There is a “huge opportunity” for Ethereum to become a decentralized partner in solving current problems with artificial intelligence platforms

Ethereum’s “biggest mainstream moment is waiting in the wings with AI,” said Eric Connor on X on April 15.

A former core Ethereum developer has said that there is a “huge opportunity” for the blockchain to become a decentralized partner in solving current problems with artificial intelligence platforms.

While AI is on a fast track to reshape almost every aspect of our lives, it is “plagued by black-box models, centralized data silos and privacy pitfalls,” said Eric Connor. But these problems create an opportunity for Ethereum to shine, he said.

Ethereum offers transparency through verifiable smart contracts, decentralization against big tech monopolies, aligned incentives via token economies and built-in micropayment infrastructure, he explained in a post on X on Friday.

Smart contracts can provide transparent records of AI model training processes and data sources, addressing the “black box” problem.

However, major AI players may resist open models “as they profit from secrecy and control,” he said. Demand for transparency, fairness and security will only grow, and that’s where Ethereum “offers an alternative path.”

By proactively building the tooling, research and real-world use cases, Ethereum can give AI developers a reason to embrace decentralized approaches, “and that could deliver mainstream adoption far beyond finance,” Connor concluded.

The next frontier for crypto will be decentralizing AI, Zain Jaffer, co-founder of Vungle, told Cointelegraph earlier this year.

Connor left the Ethereum community in January amid growing leadership concerns to pursue interests in AI.

AI agents on Ethereum

Ethereum may also be important for the development of agentic AI, according to a recent post on the Ethereum blog.

This emerging and experimental technology is seeing the creation of software programs that use artificial intelligence to autonomously perform tasks, make decisions, learn from data and adapt to changes.

The Ethereum blockchain provides key advantages for these AI agents, including access to transparent, real-time blockchain data, true digital asset ownership and the ability to execute transactions and interact with smart contracts, it noted.

The post highlighted three notable projects, which were Luna, an autonomous virtual influencer that manages its own onchain wallet; ¡` ×AIXBT, an AI agent providing crypto market analysis; and Botto, a decentralized autonomous artist creating NFTs guided by community voting.

Meanwhile, projects like Bankr and HeyAnon are simplifying blockchain interactions through conversational interfaces, enabling users to manage wallets and execute transactions via simple chat commands.