Sandy Carter is Chief Operating Officer and Head of Business Development at Unstoppable Domains, a platform for user-owned digital identity. As COO, she is responsible for driving growth and developing business strategies in pursuit of the company’s mission to provide a user-owned identity for the world. She also drives partnerships and integrations for Web3 and the Metaverse. Prior to Unstoppable, Sandy was a VP at AWS, where she created and grew businesses in emerging tech, leveraging AI, blockchain, and AR/VR. Before that, she was a General Manager at IBM and a Silicon Valley start-up founder.
If PwC’s finding that AI could contribute upwards of $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030 is accurate, then we are set to witness monumental change. Socially, culturally, technologically, and through almost every aspect of our lives, the convergence of AI and blockchain will present opportunities for change. There are exciting times ahead for business leaders, with so many sectors ripe and ready for innovations.
In 2023, we saw over $17.7 billion invested just in Web3, a figure expected to climb in 2024. As engagement with AI and Web3 increases and institutional investment pours in, largely through a new Spot Bitcoin ETF that is set to be approved, huge funds for driving research and development are set to be unleashed. The job market is also expected to surge in AI and blockchain-related positions.
Efficiency, transparency, and financial democracy are on the precipice of significant change; I’m sure of that. I’ve seen it before, working at IBM during the first rise of AI and at AWS through the development of ultra-efficient cloud computing. Now, once again, all signs are there for a new technological shift.
The Blockchain is a Certified Winner
By now, most of us in the tech world — and even those who aren’t — are quite familiar with what the blockchain does, even if we don’t understand how or the intricacies involved. In short, it offers distributed ledger technology that decentralizes information, prioritizing digital ownership and trust in the process. Web3 has leveraged that, bringing identity, gaming, communications, domains, community growth, collectibles, and more. This now-maturing space promises to democratize the internet, shift the power dynamic from centralized entities, and enhance transparency and security.
Then there’s tokenization, which will remain a big buzzword for the next few years. The concept of being able to put physical assets and traditional trading instruments on the blockchain is expected to radically change conventional investment frameworks and ownership. This will significantly lower transaction costs and make it easier to break down assets into fractional shares. Major investment firms will be able to use tokenization to lower the barrier of entry to their products.
When the blockchain, AI, and Web3 all converge, we find limitless decentralized possibilities that remove the need for centralized authorities and intermediaries. It’s a level playing field. On top of that, you have smart contracts, which automate and streamline certain processes and transactions, making actions more operationally efficient and with reduced vulnerabilities to fraud.
At a more human and consumer level, the convergence of these technologies can be fun, engaging, and rewarding if done well. One of Europe’s largest airlines, Lufthansa, revamped its loyalty program by allowing passengers to collect and redeem digital trading cards for real-world benefits like free in-flight Wi-Fi, airport lounges, and airline miles. They did this by using the blockchain as a superior system to their previous loyalty efforts.
Integration of AI in Web3: Practical Applications
For those paying close attention to both Web3 and AI, we are in a period where the most innovative Web3 projects seek ways to integrate AI, and AI developers build their tools with Web3 and the blockchain in mind. One project that has successfully brought the two together for the greater good is Ocean Protocol. Their core mission is to create a decentralized data exchange to enable data sharing and monetization while ensuring data privacy. They now leverage AI to process data related to the supply chain, identifying patterns and trends that could be useful for improving supply chain management. If applied globally, in theory, we’d see carbon emission reductions, smaller supply chains, and faster deliveries.
As brands enter Web3 and look to build communities, products, and experiences on-chain, they know they could be exposing themselves to risk in what is a relative unknown. To protect their business from financial and reputation harm, some brands are looking at narrative risk intelligence, an advanced AI tool that detects, measures, and mitigates risks arising from misinformation, disinformation, deepfakes, and more. One innovator in this space, Blackbird.AI, has already built a tool that can support an increasingly complex digital media landscape that is set to face the most challenging election season yet.
Another platform I’d like to mention is TokenMetrics, which uses AI to provide users with more in-depth insights and analyses of the crypto market. Before integrating AI, they were doing a tremendous human-led job of this, but when you add so much computational power to the effort, allowing AI to evaluate risks and opportunities, search through and organize masses of historical data, and better understand project fundamentals, the results are profound. I predict that all cryptocurrency data sites and platforms will be using AI tools by the end of the year, and if they do not, they will be left behind.
AI’s Dual Role: Competitor and Creator in the Job Market
I spent a lot of time in 2023 talking with industry professionals, recruiters, employment experts, valued connections, and more about everything AI, and time and time again; the conversation ended up as a debate about AI’s potential to destroy jobs. I believe it will not kill jobs but augment them and likely create new ones. If AI removes some jobs, I think they’ll be unwanted jobs, first of all, and the new jobs it will create will be exciting and desirable.
I can fully understand why AI’s capability to automate tasks raises concerns about job displacement in fields like content creation, software development, and healthcare. However, technological advancements that combine AI with blockchain can revolutionize fields like cybersecurity, finance, and identity protection.
I’m even seeing AI-based recruitment tools within the HR and employment space, such as Braintrust. By creating a decentralized talent network, they connect skilled professionals with leading global companies in a community-driven ecosystem. This approach disrupts traditional job market models and offers freelancers in the gig economy greater control and reduced fees. From where I’m sitting, Braintrust’s use of Web3 clearly fosters a fairer and more transparent hiring process while also empowering its community members with a stake in the network’s governance.
I’ve also been keen to educate those interested in this topic about the introduction of Web3 IDs and how they will also support the job market. These digital identities serve as repositories for credentials and personal information, providing a more secure alternative to centralized storage systems. With the integration of AI, the job searching process will be radically transformed, and AI algorithms will match job listings with candidates based on their Web3 IDs to ensure a more efficient and accurate recruitment process. You will have full control of your data and the ability to opt in or out whenever, with none of your data being stored or sold.
Blockchain technology is already transforming the employee life cycle, particularly when it comes to hiring and onboarding. It benefits HR departments, too, as they can easily verify and validate the skills and education of recruits and establish trusted records of upskilling and workplace performance. Using blockchain as a core part of HR processes would impact the entire hire-to-retire lifecycle, benefiting everyone.
Moreover, the implementation of on-chain job contracts through Web3 IDs could introduce a new level of transparency and fairness in employment. Once agreed upon, these contracts would be immutable and self-executing to ensure timely and accurate compensation for services rendered. Imagine that you could get a job, do the work, and get paid, all via smart contracts that guarantee to do what they say they will.
The future of work in an AI and Web3-dominated world is most certainly not about replacing humans but augmenting their abilities in a way that enables more meaningful, fulfilling, and mission-driven work.
Web3, Blockchain, AI – Pushing Together for Progress
As I see it, these technologies and industries are all rowing the same boat, moving forward in the same direction towards a better, fairer, and more equitable society. Technology will be more usable, investments will be more accessible, logistics and healthcare will be more efficient, employment will be smoother and more reliable, and in almost every digital action we will take, a combination of excellent technologies will be working to improve our experience. That’s a future I’m very excited to see.