Pop Social's partnership with CoreAI sounds like a dream: decentralized social media meets the magic of AI, empowering users, and building a fairer web. Don’t let the hype tsunami wash you away. History teaches us that with every technological leap, there are unintended consequences. Are we truly ready for AI-powered Web3? Here’s why I believe this strange fusion has the potential to blow up in our faces, and why you should worry about it.
Data Ownership A Dangerous Illusion?
They say you'll own your data. Sounds great, right? But here's the unsettling truth: AI needs data to function. AI algorithms must be properly trained to provide personalized recommendations and content creation tools. But even with truly decentralized infrastructure, they need to be constantly, dynamically fed new information. To what extent is your data really “owned” if it’s currently being used to train an AI without any effort made to obtain consent?
Think of it like this: you own a cow, but you need to milk it to get anything useful. The AI is the milking machine. Are you really in control if you don't understand how the machine works, or what happens to the milk once it's extracted? Are you really just giving up your digital soul for a marginally improved stream of kitty clips. I fear it's the latter. The promise of data ownership is a shiny bauble concealing a much worse extraction on the other side.
AI Bias: Web3's Trojan Horse
After all, Web3 is promised to be the answer to the discriminatory algorithms of Web2. Pop Social is gathering together current AI models that already exist. Any guesses about where these models were trained? On Web2 data. You read that correctly, the same datasets loaded with bias that feed back into systems of discrimination and unfairness.
That’s akin to attempting to clean water by pouring it through a soiled strainer. Maybe you’re able to remove some bad stuff, but you are still left with dirty water. By importing these AI models, Pop Social is opting into the same biases that Web3 is seeking to flee. Consider the implications of AI-assisted content creation tools quietly advocating for particular narratives or omitting certain perspectives. This isn’t making real progress, it’s just a lateral move into a marginally less transparent but equally or more biased system.
Who Governs The AI Overlords?
Decentralized governance is a messy, complicated, decentralized governance. Now, add AI agents to the equation, determining what content gets curated or moderated and even executing various smart contracts. Who holds them accountable? When an AI acts with bias or causes harm, on whom does liability fall?
Here's a chilling thought: imagine an AI agent, designed to maximize engagement, starts promoting increasingly extreme and divisive content. Who do you complain to? The DAO? Good luck navigating that bureaucratic nightmare. This lack of effective oversight governance mechanisms for AI is a grave danger. Share it It’s a PR ticking time bomb that will eventually cause a major PR crisis.
Decentralized, Unless We Say So
While core infrastructure for Pop Social is indeed decentralized, CoreAI holds power over the AI models. This creates a potential centralization point. Who gets to decide how these AI models are trained, updated and most importantly, deployed. CoreAI.
It would be the equivalent of having a very decentralized city, having all the power plants owned by the same multi-state corporation. All well and good—city may seem decentralized—but that corporation can turn off the power grid on a moment’s notice. CoreAI has a ton of power in the Pop Social ecosystem, since they’re the ones controlling the AI models. This domination might just conquer the basic tenets of decentralization. This isn't the distributed utopia we were promised; it's just a different flavor of centralized control.
Security Nightmares: AI As Attack Surface
AI introduces entirely new attack vectors. Think about it: malicious actors could manipulate AI models to spread misinformation, censor content, or even exploit vulnerabilities in smart contracts.
This isn't science fiction. As we’ve discussed previously, we’ve already seen AI used for malicious purposes in Web2. Now, picture those same techniques being used in a Web3 environment, where the stakes are exponentially higher. A compromised AI agent could drain a user's wallet, manipulate a DAO vote, or even trigger a cascading failure across the entire network. When it comes down to it, the introduction of AI removes Pandora’s Box, releasing a completely different array of security threats.
Together, AI and Web3 can completely transform social media. We need to be careful about how we go about doing it, so that it has a beneficial impact. We need to address these potential pitfalls before they undermine the promise of a more equitable and user-centric digital ecosystem. Otherwise, we risk creating a system that is even more opaque, biased, and vulnerable than the one we're trying to replace. Together, we can create the future of social media—not in wild-west free-for-all, but in responsible innovation.
