Pierre Samaties, Chief Business Officer at DFINITY Foundation, outlines how the Internet Computer Protocol (ICP) is positioned to revolutionise the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and the internet. In his talk, Samaties delves into the need for secure, trusted, and sovereign AI, while showcasing how ICP is facilitating the development and operation of AI on-chain. He also discusses the collaborative approach ICP advocates within the broader blockchain ecosystem.
Samaties begins by introducing DFINITY, the Swiss-based foundation behind ICP, which has been dubbed the “NASA of decentralisation” due to its strong scientific approach. With a team of around 300 people, including many PhDs and top cryptographers, DFINITY has invested heavily in research and development to build the infrastructure supporting ICP. The foundation’s vision is to transform the internet into a “World’s computer,” going beyond the traditional role of blockchain as a simple ledger to serve as a complete computational platform.
He explains ICP’s unique structure, which includes sovereign hardware spread across 150 data centres worldwide, and a reverse gas fee model that shifts the cost of computation from users to developers. This, Samaties argues, is essential for scaling Web3 beyond decentralised finance (DeFi) to broader applications. The protocol boasts high throughput, with theoretical transaction speeds of 200,000 transactions per second and sub-second finality, crucial for enabling real-time, high-volume applications.
ICP also offers a different approach to smart contracts through canisters, which provide a complete app infrastructure. This capability enables ICP to host and run AI models directly on-chain, a key feature that sets it apart from traditional blockchain networks. Moreover, ICP’s decentralised architecture and scalability are underpinned by chain cryptography and community governance, allowing apps to be governed by decentralized autonomous organisations (DAOs).
One of the standout features Samaties highlights is ICP’s user-friendly identity solution. Unlike the complex seed phrases and wallet setups often associated with Web3, ICP offers the “internet identity,” which simplifies user authentication through existing digital tools, such as smartphones or security keys.
A critical part of ICP’s AI vision is the ability to run AI models fully on-chain, addressing potential risks associated with centralised AI, such as data privacy issues and model bias. By decentralising AI, ICP ensures greater transparency, data sovereignty, and privacy, with the added benefit of fairer monetisation for contributors to AI models.
Samaties also predicts that AI will disrupt traditional app stores and software companies, as more people will use AI for tasks like private wealth management. In his view, AI models will evolve to act as economic participants, capable of holding digital assets and transacting independently.
ICP’s ecosystem is rapidly growing, with over 60 projects currently building AI applications. These projects span various sectors, and ICP’s chain fusion capabilities allow integration with other blockchains, enhancing interoperability and supporting the broader blockchain ecosystem.
Finally, Samaties touches on the future of app creation. Through the unique capabilities of ICP and its Moto programming language, users will soon be able to “prompt” their own apps using natural language. This innovation removes the need for complex coding and offers a truly decentralised platform where users can not only create but also update their applications seamlessly. This shift towards a fully decentralised and dynamic web, Samaties concludes, represents the next paradigm in the evolution of the internet and AI.
