Thoughts After ETHDenver 2024

I've been spending a couple of years away from the blockchain scene, but I decided to drop by ETHDenver 2024 to catch up on how AI's shaping up in the decentralized world. The big takeaway? Things are moving, but not everything’s swinging towards full decentralization.

The Decentralization Dilemma

Blockchain's all about trust, right? But as I wandered around ETHDenver, I couldn’t help thinking about whether we’re pushing too hard for decentralization, especially with AI.

First up, does AI training really need to go on-chain? My gut says no. It's a heavy lift, both in terms of costs and resources. And honestly, for most AI uses we’re looking at, going decentralized doesn't seem to add much value, especially when you consider the privacy angle. Maybe we’re better off focusing on making AI inference more private instead of moving everything onto the blockchain.

Decentralized AI Infrastructures: Hype vs. Reality

The pitch for decentralized AI platforms tends to go something like this: they’re cheaper and faster than centralized options. But from what I’ve seen, that's not exactly the whole story. Sure, they can dodge some of the pricing issues you get with centralized systems, but setting up and running a decentralized network isn't exactly cheap or straightforward.

Another thing – a lot of these decentralized AI projects aren't as decentralized as they claim. Some of them lean on centralized methods to keep things running smoothly. It's not necessarily bad, but it does make you question what “decentralized” really means in this context.

What's Really Important Here?

ETHDenver's more than just a conference; it's a community get-together. It’s a chance for folks to share ideas and figure out where we’re headed with decentralization.

After all the talks and demos, I think the big question we need to ask ourselves is what parts of our digital world actually benefit from decentralization, and to what extent. There’s a lot of promise in combining AI with blockchain, but maybe it’s time for a more focused approach on what really needs to be decentralized.

So, wrapping up my trip to ETHDenver 2024, I’ve got a lot to think about. The intersection of AI and Web3 is definitely an exciting space, but it feels like we’ve still got some work to do in figuring out the best path forward.