I, Stewart Alsop, had a fascinating conversation on this episode of Crazy Wisdom with Mallory McGee, the founder of Chroma, who is doing some really interesting work at the intersection of AI and crypto. We dove deep into how these two powerful technologies might reshape the internet and our interactions with it, moving beyond the hype cycles to what’s truly foundational.

Check out this GPT we trained on the conversation

Timestamps

00:00 The Intersection of AI and Crypto
01:28 Bitcoin's Origins and Austrian Economics
04:35 AI's Centralization Problem and the New Gatekeepers
09:58 Agent Interactions and Decentralized Databases for Trustless Transactions
11:11 AI as a Prosthetic Mind and the Interpretability Challenge
15:12 Deterministic Blockchains vs. Non-Deterministic AI Intents
18:44 The Demise of Traditional Apps in an Agent-Driven World
35:07 Property Rights, Agent Registries, and Blockchains as Backends

Key Insights

1. Crypto's Enduring Fundamentals: Mallory emphasized that while crypto prices are often noise, the underlying fundamentals point to a new, long-term cycle for the Internet itself. It's about decentralizing control, a core principle stemming from Bitcoin's original blend of economics and technology.
2. AI's Centralization Dilemma: We discussed the concerning trend of AI development consolidating power within a few major players. This, as Mallory pointed out, ironically mirrors the very centralization crypto aims to dismantle, potentially shifting control from governments to a new set of tech monopolies.
3. Agents are the Future of Interaction: Mallory envisions a future where most digital interactions aren't human-to-LLM, but agent-to-agent. These autonomous agents will require decentralized, trustless platforms like blockchains to transact, hold assets, and communicate confidentially.
4. Bridging Non-Deterministic AI with Deterministic Blockchains: A fascinating challenge Mallory highlighted is translating the non-deterministic "intents" of AI (e.g., an agent's goal to "get me a good return on spare cash") into the deterministic transactions required by blockchains. This translation layer is crucial for agents to operate effectively on-chain.
5. The Decline of Traditional Apps: Mallory made a bold claim that traditional apps and web interfaces are on their way out. As AI agents become capable of generating personalized interfaces on the fly, the need for standardized, pre-built apps will diminish, leading to a world where software is hyper-personalized and often ephemeral.
6. Blockchains as Agent Backbones: We explored the intriguing idea that blockchains might be inherently better suited for AI agents than for direct human use. Their deterministic nature, ability to handle assets, and potential for trustless reputation systems make them ideal backends for an agent-centric internet.
7. Trust and Reputation for Agents: In a world teeming with AI agents, establishing trust is paramount. Mallory suggested that on-chain mechanisms like reward and slashing systems can be used to build verifiable reputation scores for agents, helping us discern trustworthy actors from malicious ones without central oversight.
8. The Battle for an Open AI Future: The age-old battle between open and closed source is playing out again in the AI sphere. While centralized players currently seem to dominate, Mallory sees hope in the open-source AI movement, which could provide a crucial alternative to a future controlled by a few large entities.

Contact Information

*   Twitter: @McGee_noodle
*   Company: Chroma