Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
AI and blockchain are complementary forms of technology that have, as readers are likely aware, gained stunning momentum in recent years. Over the course of just last year, the former has found expansive application across the business landscape: According to a survey from UKG from late 2023, no less than 78% of executives reported that their companies were using artificial intelligence. A further 71% considered AI to be a medium to high priority for their businesses, and 62% thought they were not adopting such solutions fast enough.
Second, we have blockchain technology. As early as 2018, 84% of C-suite members in a PwC survey claimed to have a blockchain initiative underway, and the rapid rise of cryptocurrency in the intervening years has shed further light on its potential.
Related: Meet The Visionary Shaping Entertainment Through Blockchain
The benefits of AI and blockchain working in tandem
As these two concepts become more mainstream, business leaders are increasingly recognizing their productive capacity in working together. In a recent presentation at the EY Global Blockchain Summit 2024, for example, EY Global Chief Innovation Officer Jeff Wong addressed the synergistic possibilities of blockchain's ability to certify original ownership, particularly as AI-generated content increases. He pointed out that technologies rarely create a leap forward on their own: Usually, Wong said, they have to come together with other new or existing ones to enable higher utility and a surge of development.
Companies can use AI and blockchain together to change business processes and influence digital transactions—among the payoffs are a further reduction in costs and a transformation of consumer experiences in the consumption of online content and in other digital interactions.
The question is, what might all this potentially translate to in day-to-day business operations?
Here are a few possibilities:
1. AI-driven predictive analytics
The ability of artificial intelligence to look at past data and use it to predict future outcomes has gained impressive recent utility. However, that usefulness diminishes if past data is unreliable. Blockchain reinforces the predictions of AI-driven analytics by ensuring that data used in each algorithm is accurate, untampered with and transparent.
Companies can use blockchain to create a level of integrity and reliability that's not possible in a less secure set of data for AI models.
Related: A Complete Guide to Using Predictive Analytics in Your Business
2. Enhanced data security and capability
Blockchain's ability to improve data trustworthiness is unrivaled. It publicly traces all iterations of a piece of data, recording transactions in a decentralized and tamper-proof manner.
This markedly improves data quality but does not boost utility. That's where AI comes into the picture: It can execute increasingly sophisticated actions, including creation and generation. But here once again, the quality of data lies at the heart of each LLM's (large language models) dependability — something blockchain naturally elevates.
Blockchain technology can create data that powers cleaner and more accurate AI results.
3. Sophisticated smart contracts
Contracts make the business world go round, but can also hold things up when not handled efficiently. Blockchain makes it possible to store self-executing smart contracts on-chain when certain conditions are met. This reduces errors, eliminates the need for intermediaries and lowers costs.
AI takes the basic yet vital acceleration of blockchain contract execution and increases complexity. The LLM models and neural networks that power AI algorithms introduce a higher degree of adaptation to the smart contract model. This gives them a dynamic, decision-making quality that uses real-time data to power adjustments.
Businesses can use AI to enhance smart contract capabilities and reduce workloads.
Related: Making a Difference with Adaptive Neural Networks
Investing in synergy
Technology is always advancing, but rare are the moments when multiple complementary techs overlap in powerful ways. The intersection of blockchain's reliability and AI's capability could lead to an explosion in business efficiency and dynamism. The question is, are you and your company ready to explore that new frontier?
