Revisiting The Fundamentals of Crypto x AI with NEAR | Crypto x AI Event

In this thought-provoking discussion with Can Gurel (Delphi), the NEAR co-founders share insights on Illia's work co-authoring the groundbreaking "Attention is All You Need" paper that introduced transformers, their vision for user-owned AI and democratizing access to AI capabilities and more. Key insights include: - How NEAR's original focus on AI developer tools led them to discover the need for better payment infrastructure for distributed workforces - Their framework for user-owned AI that optimizes for individual success rather than platform profits - Technical challenges and solutions for distributed AI training and inference - The importance of private computing for enabling user-controlled AI systems The conversation provides valuable perspective on the intersection of AI and crypto from pioneers who have worked at the cutting edge of both fields, offering insights into how decentralized technologies could enable more democratic and user-centric AI development. "The reality is we kind of have like a little bit of a model that some data we don't want to share... Your assistant will be able to help you with filing your taxes and finding ways to file receipts for expenses, and it will need to have access to all of this. What you don't want is all of this data end up leaking or showing up in somebody else's chat." — Illia Polosukhin, NEAR Protocol Watch more sessions from Crypto x AI Month here: https://delphidigital.io/crypto-ai --- Crypto x AI Month is the largest virtual event dedicated to the intersection of crypto and AI, featuring 40+ top builders, investors, and practitioners. Over the course of three weeks, this event brings together panels, debates, and discussions with the brightest minds in the space, presented by Delphi Digital. Crypto x AI Month is free and open to everyone thanks to the support from our sponsors: https://olas.network/ https://venice.ai/ https://near.org/ https://mira.foundation/ https://www.theoriq.ai/ --- Follow the Speakers: - Can Gurel on Twitter/X ► https://x.com/cannngurel - Illia Polosukhin on Twitter/X ► https://x.com/ilblackdragon - Alex Skidanov on Twitter/X ► https://x.com/alexskidanov --- Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Sponsor Acknowledgments 00:48 Introduction of Illia and Alex from NEAR 03:11 Origins of the Transformers Paper 08:07 Discussion on LLMs and Model Understanding 11:05 Alpha Go and Self-Improvement in AI 15:16 NEAR's Evolution from AI to Blockchain 19:37 The Story Behind NEAR's Foundation 26:32 Vision for User-Owned AI 30:31 Analysis of the Crypto-AI Stack 35:28 Data Labeling and Trust Systems 39:33 Private Inference and Edge Computing 44:17 User Privacy and Trust in AI 47:44 Edge Computing Challenges 49:54 Novel Data Sources and Synthetic Data 52:40 AI Agent Security and DeFi Applications 58:43 Formal Verification in AI Systems 1:03:14 Distributed Training Challenges 1:11:04 AI Talent and Crypto Industry 1:13:44 Rating Future Technologies and Closing Thoughts Disclaimer All statements and/or opinions expressed in this interview are the personal opinions and responsibility of the respective guests, who may personally hold material positions in companies or assets mentioned or discussed. The content does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Delphi Citadel Partners, LLC or its affiliates (collectively, “Delphi Ventures”), which makes no representations or warranties of any kind in connection with the contained subject matter. Delphi Ventures