Opinion by: Adrian Brink, co-founder of Anoma
Web3 is built on principles of decentralization, sovereignty, verifiability, and resilience, but these values now face challenges. The emergence of AI agents brings both benefits and potential risks. If these agents are not developed on infrastructure that prioritizes sovereign intent, they threaten the foundational values of crypto.
Integrating intents is crucial, as it’s not just about enhancing user experience; it’s about allowing agents to operate at their best without compromising the ethos of Web3.
AI agents can streamline blockchain interactions, yet current implementations raise significant security risks and conflict with Web3 principles. Present-day agents rely on black box large-language models (LLMs) that are unverifiable and prone to errors, creating a hazardous environment for handling sensitive financial data.
Privacy is non-negotiable
Agents are currently structured on centralized platforms with unclear execution methods, leading to a lack of control over user privacy and data sovereignty. They are reliant on proprietary algorithms from companies like IBM and OpenAI, which threatens to replicate the power imbalances seen in Web2 within the crypto space.
By incorporating agents into intent-driven systems, we can empower users to maintain full control over their data and assets.
Intents serve as essential components for decentralized applications, granting users total authority over their transaction outcomes. These systems, supported by a decentralized network of solvers, allow agent nodes to compete to fulfill user transactions, simplifying blockchain interactions while preserving user sovereignty and privacy.
Related: Intents fix crypto’s UX crisis and pave the way for agentic DeFi
Intent-driven systems provide the user experience advantages of AI agents while upholding user sovereignty and ensuring that their desired results are met.
The centralization trap
In the absence of intents, AI agents pose serious concerns regarding centralization. As agent-based solutions gain traction, the risk of market consolidation rises significantly.
A competitive, decentralized marketplace of agents is essential; without it, specific LLMs may dominate, potentially monopolizing order flows.
Intent-based frameworks can create decentralized, interoperable marketplaces of agents that mitigate the risk of a mega-agent takeover. In these ecosystems, agents can interact, specialize in specific transactions, share order flows, and, importantly, be held responsible for outcomes.
Realizing the full potential of AI agents
Beyond safeguarding privacy, decentralization, and verifiability, intents help agents reach their maximum capabilities. Current agents often operate in isolation, but intents facilitate communication and interoperability among agents. This enables agents to engage in trading with one another and performing more intricate, multi-step tasks for users.
With generalized intents, agents can tackle any user request, including complex operations and cross-chain transactions. This opens avenues for new applications, advancing decentralized finance (DeFi) beyond existing services and equipping Web3 with user experiences that rival those of Web2.
A match made in DeFi heaven
The integration of AI agents and intents will transform the Web3 landscape while staying true to its core beliefs. Intents connect users and agents, offering the expected user experience benefits from AI while preserving decentralization, sovereignty, and verifiability. Intent-driven systems will be pivotal in the next stage of Web3 evolution, ensuring agents act in alignment with users’ best interests.
As AI continues to proliferate, the risk of reproducing Web2-related challenges in Web3 escalates. Infrastructure centered on intents is critical to navigating the challenges and opportunities presented by AI agents, essential for unlocking their full potential. Intents are not just an enhancement but crucial infrastructure to ensure that AI serves users, not existing powers. Swift industry adoption will enhance the likelihood of ensuring a decentralized, 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.
