Many of those building Web3 feel that the traditional web ecosystem leverages users and their data. While this benefits many companies, data miners, and even his AI models, some consider it a step too far.
Some of the problems with the web as it currently exists (some Web3-centric people are calling it Web2.0) is that it's centralized, says Edge and Node CEO and co-founder said Tegan Kline on TechCrunch's Chain Reaction podcast.
“A small number of large companies own and control everything we see online, own our data and digital footprint, and can deplatform us. And so many companies want to keep our attention and monetize that attention,” Klein said. “This is not the Internet we expected in the early days of the web.”
She and others are trying to change that through the integration of Web3 and AI. “We are creating a decentralized internet and putting power back in the hands of users.”
Edge and Node is a company focused on creating and supporting decentralized applications (dApps) and protocols. This is the first team to support The Graph, a decentralized network for indexing, querying, and organizing data. Dubbed the “Google of web3,” it aims to organize open blockchain data and turn open data into a public good.
Graphs have “subgraphs” which are like open APIs that provide queries. So every time a user uses an application built on her The Graph, a background indexer organizes the data and provides information.
“Web3 is still being built and we are working to build a decentralized internet that is resistant to censorship. Innovation is happening today and I believe this is where the internet is going and this is the next evolution of the internet. We believe that this is an industry that is growing, not shrinking.”
Last November, Graff announced a roadmap for a “new era” and planned how to use the $50 million raised since last year.
Simply put, our goals include expanding our data services to reach larger markets, supporting developers, improving network performance, and creating tools for our data. Thanks to OpenAI, Kline also plans to enable large-scale language models (LLMs), which he says are one of the most popular ways to build AI chat programs. states.
“One of the things that’s really important about AI is that it’s all data,” Klein says. “There's a saying that he who controls the data rules the world,” he said. “Especially in the AI space, it's very important that data is not owned and controlled by any one company.”
The Graph is working to allow users to retrieve data from its network and other blockchains to train AI on that content. “Since we started The Graph, our use cases and data needs have exploded,” says Kline. “There are so many different data needs, and for entrepreneurs and builders in the ecosystem, as well as users of applications and projects, the Graph Network addresses all of those needs in a decentralized way.”
And when it comes to AI, Klein believes it's important that it be trained in a completely open source way. “And if you look at open source AI today, the AI is open source in a sense, but the data that is used for training is not open source.”
As of now, the majority of AI has not yet boarded the blockchain train, so to speak. “They don’t care if you go to a traditional AI conference,” Klein says. “I think the blockchain space is a little more interested in AI than AI is interested in the blockchain space.”
It needs a little more acceptance in the AI community, but over time Klein believes the relationship between AI and blockchain will evolve and change. “Taking advantage of new business models and new incentive structures that are emerging through tokens, token economies, and decentralized infrastructure is going to be really interesting for AI.”
This story was inspired by an episode of TechCrunch's “Chain Reaction” podcast. Subscribe to Chain Reaction on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite pod platform to hear more stories and tips from entrepreneurs who are building the most innovative companies today.
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