Blockchain. Bitcoin. Cryptocurrencies. There was a time when the masses were unaware of what these terms mean. Those days are long gone. Now, digital currencies are becoming more mainstream. You will find stores that accept cryptocurrency for transactions. You will come across companies that have eliminated intermediaries in their operations. For instance, The AutoBlock allows you to buy and sell cars through the blockchain technology.

The blockchain is becoming the talk of the town and statistics are here to prove it. In 2018 alone, over $2.1 billion were spent on blockchain solutions. It is believed that by 2024, this will increase to a whopping amount of $20 billion.

The blockchain isn’t the only trending technology of 2018. You will also find Artificial Intelligence to be causing quite a lot of buzz. BridghtEdge conducted a study and found that after personalization, AI is the next significant trend.

You might view AI and blockchain as two separate entities. Each of them is growing and delivering benefits to consumers. However, what a lot of people don’t realize is that Ai can also improve Blockchain.

Exploring Blockchain: What it is

Before we delve into AI and how it can transform blockchain for the better, let’s first dive into the blockchain technology itself.

What is blockchain exactly? Well, it is a secure online database where data regarding different transactions are recorded. This allows for efficient auditing and elimination of intermediaries. While before, those who didn’t know each other carried out their sales through banks, now blockchain technology delivers a way to do it directly. That too without the risk attached.

Why is it gaining popularity? The growth of cryptocurrency and blockchain might be because it is massively unregulated. Hence, it is an excellent way of raising capital.

Here comes AI

Even if you look at AI in isolation, you have to admit that it poses excellent opportunities. Many tend to associate AI with robots. This isn’t everything that augmented Artificial Intelligence encompasses. Instead, it includes features like recognizing images, speech, mining text, naturally processing languages, and deep learning, etc. The goal of AI is to make intelligent machines that can be used to improve the current systems.

For instance, AI has the power to revolutionize the transport and healthcare industry alike. From changing customer service to building business models, there is nothing AI can’t do.

Why should blockchain and AI converge?

By this point, we have established what the technologies are and how they, in isolation, have the potential to improve the lives of the masses.

Now, let’s look into why the two should be merged. Here are the two biggest reasons.

1.Their technologies work well together

One of the best features of blockchain is that it can secure data. How does it do so? It does so via encryption. This means that blockchain technology is the perfect platform to store highly personal and sensitive data. This personal data, when appropriately processed via AI technology can transform lives. Think of it this way. Let’s say blockchain is used for storing healthcare data of individuals. When you apply AI to this collected data, the accuracy of diagnoses and proper coding can increase.

You might be wondering, how can AI work with encrypted data? After all, the whole purpose of encryption is to avoid making the data accessible right? Well, AI has progressed enough to work with data that are still encrypted. This means you don’t have to worry about your personal data being used in an unsecured way.

2.AI has the power to increase the efficiency of the blockchain

You might not realize that, but humans and traditional computers are severely limiting blockchain. With humans, the technology is restricted by our expertise. Not to mention the inefficiencies we are bound to make along the way. With computers, blockchain is limited because of processing power. Since data in blockchain is all encrypted, you need a lot of machines and a lot of processing power to get things done.

AI can change it all. Since this technology is based on making computer systems intelligent and smart, AI has the power to manage different tasks assigned to it without needing a human workforce or high processing power. Instead, it can be seen as an equivalent to an expert in the field.

How can AI transform Blockchain?

Augmented AI can change blockchain for the better in the following ways.

• Reducing energy consumption

Data mining is no easy feat. It requires a lot of energy and processing. AI can reduce the amount of energy consumption, thereby lowering the amount of investment needed for mining.

• Better security

Even though blockchain technology is almost hack-proof, the same cannot be said about its various applications. AI can help in providing the required protection for applications.

• Efficiency

According to Deloitte, blockchain involves spending of $600 million per year. AI can reduce the cost of validating transactions by a considerable amount. For instance, if the system can become intelligent enough to understand which node will perform which task first, the cost of duplication of functions can be eliminated.

How can Blockchain transform AI?

The possibilities aren’t just for Blockchain. Instead, AI can benefit from the convergence as well.

• Enhancing the effectiveness of AI

Blockchain can provide access to secure data. The more data AI can extract, the more intelligent it can become. The models it comes up with and the results it delivers are likely to be more effective.

• Increasing trust in AI

AI is often met with skepticism. Our generation has seen too many robot movies to be trusting of such technology. However, blockchain can surely change this. With blockchain, you are delivered with transparent auditing. This helps in building trust in the system as well as within the networks.

Conclusion

As you can see, if we were to converge Augmented Ai and blockchain, there are possibilities for both technologies to improve. Only time will tell whether the two can truly unite for the betterment of the masses.