The Soul of AI Agent: Crypto Contract

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Original article by: Anderson Sima, Executive Editor, Foresight News

If I could only choose one keyword for 2025, I would choose “AI Agent”.

On January 6, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said that he was confident that he had mastered the method of building AGI (artificial general intelligence), and predicted that in 2025, we might see the first AI agents join the workforce and substantially change corporate output.

The author believes that this is not alarmist talk, but a new chapter in the progress of AI.

The Birth and Beyond of AI Agent

In the past six months, with the rapid development of artificial intelligence and blockchain technology, AI Agent has gradually become a hot sector in the crypto field. This autonomous entity developed based on artificial intelligence technology can simulate human cognition and decision-making processes, and show high intelligence and adaptability in perception, analysis and action. Although the current AI Agent is far inferior to humans in comprehensive intelligence, the birth of AI Agent will redéfine the relationship between people and technology.

Although current large models (such as ChatGPT) perform well in language processing and content generation, their application still has significant limitations. The core of the design of large models is to generate probabilistic optimal solutions based on massive data training, which means that they are more like powerful language engines that can answer questions and provide suggestions, but cannot really make active decisions and execute. For example, in complex enterprise management or emergency response scenarios, large models are usually unable to transcend the role of advice providers, while AI Agents can quickly formulate and execute plans based on dynamic environments and preset goals.

Taking healthcare as an example, a large model can recommend potential treatment suggestions based on the symptoms described by the user. However, in the face of sudden emergency scenarios, such as cardiac arrest, the large model cannot judge the patients condition based on sensor data and immediately control medical equipment to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation like an AI agent.

In contrast, the capabilities of AI Agents go beyond the scope of existing large models and are no longer limited to data processing, but can complete a complete closed loop from perception to action. For example, in the field of autonomous driving, AI Agents can analyze road conditions in real time, integrate traffic rules and vehicle status, determine the best driving route, and dynamically adjust driving strategies; in the financial field, AI Agents can track global market information in real time and dynamically adjust investment portfolios to maximize returns.

AI Agent Code of Conduct: Smart Contracts

When AI Agent really enters the above scenario, it should be called AI Being, a new species created by Human Being, and computing power provides it with energy for action. Then the question is, how should the code of conduct of such a powerful intelligent entity be defined? My answer is smart contract.

As a carrier of cryptocurrency, smart contract is essentially a contract expressed in code. It realizes the following features through blockchain technology:

Decentralization: Free from the constraints of traditional institutions.
Immutability: Ensure the authenticity of transactions and records.
Traceability: Provides a transparent flow of information for all participants.

Unlike traditional contracts, the execution of smart contracts does not require an intermediary agency and relies solely on the rules preset in the code. This not only improves efficiency, but also greatly reduces the possibility of human intervention and potential loss of control.

If computing power is the blood of AI, smart contracts will be the soul of AI.

AI agents need to follow established rules and ethical standards when performing tasks. Cryptocurrency smart contracts provide a natural solution for this. For example, in a decentralized logistics network, AI agents can automatically schedule transportation and settle fees based on blockchain records, ensuring resource allocation and transaction transparency.

Imagine a decentralized education platform with cryptocurrency at its core. AI Agent can help students develop personalized learning plans and intelligently distribute cryptocurrency rewards based on learning outcomes to encourage continuous learning. Students’ grades, learning process, and reward records are all on-chain, avoiding bias and human interference in the traditional education system.

Another great charm of the combination of AI Agent + Crypto is that it perfectly integrates game theory.

Game theory is essentially a science of decision making, which studies the strategic choices and equilibrium of all parties in the game of interests. The cryptocurrency ecosystem is the best stage for the application of game theory. The interaction between miners, investors, and developers is essentially a multi-party game, and the blockchain protocol guides the behavior of all parties through mechanism design. For example, in the Bitcoin network, miners compete for computing power to obtain rewards, and the protocol rules ensure the security and decentralization of the network.

The combination of AI Agent and Crypto can further improve its decision-making ability and collaboration efficiency. For example, in future smart cities, AI Agent may be widely used in resource allocation, traffic management and other fields. Through the cryptocurrency incentive mechanism and game model, AI Agent can find the optimal solution between different goals:

In energy management, AI Agents can negotiate the priority and cost allocation of energy use to ensure a balance between supply and demand.
In cross-border trade, AI Agent can complete real-time settlement based on cryptocurrencies and smart contracts, avoiding delays and high fees in the traditional banking system.

Suppose a complex AI Agent system “Jarvis” appears in the future. As a “digital assistant”, it can coordinate multi-level cooperation between individuals, enterprises and governments. The operation of “Jarvis” is based on a transparent and dynamically adjusted cryptocurrency system. Users can get rewards by contributing data or services, and “Jarvis” can also use cryptocurrency to purchase the required resources, thus realizing a closed-loop economy.

The rise of AI Agents and the popularity of cryptocurrency will jointly promote the arrival of a new era of collaboration:

Collaboration between humans and AI: AI Agents become intelligent assistants for individuals and businesses, taking on tedious tasks and allowing humans to focus on creative work.
Collaboration between people: Cryptocurrency ensures fairness and transparency in cooperation, and encourages more people to participate in collaboration.
Collaboration between AIs: AI Agents share resources and exchange knowledge through cryptocurrency to achieve more efficient collaboration.

Potential risks of AI Agent+Crypto

On the one hand, although the combination of cryptocurrency and AI Agent is feasible in theory, its technical implementation still faces many challenges. For example:

Security issues: Although blockchain technology is sold as decentralized and tamper-proof, the existence of smart contract vulnerabilities may be maliciously exploited, resulting in financial losses or system paralysis.
Scalability issues: Current mainstream blockchains (such as Ethereum) have limited performance in handling large-scale transactions and smart contract execution, which may become a bottleneck for the widespread application of AI Agents.
On the other hand, once the behavioral rules of AI Agents are solidified through cryptocurrency smart contracts, they may lack flexibility and be difficult to deal with complex ethical issues. For example:
Responsibility: If an AI Agent suffers losses due to the execution of a smart contract, should the responsibility be attributed to the AI Agent developer, the smart contract designer, or the user?
Privacy issues: AI Agents need to process large amounts of data in real time, and how this data is stored, used, and shared may lead to serious privacy disputes.

In addition, the introduction of cryptocurrency may exacerbate the polarization of the economic system. After the combination of AI Agent and cryptocurrency, the party with technological advantages may further consolidate its dominant position in economic activities. Individuals and small and medium-sized enterprises that are excluded from the wave of AI technology and cryptocurrency may be marginalized because they cannot afford the technology costs, thereby exacerbating social inequality.

The combination of AI Agent and cryptocurrency is the prototype of a technological revolution. Its potential lies in improving efficiency and fairness through regularization and automation, and promoting changes in the collaboration model. However, this technology combination is not a perfect solution. Its complexity and risks require us to be cautious in technology development and social applications. On the one hand, we should actively explore its value; on the other hand, we should also be wary of the inequality and uncertainty that technology may bring.

This article is sourced from the internet: The Soul of AI Agent: Crypto Contract

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Guest Message: Think about what is scarcity and what is your own moat. Making money is not rare, because there are too many people making money. What is rare is to constantly review why you make money, to systematically review it with logic and methodology, and to continue to replicate it. @yuyue_chris is a post-00s investor and trader active in the Web3 field. From entering the market with a capital of 3,000 yuan in 2022 to becoming a professional trader today, she has achieved the transformation from a novice to an OG in just two years with her keen insight into the market and a continuous learning attitude. Currently, she is an important member of several top Chinese communities and is also running her own community. OKX specially invited him…