Opinion by: Adrian Brink, co-founder of Anoma
Web3 was designed around the principles of decentralization, sovereignty, verifiability, and resilience. However, these fundamental values face significant threats. The emergence of AI agents is both advantageous and unavoidable. If these agents are not built on infrastructure centered on sovereign intent, they pose a risk to the foundational values of cryptocurrency.
Incorporating intents goes beyond merely enhancing user experience; it’s about empowering agents to realize their full capabilities while preserving the essence of Web3.
AI agents have the potential to facilitate smooth and intuitive blockchain interactions, but the current configuration of these agents raises serious security risks and diverges from Web3 principles. Presently, agents rely on black box large-language models (LLMs) that lack verifiability and are susceptible to inaccuracies. This is especially concerning in the context of sensitive financial information.
Privacy is non-negotiable
Agents are constructed on centralized systems with unclear execution methods, lacking user control over privacy and data sovereignty. They operate on proprietary algorithms from companies like IBM and OpenAI. This trend threatens to replicate Web2’s power dynamics within the crypto landscape.
By merging agents with intent-centric frameworks, we can empower users to maintain full control over their data and assets.
Intents serve as foundational components for decentralized applications, granting users comprehensive authority over the outcomes of their transactions. Supported by a decentralized network of solvers—agentic nodes competing to resolve user transactions—these systems simplify the blockchain experience while ensuring user sovereignty and privacy throughout.
Related: Intents fix crypto’s UX crisis and pave the way for agentic DeFi
Intent-driven systems provide all the user experience advantages of AI agents while preserving user sovereignty and assuring desired outcomes.
The centralization trap
In the absence of intents, AI agents pose considerable risks of centralization. As agent-based solutions gain traction, the possibility of centralization and market consolidation escalates.
Without a competitive, decentralized marketplace for agents, where individual agents vie for user engagement, we risk certain LLMs evolving into monopolies, dominating the entire order flow.
Intent-based infrastructure could foster decentralized, interoperable marketplaces of agents, preventing any single mega-agent from monopolizing the space. In such systems, agents would collaborate, specialize in particular transactions, share order flow, compete to fulfill user requirements, and, crucially, be accountable for their results.
Realizing the full potential of AI agents
Beyond safeguarding privacy, decentralization, and verifiability, intents will enable agents to achieve their full capabilities. Current AI agents operate largely in isolation, but intents can facilitate communication and interoperability among them. Inter-agent communication through intents will be essential for agents to engage with one another and execute more intricate, multi-step tasks for users.
With generalized intents, agents would gain even greater capabilities, able to handle complex requests, including intricate multi-step operations and crosschain transactions. This could pave the way for innovative applications that elevate decentralized finance (DeFi) beyond existing services, providing a user experience that rivals Web2.
A match made in DeFi heaven
The combination of AI agents and intents will transform the Web3 landscape while remaining true to its core values. Intents connect users and agents, delivering the user experience advantages expected from AI while upholding decentralization, sovereignty, and verifiability. Intent-centric systems will be pivotal in the next stage of Web3’s development, ensuring agents act in the best interest of users.
As the adoption of AI rises, so does the potential for repeating Web2’s pitfalls within Web3. A focus on intent-centric infrastructure is crucial for navigating the challenges and opportunities presented by AI agents, unlocking their full capabilities. Intents will become a vital component of infrastructure and an essential requirement for anyone integrating or contemplating the integration of AI into DeFi.
Intents should not be seen merely as an enhancement or upgrade to user experience; they are foundational infrastructure that guarantees AI serves users instead of reinforcing existing power structures. The sooner the industry embraces them, the greater the likelihood of maintaining a decentralized and open future.
Opinion by: Adrian Brink, co-founder of Anoma.
This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.
