SingularityNET (AGIX) Review: AI Meets Blockchain Tech

Picture this: The year is 1991, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, our beloved action hero, is back in action as the Terminator (this time as the good guy). On one side, you have this super-smart AI bent on exterminating humanity, and on the other, you've got the Austrian Oak himself.

When I think of AI, I can't help but recall "Terminator 2: Judgment Day." You know, the one where a future AI known as Skynet had a bone to pick with humanity and thought, “Hey, why not develop some killer robots to spice things up?” We all know how that fight ended: Arnold giving a stoic thumbs up as he voluntarily plunged himself into a vat of searing molten steel.

Just like in the movie, SingularityNET's marketplace harnesses the power of AI, but with blockchain technology thrown on top. Instead of robot apocalypses, however, it offers a world of possibilities by unleashing AI's potential for the better.

SingularityNET's Marketplace is a bit like the futuristic technology we saw in The Terminator. In this case, however, it's a website where you can find various AI services. These services are listed on the site. Just as Arnold's character brought his unwavering determination to save humanity, SingularityNET combines AI and blockchain to bring a new level of trust and automation to the world of AI services.

This SingularityNET review will explore how the company represents a bold leap towards a future powered by AI and blockchain technology.

SingularityNET Review Summary

SingularityNET is a decentralized marketplace for artificial intelligence. Unlike Skynet's menacing agenda, SingularityNET aims to democratize access to AI services, breaking down the barriers that have traditionally confined them to tech giants. 

The Key Features of SingularityNET Are:

• Robust AI platform
• AI - Domain-Specific Language
• AGIX Staking
• SingularityNET Bridge
• OpenCog Hyperon

What Is The Singularity?

Before we begin our review of SingularityNET, it's essential to understand what the term “Singularity” means.

AI has gained unprecedented prominence in recent years, moving away from a little-known area of computer science into arguably the most sought-after segment. As you're aware, there have been considerable advancements in AI in recent years — medical diagnosis, computer vision and image classification, programs like ChatGPT, and augmented reality are just some of the examples.

The Holy Grail, however, is "The Singularity,” a point in the future where technology evolves to a point that makes human intelligence obsolete. Artificial general intelligence (AGI) is closely tied to the singularity. Think of AGI as a level of intelligence equal to that of a human where it could, at least theoretically, accomplish any intellectual task that we can. AGI is considered a prerequisite for the singularity to occur.

Proponents paint a rosy picture of the future after Singularity — a new era of technological advancements, enhanced human capabilities and better quality of life. Those in the opposing camp, however, say it could lead to economic disruption and job displacement, and, this may sound familiar, the possibility of AI-powered warfare.

Right, back to SingularityNET.

What Is SingularityNET?

SingularityNET is using blockchain to open access to artificial intelligence models. It serves as a link among AI services around the world. Developers publish their services to the SingularityNET network, where they can be used by anyone. Developers are able to charge for the use of their services using the native AGIX token.

Developers can provide inference or model training across myriad domains such as image, video, speech, text, time-series, bio-AI, and network analysis. These services can take various forms — wrapping a well-known algorithm, a complete end-to-end solution for an industry problem, or a standalone AI application. In addition, developers can also deploy autonomous AI agents that interoperate with other services on the network.

The company aims to let anyone monetize AI, allowing companies and developers to buy and sell AI algorithms at scale, which will lower costs and increase the capabilities of AIs. As SingularityNET CEO Ben Goertzel put it: 

“It lets you have a network of A.I.s that nobody owns.” - The New York Times

A major step towards achieving singularity is bridging the gap between AI and robotics — something SingularityNET is working on as well.

In 2021, SingularityNET co-founder and CEO of Hanson Robotics David Hanson released Sophia, a humanoid robot. That same year, SingularityNET launched SophiaDAO, which is tasked with Sophia's growth, well-being and development. Desdemona, or Desi, is the company's latest AI and robotics project. Touted as an AI diva, the plan is to turn Desi into an AI popstar, celebrity and influencer.

SingularityNET COO Janet Adams told Decrypt that humanity could achieve singularity sooner rather than later.

“We acknowledge that there are a number of research breakthroughs to happen before we get to human-level AGI (artificial general intelligence). “But we have built the technology stack for that AGI, and they could even emerge sooner than three to seven years.” - Decrypt

Who Are SingularityNET's Founders?

Goertzel and Hanson are SingularityNET's co-founders. 

In addition to SingularityNET, Goertzel leads SingularityNET Foundation, the OpenCog Foundation, and the AGI Society, which runs the annual Artificial General Intelligence conference. As chief scientist of Hanson Robotics, he led the software team behind the Sophia robot. Goertzel has a PhD in mathematics, and he has over published 25 scientific books, about 150 technical papers, and numerous journalistic articles, and he has given talks at a vast number of events of all sorts.

At one time, Hanson used to work as a Walt Disney Imagineer, both a sculptor and a technical consultant in robotics, and later founded Hanson Robotics. He has published dozens of papers in materials science, artificial intelligence, cognitive science, and robotics journals. Hanson holds a Ph.D. in interactive arts and technology.

SingularityNET Review: Top Features

SingularityNET aims to be the Swiss army knife of blockchain-AI startups. Here's how:

AI Marketplace

The SingularityNET Marketplace is a decentralized application (DApp), which lists the available AI services and helps you to interact with those services through a web interface. It performs a number of functions:

• Facilitating trustless and automated transactions
• Publishing new AI services and organizations on the blockchain
• Tracking successful API calls and defining pricing strategies

Each service on the marketplace has its own page with information like pictures, prices, and how to use it. You can also see how well it's been rated by others and even try a demo if it's available.

If you're a developer who creates these smart services, you'll get access to the “AI Publisher Portal.” This unlocks a host of helpful tools — usage analytics, team management and coordination, financial management, and beta testing tools — that can be used to better manage your services and glean insights into how people are using them.

AGIX Staking

Holders of SingularityNET's native AGIX token can contribute to the strength of the project through the Staking portal. Users can stake their AGIX tokens in 30-day sessions. At the end of this period, they can either continue to allow their tokens to continue staking or withdraw them along with any reward earned during the period.

The staking portal is operational on the Ethereum blockchain, and the company is currently beta-testing a staking portal on the Cardano blockchain which should be released in the near future.

SingularityNET Bridge

SingularityNet Bridge allows users to transfer their tokens across supported blockchains. Currently, it supports AGIX and NTX tokens on Ethereum and Cardano.

When converting tokens from Ethereum to Cardano, the bridge will burn the Ethereum-based tokens in a smart contract, and an equal amount of new tokens will be minted on Cardano. When moving back from Cardano to Ethereum, the AGIX-ADA tokens will get burned and the same amount of AGIX-ETH tokens will be minted on the Ethereum side, available for the user to claim.

AI - Domain-Specific Language (DSL)

AI-DSL is a service that's being developed for the future. AI models typically follow an “if-then” logic. For example, if you bring lunch from home, then will not need to buy it at work. 

What makes AI DSL special is that it doesn't need strict, specific instructions for what it can do or how it should do it. It's like an AI personal assistant that's continuously learning and evolving to become better at helping you with various tasks. 

Imagine you have a vast array of digital services, each capable of performing different tasks. Some can analyze data, others can make predictions, and some can even interact with the physical world. With AI-DSL, you can orchestrate these services to work together in a way that suits your needs best.

AI-DSL is designed to adapt to the changing landscape of available services. As more services are launched on the platform, AI-DSL will learn how to use them efficiently. It won't just blindly pick services; it will consider factors like cost, speed (how quickly it can get the job done), and reliability (how well it can do the task without errors). This decision-making process is informed by SingularityNet's reputation system for AIs.

This functionality is on the horizon and will be available in the future.

OpenCog Hyperon

Another future functionality, OpenCog Hyperon will implement a complete, scalable, and open-source general artificial intelligence system based on the principles of OpenCog. It is an open-sourced platform where different AI strategies and methods such as neuro-symbolic AI, evolutionary learning systems, machine learning, and other AI approaches can collaborate based on a shared knowledge metagraph (Atomspace).

The company thinks this upgrade to OpenCog Hyperon will have similar effects on its AI approach as the increased CPU speed and availability of large datasets have had on machine learning in past decades.

PayPal Integration

In 2019, SingularityNET announced its platform's integration with PayPal, which can be used to pay for services.

The technology on the back end converts fiat PayPal transactions into AGIX utility tokens. It all happens behind the scenes, and the user doesn’t need to concern themselves with AGIX tokens at all. From their perspective, they simply pay for AI services on the marketplace with PayPal, and get the services they require.

Deep Funding

Have a great idea? SingularityNET might fund it for you!

While SingularityNET may fund you, it's important to note that you'll maintain ownership of your model, not SingularityNET. Eligibility-wise, anyone can get funded as long as they meet two conditions:

• The proposed project should support the growth of the AI platform
• The proposed project should support the mission and vision of SingularityNET of creating a beneficial singularity

The third round of Deep Funding stopped taking proposals on Sept. 3.

AGIX Token

AGIX is a multi-chain token that works on Cardano and Ethereum. SingularityNET uses AGIX to power its ecosystem. In addition, token holders can participate in governance decision-making within the SingularityNET organization.

The ICO for SingularityNET’s token, then known as AGI, was held in December 2017, in the midst of the massive rally that took many cryptocurrencies to their all-time highs. The ICO was highly oversubscribed, receiving $361 million in commitments versus a hard cap of $36 million. All told, the ICO was scooped up in under a minute.

Today, AGIX has a market cap of $217.2 million. It is down over 80% from its all-time high price of just under a dollar, which it achieved in January 2018.

Although AGIX is traded on some exchanges, SingularityNET recommends against trading, calling it “against the ethics of AGIX token and SingularityNET project.”

SingularityNET Partnerships

SingularityNET has struck a number of partnerships, but perhaps its biggest one so far is with Cardano. 

In September 2020, SingularityNET started collaborations with the company behind the Cardano blockchain. The purpose was to port some of the SingularityNET platform to the Cardano blockchain. The Cardano community recently voted to set aside $500,000 worth of ADA tokens in funding for AI projects, deepening the partnership between SingularityNET and Cardano.

Here are a few recent SingularityNET partnerships:

• EARTHwise: The companies will work closely on developing decentralized AI and gaming solutions and help accelerate the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
• Vechain: To advance data-driven sustainability technology and deliver enterprise-quality AI solutions to help businesses embrace the combined values of blockchain and AI.
• World Mobile: To develop AI solutions for customer service and explore an exciting opportunity to develop AI micro-lending for their mobile customers.

SingularityNET Review: Closing Thoughts

SingularityNET is an ambitious and forward-thinking project that aims to democratize access to artificial intelligence through its decentralized marketplace for AI services. 

One of the primary goals of SingularityNET is to break down the barriers that restrict access to AI technology. Developers can publish their AI services on the SingularityNET network, making them accessible to anyone interested in utilizing these services.

SingularityNET's approach to AI democratization aligns with the goal of lowering costs and expanding the capabilities of AI. As CEO Ben Goertzel puts it, the platform enables "a network of AIs that nobody owns," which is a significant departure from the centralized AI models maintained by tech giants.

SingularityNET has also formed significant partnerships, with Cardano being one of the most notable collaborations. The integration with Cardano's blockchain enhances the scalability and potential of SingularityNET's platform. Other partnerships with organizations like EARTHwise, VeChain, and World Mobile further extend its reach and impact across various sectors, including sustainability, data-driven solutions, and customer service.

All in all, SingularityNET represents a bold and visionary leap into a future where AI and blockchain technology converge to reshape how we access and interact with AI services.