We at Cryptonomist were present at the Paris Blockchain Week, where a high-level panel was held dedicated to the future of artificial intelligence in synergy with blockchain technology. A heated discussion, rich in technical and ethical insights, highlighted the opportunities and contradictions of this technological convergence. From the management of personal data to the energy cost of AI, up to the user sovereignty, the debate touched on the critical points of tomorrow’s Web3.
Taking the stage were Amelia Daly, Kevin Riou, Claudio Bedino, Ethan Pierse, and Aymen Soufi, five industry experts who offered complementary and in-depth perspectives on how to tackle the mass adoption of blockchain thanks to artificial intelligence.
The real cost of AI: every prompt has a price
The panel opened with a surprising reflection: every interaction with ChatGPT or similar costs about 0.46 dollars. A figure that includes energy consumption, computing power, and the infrastructure necessary to generate real-time responses. This cost does not fall on the end user, especially if they use free versions. But then, who pays the bill?
The answer is as simple as it is unsettling: value is extracted from our data. The user, in exchange for free access, gives up valuable information that is processed, stored, and often monetized. A well-known dynamic, which makes a different, more ethical, and decentralized approach even more urgent.
AI and Blockchain: data protection and participation
Precisely in this context, the blockchain comes into play, seen as a tool for privacy protection and returning control to users. One of the speakers emphasized how, through tokenization and decentralized architectures, it is possible to break the monopoly of big tech, which today hold enormous amounts of personal data.
AI and blockchain together can create new models of information governance, in which the user decides how, when, and with whom to share their data. Not only in the financial sector, but also in sensitive areas such as health, education, and energy consumption.
The energy paradox: double standards?
A hot topic of the panel was the energy required for artificial intelligence, often compared to that of blockchain. While in past years Bitcoin and other Proof-of-Work projects have been targeted for high consumption, today AI uses even greater amounts of electricity, without facing the same wave of criticism.
“We spend years justifying the energy use of mining and now no one discusses the climate cost of memes generated by ChatGPT”, observed one of the speakers. A clear invitation to evaluate innovation with consistency and transparency, beyond the trends of the moment.
Digital sovereignty: a risk of centralization in disguise?
The central issue of the discussion focused on individual sovereignty. The blockchain was created as a disintermediation technology, where each user is responsible for their own keys and decisions. But what happens if we delegate these choices to an agentic AI, capable of signing transactions or managing wallets?
According to some experts, there is a risk of recreating the intermediary, precisely the one that the crypto ecosystem had tried to eliminate. The adoption of overly autonomous AI could erode the concept of personal custody and create new forms of technological dependency.
AI as a tool, not a substitute
Despite these critical issues, all panel participants recognized the enormous potential of AI as a support tool. From energy consumption forecasts to optimized asset management, intelligenza artificiale can simplify users’ lives and increase the accuracy of decisions.
“AI must help humans make decisions, not make them in their place”, stated one of the panelists, emphasizing that the correct approach is one of collaboration, not substitution.
Future applications and technical challenges
Among the mentioned use cases, the following stand out:
- Automatic indexing of blockchain data, simplifying the work of developers
- Intelligent bots for financial education
- AI for node validation and interoperability between chain
However, it was also reiterated that the current AI agents are still primitive. Most are limited to speculative operations like trading, often ineffectively. The challenge is to develop more sophisticated, contextual, and controllable models.
Conclusion: governance, ethics, and responsibility
The panel of the Paris Blockchain Week has shone a spotlight on one of the most crucial topics for the future of Web3. The combination of AI and blockchain offers extraordinary possibilities, but also requires attention, ethics, and conscious design.
The real issue at stake is not just technical, but cultural: who will control the data, models, and decisions of the future? We at Cryptonomist will continue to closely follow this evolution, to report with expertise and transparency on the challenges and opportunities of the new digital ecosystem.
