AI x Crypto
with @alive_eth @danboneh @smc90
This week's all-new episode covers the convergence of two important, very top-of-mind trends: AI (artificial intelligence) & blockchains/ crypto. These domains together have major implications for how we all live our lives everyday; so this episode is for anyone just curious about, or already building in the space.
The conversation covers topics ranging from deep fakes, bots, and the need for proof-of-humanity in a world of AI; to big data, large language models like ChatGPT, user control, governance, privacy and security, zero knowledge and zkML; to MEV, media, art, and much more. Our expert guests (in conversation with host Sonal Chokshi) include:
Dan Boneh, Stanford Professor (and Senior Research Advisor at a16z crypto), a cryptographer who’s been working on blockchains for over a decade and who specializes in cryptography, computer security, and machine learning -- all of which intersect in this episode;
Ali Yahya, general partner at a16z crypto, who also previously worked at Google -- where he not only worked on a distributed system for a fleet of robots (a sort of "collective reinforcement learning") but also worked on Google Brain, where he was one of the core contributors to the machine learning library TensorFlow built at Google.
The first half of the hallway-style conversation between Ali & Dan (who go back together as student and professor at Stanford) is all about how AI could benefit from crypto, and the second half on how crypto could benefit from AI... the thread throughout is the tension between centralization vs. decentralization. So we also discuss where the intersection of crypto and AI can bring about things that aren't possible by either one of them alone...
pieces referenced in this episode/ related reading:
The Next Cyber Reasoning System for Cyber Security (2023) by Mohamed Ferrag, Ammar Battah, Norbert Tihanyi, Merouane Debbah, Thierry Lestable, Lucas Cordeiro
A New Era in Software Security: Towards Self-Healing Software via Large Language Models and Formal Verification (2023) by Yiannis Charalambous, Norbert Tihanyi, Ridhi Jain, Youcheng Sun, Mohamed Ferrag, Lucas Cordeiro
Fixing Hardware Security Bugs with Large Language Models (2023) by Baleegh Ahmad, Shailja Thakur, Benjamin Tan, Ramesh Karri, Hammond Pearce
Do Users Write More Insecure Code with AI Assistants? (2022) by Neil Perry, Megha Srivastava, Deepak Kumar, Dan Boneh
Asleep at the Keyboard? Assessing the Security of GitHub Copilot's Code Contributions (2021) by Hammond Pearce, Baleegh Ahmad, Benjamin Tan, Brendan Dolan-Gavitt, Ramesh Karri
Voting, Security, and Governance in Blockchains (2019) with Ali Yahya and Phil Daian
As a reminder: none of the following should be taken as investment, legal, business, or tax advice; please see a16z.com/disclosures for more important information -- including to a link to a list of our investments – especially since we are investors in companies mentioned in this episode.
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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
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Why Zero-Knowledge Proofs Are Critical to Ethereum’s Future - Ep. 473
In this episode, Stanford cryptography professor Dan Boneh and a16z General Partner Ali Yahya elevate our knowledge of zero-knowledge proofs and their applications in the blockchain world. Listen as they dive into the intricacies of succinct proof systems, the difference between SNARKs and STARKs, the magic of recursive SNARKs, and why zero-knowledge systems are essential to the evolution of Ethereum.
Show highlights:
how Ali became a general partner at a16z Crypto and why Dan started working on “the science of blockchains”
what a succinct proof system is
analogies for understanding zero-knowledge proofs
the difference between SNARKs and STARKs and whether centralization can be fully avoided
how zero-knowledge technology became so crucial for blockchains
the reasons to push computations off-chain and the applications of this technology
why zkEVMs are essential to help Ethereum scale
why privacy is important not only in financial transactions but also in other areas like social networks and gaming
the challenges that arise from trusted setups and whether it would be possible to create false proofs
how to mitigate the trusted setup problem with different proof systems
what is being built to make zero-knowledge proofs cheaper to create
whether a privacy-focused technology can be pursued while staying compliant with regulations
how zero-knowledge proofs can improve the security of blockchain bridges
Thank you to our sponsors!
Crypto.com
Halborn
Guests:
Ali Yahya, general partner at a16z crypto
Dan Boneh, professor of computer science and electrical engineering, Stanford University; and senior research advisor, a16z crypto
Using ZK Proofs to Fight Disinformation
Links
Unchained: zkEVM: The Computing Overhaul to Help Scale Ethereum
Previous coverage of Unchained on zero-knowledge:
Can You Trace Monero? 'It's Hard - But Not Impossible,' Says Nick Bax
a16z crypto:
Privacy-Protecting Regulatory Solutions Using Zero-Knowledge Proofs: Full Paper
zkDocs: Zero-knowledge Information Sharing
How the Coming Privacy Layer Will Fix the Broken Web
CoinDesk: Polygon Rolls Out Zero-Knowledge, Privacy-Enhanced Identification Product
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Crypto, an Oral Essay
This is a special episode of the a16z podcast — it's an audio history, told through the voices of the a16z crypto team, about what crypto is, how it really works, and why it matters. This "innovation overview" is meant as a resource, and it features hallway-style conversations with the a16z team as well as outside experts.
In brief segments, we’ll take you from the ground up — from the basics, to the most current developments, and beyond that to a look at what we might see in the future.
Here are the topics and voices you'll hear:
The Beginning
Introduction — Zoran Basich, a16z crypto editor
Before bitcoin: previous attempts to create digital money, 1:45 — Dan Boneh, computer science professor at Stanford and a16 advisor
The core innovations of Satoshi’s white paper, 3:36 — Dan Boneh
Proof of work, 5:36 — Alex Pruden, chief strategy officer at Aleo Systems and former a16z crypto partner
Mining and why it’s important, 7:10 — Alex Pruden
The history of mining, 8:20 — Alex Pruden
Value in monetary systems, or why bitcoin is worth anything, 9:53 — Arianna Simpson, a16z crypto partner
Bitcoin as store of value, 11:30 — Arianna Simpson
Security in crypto, 12:45 — Alex Pruden
Expansion
Why is it called a blockchain? 14:00 — Eddy Lazzarin, a16z data scientist
Why the blockchain matters and what you can do with it, 15:09 — Chris Dixon, a16z general partner
Beyond bitcoin, 17:01 — Eddy Lazzarin
Ethereum as logical extension of open source, 17:36 — Eddy Lazzarin
Tokens: What are they? 19:04 — Eddy Lazzarin
Tokens and the functions they serve, 19:53 — Scott Kupor, a16z managing partner
Tokens and the ownership economy, 21:19 — Jesse Walden, Variant Fund founder, former a16z partner, and Mediachain founder
What tokens enable for creators, 22:18 — Ali Yahya, a16z general partner
Right Now
What DeFi means, 23:58 — Eddy Lazzarin
Yield farming: What is it? 25:16 — Eddy Lazzarin
NFTs: What they are and why they matter, 27:15 — Linda Xie, Scalar Capital managing director, and Jesse Walden
Developer ecosystems, crypto, and composability, 30:17 — Jesse Walden
Decentralized networks, value capture, and what it means for builders, 33:05 — Ali Yahya
The Future
The big picture, web3, and DAOs, 35:38 — Chris Dixon
For more crypto resources, please see our Crypto Startup School page, our documentary about the program, and our NFT Canon.
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The views expressed here are those of the individual AH Capital Management, L.L.C. (“a16z”) personnel quoted and are not the views of a16z or its affiliates. Certain information contained in here has been obtained from third-party sources, including from portfolio companies of funds managed by a16z. While taken from sources believed to be reliable, a16z has not independently verified such information and makes no representations about the enduring accuracy of the information or its appropriateness for a given situation. In addition, this content may include third-party advertisements; a16z has not reviewed such advertisements and does not endorse any advertising content contained therein.
This content is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities or digital assets are for illustrative purposes only, and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Furthermore, this content is not directed at nor intended for use by any investors or prospective investors, and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to invest in any fund managed by a16z. (An offering to invest in an a16z fund will be made only by the private placement memorandum, subscription agreement, and other relevant documentation of any such fund and should be read in their entirety.) Any investments or portfolio companies mentioned, referred to, or described are not representative of all investments in vehicles managed by a16z, and there can be no assurance that the investments will be profitable or that other investments made in the future will have similar characteristics or results. A list of investments made by funds managed by Andreessen Horowitz (excluding investments for which the issuer has not provided permission for a16z to disclose publicly as well as unannounced investments in publicly traded digital assets) is available at https://a16z.com/investments/.
Charts and graphs provided within are for informational purposes solely and should not be relied upon when making any investment decision. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The content speaks only as of the date indicated. Any projections, estimates, forecasts, targets, prospects, and/or opinions expressed in these materials are subject to change without notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by others. Please see https://a16z.com/disclosures for additional important information.
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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
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a16z Podcast: Crypto, Security, CS, Quantum Computing, and More with Our New Professor-in-Residence
Many of the most successful companies have their foundations in university labs -- from data science to the web browser itself. Yet the process of moving from research project to successful startup isn't always straightforward. With the goal of smoothing this process and continuing to bridge entrepreneurs across academia and industry, we began the a16z Professor-in-Residence program just last year. And this year's newly anointed Andreessen Horowitz Distinguished Visiting Professor of Computer Science is Dan Boneh, Professor of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering at Stanford University as well as Co-director of the Stanford Computer Security Lab.
In this episode of the a16z Podcast, we sit down with Boneh to chat about applied vs. theoretical math and computer science; what's missing and what's next with "usable" security (including various authentication approaches); and current and future trends in cryptography, bitcoin, and more. Boneh also shares his thoughts on MOOCs (massive open online courses) as the "21st century version of the textbook". Oh, and on when quantum computing will finally happen... and why we should (and shouldn't!) freak out about it. Yet.
The views expressed here are those of the individual AH Capital Management, L.L.C. (“a16z”) personnel quoted and are not the views of a16z or its affiliates. Certain information contained in here has been obtained from third-party sources, including from portfolio companies of funds managed by a16z. While taken from sources believed to be reliable, a16z has not independently verified such information and makes no representations about the enduring accuracy of the information or its appropriateness for a given situation.
This content is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities or digital assets are for illustrative purposes only, and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Furthermore, this content is not directed at nor intended for use by any investors or prospective investors, and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to invest in any fund managed by a16z. (An offering to invest in an a16z fund will be made only by the private placement memorandum, subscription agreement, and other relevant documentation of any such fund and should be read in their entirety.) Any investments or portfolio companies mentioned, referred to, or described are not representative of all investments in vehicles managed by a16z, and there can be no assurance that the investments will be profitable or that other investments made in the future will have similar characteristics or results. A list of investments made by funds managed by Andreessen Horowitz (excluding investments and certain publicly traded cryptocurrencies/ digital assets for which the issuer has not provided permission for a16z to disclose publicly) is available at https://a16z.com/investments/.
Charts and graphs provided within are for informational purposes solely and should not be relied upon when making any investment decision. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The content speaks only as of the date indicated. Any projections, estimates, forecasts, targets, prospects, and/or opinions expressed in these materials are subject to change without notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by others. Please see https://a16z.com/disclosures for additional important information.
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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
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