Blockchain technology is emerging as a key to solving the side effects of AI development, such as deepfakes. There are also claims that blockchain can prevent the tyranny of big tech companies that collect AI training data without permission. However, there is also analysis that blockchain, which presupposes voluntary participation from users, has limitations in establishing itself as an effective solution.
According to the industry on the 11th, Chris Dixon, general partner of Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), who recently visited Korea, claimed that the deepfake problem can be solved with Worldcoin. Worldcoin is a blockchain project based on iris recognition developed by Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI. If you authenticate your iris information with the iris recognition device 'Orb', you will be issued a blockchain-based World ID, and Dixon claims that by utilizing this, you can leave a record of the creator's certification for each content. a16z, which he works for, is a representative venture capital (VC) in Silicon Valley that manages approximately 63 billion dollars (approximately 85.8 trillion won) and has also invested in Worldcoin.
There is also a way to upload unique information contained in the content to the blockchain to distinguish it. Michael Gronagh, co-founder of blockchain data analysis company Chainalysis, said, “The deepfake controversy may lead to a demand for authenticated content in the future,” and added, “For example, meta information such as the time and place of taking a photo can be encrypted and uploaded to the blockchain to verify it.” Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that record unique data on the blockchain are examples of this. However, even if deepfake videos are distinguished using blockchain, there is a fundamental limitation in that it does not contribute significantly to tracking deepfake crimes or reducing related damage.
Blockchain's 'role theory' is also being raised in relation to intellectual property (IP) protection in the AI data collection process. Reddit, the largest online community in the US, signed contracts with Google earlier this year and OpenAI in May to provide Reddit posts for AI training. In the case of OpenAI, the contract amount was not disclosed, but with Google, it is a contract worth 60 million dollars (approximately 80.244 billion won) per year. However, this profit does not go to the authors who actually posted on Reddit. As the problem of copyright infringement due to AI becomes more serious in the future, complaints about the situation where 'the bear that shows off its skills does not receive the profit' are likely to increase.
The layer (L1) blockchain 'Story' started from the idea of protecting the content IP of such individual users. When a user uploads an IP to the blockchain, the appropriate profit is distributed whenever this IP is reused in AI, etc. PIP Labs, the developer of Story, also received about 140 million dollars (about 191 billion won) in investment from a16z, Samsung Next, Hashed, etc.
However, it is expected that it will take time for these attempts to be effective. In the case of IP protection, user participation is the key. Due to the nature of blockchain, voluntary participation of users who want to receive incentives is required, but it is uncertain whether IP protection will be considered a sufficient incentive. Furthermore, even if IP is protected with blockchain, it will be useless if the AI service does not link the story chain.
In addition, Oh Tae-wan, CEO of INF Crypto Lab, likened World Coin to a “resident registration card that proves human identity in the digital world.” Just as various systems surrounding real-world resident registration help prevent and track crime, World Coin can also only be utilized when various agreements and systems are in place. Kim Nam-woong, CEO of Populus, pointed out that “even humans with a World ID can create AI deepfakes,” and “there are also aspects where the standards for what can be considered AI-created content are unclear.” This means that development is needed not only in technology but also in systems and social consensus.
- Reporter Do Ye-ri
- yeri.do@decenter.kr
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