missing out could mean ceding control of their own futures.
Risks of Concentrated AI Power
As exciting as these advancements are, the rapid concentration of AI power in the hands of a few companies is cause for concern. When a handful of tech giants control the development and deployment of such transformative technology, there are risks of amplifying biases and blind spots. The potential for abuse in areas like surveillance, manipulation of information, and political influence is significant. Without diverse perspectives and robust accountability, there may be less pressure to prioritize responsible AI development.
Decentralized alternatives, like Olas Network, offer a vision of a more democratic and transparent AI future. By leveraging blockchain technology, the Olas DAO has created an open, decentralized platform for co-owning AI, giving users more control over and access to the profits of AI systems. Such approaches help mitigate the risks of concentrated AI power, paving the way for the technology developing into a more inclusive and accountable macrocosm.
“As the AI arms race heats up, it’s crucial that we avoid such powerful technology being controlled by only a few individuals and companies,” David Minarsch, Olas DAO founding member and CEO of core contributor, Valory, commented. “As AI becomes more embedded in every industry, it is crucial that communities play a key role in owning it and reaping the benefits. That is why we co-created Olas, where everyone can play with and own these emerging technologies today – earning rewards for everything from talking about Olas on social media to contributing code, capital or computing power; from building an agent-based business using Olas, to governing the DAO. ”
While we should celebrate the incredible potential of generative AI, we must also work to ensure that its power is harnessed for the benefit of all, not just a handful of opaque companies.
About Olas
Olas is the platform for co-owning AI. Olas enables everyone to own a share of AI, specifically autonomous agents. One of the first Crypto x AI projects, founded in 2021, Olas offers the composable Olas Stack for developing autonomous AI agents, and the Olas Protocol for incentivizing their creation and co-ownership. Olas' mission is to incentivize and coordinate different parties to launch autonomous agents that form entire AI economies serving all humans. Olas is giving rise to agent economies across major blockchains with over 500,000 transactions. In Olas Predict, AI agents predict the future, using state-of-the-art AI models, then apply their predictions to on-chain markets. Learn more at olas.network.
About Valory
Valory is a research and deployment company at the intersection of crypto and AI, specifically the premier creator of open-source frameworks for co-owned AI. Its mission is to enable communities, organizations, and countries to co-own AI systems, beginning with decentralized autonomous agents. Valory is the VC-backed team of engineers, researchers, and commercial executors that co-founded the Olas DAO, contribute to the Olas Stack, and built the first services using it. They collaborate with those interested in creating their own autonomous agent-based apps and economies.
Author Bio
Victoria Chynoweth is a leading journalist who has been in the Web3 space since 2017. She writes for Crypto Reporter, Bitcoin Insider, Coin Checkup, and Coinspeaker. To connect with Victoria, message her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoria-chynoweth/
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