Jacob Steeves's guest appearances

Jacob Steeves

Towards Data Science

Meta-Averse

OwlTail

Ala Shaabana

Two ML researchers with world-class pedigrees who decided to build a company that puts AI on the blockchain. Now to most people — myself included — “AI on the blockchain” sounds like a winning entry in some kind of startup buzzword bingo. But what I discovered talking to Jacob and Ala was that they actually have good reasons to combine those two ingredients together. At a high level, doing AI on a blockchain allows you to decentralize AI research and reward labs for building better models, and not for publishing papers in flashy journals with often biased reviewers. And that’s not all — as we’ll see, Ala and Jacob are taking on some of the thorniest current problems in AI with their decentralized approach to machine learning. Everything from the problem of designing robust benchmarks to rewarding good AI research and even the centralization of power in the hands of a few large companies building powerful AI systems — these problems are all in their sights as they build out Bittensor, their AI-on-the-blockchain-startup. Ala and Jacob joined me to talk about all those things and more on this episode of the TDS podcast. --- Intro music: - Artist: Ron Gelinas - Track Title: Daybreak Chill Blend (original mix) - Link to Track: https://youtu.be/d8Y2sKIgFWc --- Chapters:  2:40 Ala and Jacob’s backgrounds 4:00 The basics of AI on the blockchain 11:30 Generating human value 17:00 Who sees the benefit? 22:00 Use of GPUs 28:00 Models learning from each other 37:30 The size of the network 45:30 The alignment of these systems 51:00 Buying into a system 54:00 Wrap-up

Two ML researchers with world-class pedigrees who decided to build a company that puts AI on the blockchain. Now to most people — myself included — “AI on the blockchain” sounds like a winning entry in some kind of startup buzzword bingo. But what I discovered talking to Jacob and Ala was that they actually have good reasons to combine those two ingredients together. At a high level, doing AI on a blockchain allows you to decentralize AI research and reward labs for building better models, and not for publishing papers in flashy journals with often biased reviewers. And that’s not all — as we’ll see, Ala and Jacob are taking on some of the thorniest current problems in AI with their decentralized approach to machine learning. Everything from the problem of designing robust benchmarks to rewarding good AI research and even the centralization of power in the hands of a few large companies building powerful AI systems — these problems are all in their sights as they build out Bittensor, their AI-on-the-blockchain-startup. Ala and Jacob joined me to talk about all those things and more on this episode of the TDS podcast. --- Intro music: - Artist: Ron Gelinas - Track Title: Daybreak Chill Blend (original mix) - Link to Track: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8Y2sKIgFWc&amp;t=0s" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/d8Y2sKIgFWc</a> --- Chapters: <ul> <li>2:40 Ala and Jacob’s backgrounds</li> <li>4:00 The basics of AI on the blockchain</li> <li>11:30 Generating human value</li> <li>17:00 Who sees the benefit? 22:00 Use of GPUs</li> <li>28:00 Models learning from each other</li> <li>37:30 The size of the network</li> <li>45:30 The alignment of these systems</li> <li>51:00 Buying into a system</li> <li>54:00 Wrap-up</li></ul>

123. Ala Shaabana and Jacob Steeves - AI on the blockchain (it actually might just make sense)

Bittensor is building a network on the blockchain to democratize the global production and use of artificial intelligence. Co-founders Ala Shaabana and Jacob Steeves join the show to explain how web3 can facilitate more efficient development of machine intelligence in a way that rewards its creators, whether they work for a tech giant, or work independently. Can DAOs and tokenization help shape an intelligence marketplace that rewards creators and aligns with human interests and well-being?Check out Bittensor: http://bittensor.comJoin the Bittensor Discord: https://discord.gg/QRXTZek4juReality Intrudes on a Utopian Crypto Vision — NYT article mentioned in the episode: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/08/us/politics/cryptocurrency-dao.html This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit metaaverse.substack.com

Bittensor is building a network on the blockchain to democratize the global production and use of artificial intelligence. Co-founders Ala Shaabana and Jacob Steeves join the show to explain how web3 can facilitate more efficient development of machine intelligence in a way that rewards its creators, whether they work for a tech giant, or work independently. Can DAOs and tokenization help shape an intelligence marketplace that rewards creators and aligns with human interests and well-being? Check out Bittensor: <a href="http://bittensor.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://bittensor.com</a> Join the Bittensor Discord: <a href="https://discord.gg/QRXTZek4ju" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://discord.gg/QRXTZek4ju</a> Reality Intrudes on a Utopian Crypto Vision — NYT article mentioned in the episode: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/08/us/politics/cryptocurrency-dao.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/08/us/politics/cryptocurrency-dao.html</a> This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://metaaverse.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_campaign=CTA_1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">metaaverse.substack.com</a>