Former Coinbase Tech Chief Contrasts AI’s Reputation As Making It Easy To Fake Things With Crypto’s Tamper-Proof Technology
By Benzinga
Silicon Valley investor Balaji Srinivasan predicted a convergence in prestige between artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies on Monday, arguing that while one’s reputation has suffered, that of the other has increased.
What Happened: In an X post, Srinivasan expressed his views on the contrasting origins of AI and cryptocurrency, like Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) and Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE).
“AI came out of academic research and big tech, so it started with high prestige. Crypto came from anonymous message boards and internet degens, so it started with low prestige,” the former technology head of Coinbase said.
He added that while AI has the potential to create falsities, cryptocurrency brings authenticity back into the picture. “AI makes everything easy to fake, and crypto makes it hard again,” Srinivasan argued.
He drew attention to the perceptual difference between the two technologies, with AI seen as something of “civilizational importance” whereas cryptocurrencies remain underrated.
Why It Matters: Srinivasan’s views come amid increasing sophistication in AI technology, which was indeed making it harder for users to identify real content.
A study by Google DeepMind revealed that deepfakes of public figures are more common than AI-assisted cyber attacks, indicating a significant misuse.
Adam Mosseri, the Meta Platforms-owned Instagram, underscored the importance of social media platforms providing additional context to help users determine the legitimacy of online material.
On the other hand, blockchain technology is used widely to establish the authenticity of physical items. Under this, a unique NFT is created to represent the entity’s ownership and validity, and facts about the item are recorded in the NFT’s metadata.
Items of varying cultural, religious, and historical significance, like a 300-year-old vintage violin and manuscripts from the iconic Vatican Library, have been tokenized and stored on blockchain.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
