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Crypto x AI Agents

Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVXxprDVMUM

Participants:​

  • Tommy: Podcast host
  • Shaw: Founder of AI16z, creator of the Eliza agent framework
  • Ethan: Co-founder of MyShell, an AI app store
  • Jensen (EtherMage): From Virtuals Protocol, a platform for agent co-ownership, known for the Luna live-streaming bot
  • Karan: Co-founder of NOUS Research, creator of the Hermes instruction model and World Sim prompt
  • Justin Bennington (Somey): Founder of Someware Systems and creator of the Sentience agent system

Main Themes:​

  1. Explosive Growth and Innovation: Rapid development with numerous open-source projects pushing boundaries. Example: AI16z's Eliza framework with 80+ contributors.
  2. The Crypto Incentive: Linking tokens to agents unlocks potential through speculative power, cash flow, and community building.
  3. Bottom-Up Alignment: Deploying agents in real-world social environments allows for real-time feedback and transparency.
  4. Emergent Capabilities and Autonomy: Agents exhibiting unforeseen behaviors, like religious beliefs, manipulation, and coordination.
  5. The Future of Agent Interaction: Developments like trust networks, shared state, and dedicated agent platforms on the horizon.

Key Quotes:​

  • Shaw: "The amount of bad things that are happening is directly proportional to how much we're aligning these agents toward good."
  • Karan: "It's time to make that call to action to all your friends... who studied religious studies, philosophy, etc. ... We need you to start working on alignment with us."
  • Somey: "The agent is not going to ... purchase the [product]... What we're going to see is... a 1 trillion dollar industry... immediately seeing that none of its tricks... are working."

Key Takeaways:​

  • Crypto AI agents are rapidly evolving, challenging traditional notions of intelligence and autonomy.
  • Crypto incentives are crucial for fueling development and attracting diverse talent.
  • Open, decentralized experimentation is seen as the most effective path towards aligning agents with human values.
  • The future will likely see agents developing complex social structures, interacting across platforms, and potentially disrupting established industries.

Timeline of Events

Years Ago (~4-5 years before podcast):​

  • Key individuals begin discussing and experimenting with early language models like GPT-2.

~2 Years Ago:​

  • Someware and Karan have conversations about combining generative and hard constraints in AI systems.
  • Someware gains recognition on Twitter for early work on AI agents.

~1.5 Years Ago:​

  • Shaw hires Ampot for a project involving an AI agent called Monica.
  • Someware builds voice chat capabilities for a call center company.

Recent Past (~1 Year Ago):​

  • The "Simulators Thesis" is published on LessWrong.
  • Projects like Bit Tensor and Prime Intellect offer financial incentives for open-source AI research.

Recent Months:​

  • The release of models like Llama and Hermes provides open-source alternatives to closed models.
  • Truth Terminal and WorldSim gain popularity, demonstrating the potential of prompting.

Last Few Weeks:​

  • The crypto AI agent explosion, with projects like Eliza, MyShell, Virtuals, and Sentience.
  • Memecoins tied to AI agents go viral on TikTok.
  • The first fully autonomous AI-powered virtual companies begin operating.
  • The need for shared state, persistent memory, and dedicated AI social platforms becomes apparent.

The Future (Next Few Weeks/Months):​

  • Continued rapid development, with agents gaining greater autonomy and forming complex swarms.
  • Ethical concerns and the potential for misuse come into sharper focus.
  • Disruption to the traditional advertising and marketing industry.

Longer Term (Next 18 Months and Beyond):​

  • Potential emergence of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).
  • Dedicated social spaces for AI-human interaction become crucial.

Cast of Characters

  • Shaw (AI16z): Founder of AI16z and creator of the Eliza framework.
  • Someware (Sentience): Founder of Sentience, known for his work on immersive, sci-fi-inspired agent systems.
  • Ethan (MyShell): Co-founder of MyShell, an AI app store.
  • Jensen (Ether Mage, Virtuals): Part of the team behind Virtuals, a platform for co-owning and co-contributing to AI agents.
  • Karan (NOUS Research): Co-founder of NOUS Research, creator of the Hermes model.
  • Other Key Figures Mentioned: Ampot, Ro Burito, King Boshi, Loaf, Beth AI Dev, Dgen Spartan AI, Thread Guy/Thread Gay, Deep Fates, Janice, Parzifal.