Intro to AI3.0 & The Age of Autonomy
Background
The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies is ushering in a new era of socioeconomic transformation. Recent breakthroughs in machine learning (ML), particularly in deep learning and natural language processing, have led to AI systems capable of performing tasks once thought to be the exclusive domain of human intelligence. This progress has sparked debates about the future of work, with some experts predicting widespread job displacement, and others envisioning new forms of human-AI collaboration.
Concurrently, the rise of blockchain technology has introduced novel paradigms for decentralized systems and digital identity. These technological developments have occurred against a backdrop of growing concerns about data privacy, algorithmic bias, and the concentration of AI capabilities in the hands of a few large corporations.
As we approach the potential development of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and Artificial Superintelligence (ASI)—when AI reach and then exceed human intelligence—it becomes imperative to establish frameworks that ensure AI systems align with human values and preserve human autonomy in an increasingly automated world. The Autonomys Network proposes and seeks to implement a new paradigm of radical autonomy, or absolute digital self-governance.
AI3.0
What do we mean when we say Autonomys is the Foundation Layer for AI3.0? At Autonomys (pronounced autonomous), we contend that the evolution of AI can be categorized into three broad phases, each characterized by a unique relationship between humans, decentralization and AI:
AI1.0 | Centralized ML: Deep learning becomes widespread as developers are able to build models with the likes of TensorFlow and PyTorch running on cloud computing provided by Big Tech. Humans are primarily passive consumers of AI technologies, interacting with narrow, rule-based systems designed for specific tasks.
AI2.0 | Centralized Generative AI: Large language models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude, emerge alongside other Generative AI technologies built by Big Tech. Humans are offered more interactive AI experiences, albeit still through platforms controlled and deployed by centralized entities.
AI3.0 | Decentralized Human-centric AI: Open, accessible and collaborative web3-enabled AI model, app and agent development and deployment. Decentralization ensures a transparent, composable and secure ecosystem where innovation thrives. Humans not only interact with AI, but customize, train and deploy their own highly personalized Autonomys agents to act on their behalf, blurring the boundary between AI creator and consumer. The Age of Autonomy is the culmination of this paradigm.
The Age of Autonomy
Throughout the history of technological development, humanity has consistently striven for the same fundamental needs to be fulfilled: safety, including both physical and resource security; connection, be it physical or emotional, to fellow humans or cultural collectives; and prosperity, through self-improvement and socioeconomic development. Many experts have discussed AI’s impact on human safety, connection and prosperity. Autonomys is using these three fundamental human desires as guiding principles to propose a human-centric vision of a post-AI-revolution future.
In today’s world, one’s safety and prosperity are mediated largely by one’s access to economic resources. As job security becomes progressively more threatened by the advent of sophisticated AI, we should evolve our contemporary economic systems with continued human relevance and agency in mind. This can be achieved through widening global access to permissionless incentivized contribution networks, and by augmenting human capabilities with personal AI agents that seamlessly interact and collaborate in a verifiable way — all free of centralized control.
The trajectory of AI development is trending towards the training and running of smaller, specialized AI models on personal edge devices. When integrated into every action taken on a personal device, these AI will have the context of all knowledge about the device’s owner, including past and present interactions with other people or services; personal preferences in entertainment, food, clothing and partners; health metrics; financial statements; political allegiances; and everything else that has ever gone through the device. Coupling access to complete contextual data with agentic capabilities transforms personal AI into personal agents that can represent you online and act on your behalf — booking medical visits and vacations, ordering groceries, coordinating meetings, managing money, or participating in governance. Crucially, personal agents will be able to analyze and filter the endless information streams around us — insurmountable for a single person to process — aiding in our decision-making.
It is prudent to estimate the emergence of at least as many agents online as there are smartphones. Practically, we can expect each person and business to have multiple specialized AI representatives. This global mesh of billions of agents will communicate and exchange funds with each other online and with service providers via agent-specific permissioned actions. Humans and agents will need to be able to verify whether the AI they are interacting with within this autonomous agent economy are truthfully representing themselves as agents of particular individuals or organizations.
The Autonomys-facilitated agent economy will foster a rich ecosystem of human and AI collaboration. Autonomys’ development platform will provide cutting-edge tools for individuals and organizations to train and deploy agents, acquire highly valuable technological skills, and amplify their potential. Autonomys agents will be able to exchange mutual authorizations via blockchain to provide real-world goods and services, while humans maintain oversight of and control over them. This dynamic creates new avenues for entrepreneurship and value generation as individuals and organizations leverage AI capabilities to augment their own skills and offerings. Autonomys’ vision preserves humanity’s economic relevance by emphasizing domains where the unique human capacity for creativity, emotional intelligence, and complex problem-solving has not been replicated by AI.
In contrast to predicted futures populated by a universal basic income (UBI)-dependent humanity subject to a diminished human agency and economic relevance, Autonomys champions radical autonomy through incentivized participation and contribution to a self-sustaining ecosystem, inspired by Ethereum’s pioneering model. We recognize human potential as a dynamic force that can be continually expanded through education, technological integration, and innovative socioeconomic systems.
By empowering individuals with self-sovereign digital identities, control over their data assets, and tools for safe AI collaboration, Autonomys is forging a future where humans and AI coexist productively and harmoniously. This new paradigm not only preserves human economic relevance but amplifies our collective potential, ushering in an era of unprecedented innovation, creativity, and shared prosperity.
Autonomys AI3.0 Stack
The Autonomys Network serves as the technological infrastructure for this paradigm shift, providing a verticalized decentralized AI stack encompassing:
dApp/Agent Layer: facilitating the development and deployment of super dApps (AI-powered dApps) and Autonomys agents (Auto ID-integrated on-chain agents) for verifiable digital interaction.
Execution/Domain Layer: secure, scalable distributed compute for AI training, inference and agentic workflows.
Consensus Layer: verifiable decentralized sequencing and transaction validation for shared security.
Storage Layer: distributed storage ensures data integrity and permanent availability—crucial for storing vast amounts of AI data.
Utilizing the Subspace Protocol, with its innovative Proof-of-Archival-Storage (PoAS) consensus mechanism, our decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN) incentivizes active participation through the permissionless contribution of any amount of storage space or compute, or staking of any amount of tokens, permitting unprecedented accessibility.
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