Blockchain and AI: Complementary Technologies

Charles Hoskinson, founder of Cardano, believes that blockchain and AI are not competitors but rather complementary technologies. He argues that blockchain can provide a coordination infrastructure for agents, data, and compute, which can benefit various layers of the AI stack.

Hoskinson identifies three concrete problems where blockchain can add value: payments, alignment, and provenance. For example, in machine-to-machine payments, blockchain provides a shared registry, settlement in seconds or milliseconds, and contracts that condition payment on delivery of data.

However, Hoskinson also acknowledges the limitations of blockchain, including latency, cost per transaction, custody complexity, and regulatory compliance. He proposes using payment channels, rollups, and account abstraction to enable end-users to manage keys directly.