AI Titans Unite: A Decentralized AI Ecosystem Emerges

Three prominent decentralized AI projects, Fetch.ai, SingularityNET, and Ocean Protocol, are merging to form the Superintelligence Collective, the world's largest decentralized AI ecosystem. This merger aims to accelerate progress towards decentralized AGI and ASI, providing an alternative to centralized AI development controlled by Big Tech companies. The new entity, led by Ben Goertzel, will combine the strengths of each project to create a scalable decentralized AI infrastructure and foster a more democratic and inclusive AI ecosystem.

Three AI Titans Join Forces: A Decentralized AI Ecosystem Emerges

The convergence of Fetch.ai, SingularityNET (SNET), and Ocean Protocol has sent ripples through the AI landscape, as they announce their intention to merge and create a formidable decentralized AI ecosystem. This merger, contingent on community approval, aims to accelerate the development of decentralized Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and potentially even Artificial Superintelligence (ASI).

AGI vs. ASI: What's the Difference?

For clarity, AGI focuses on developing AI systems that mimic human reasoning abilities, while ASI goes beyond these limits. Imagine J.A.R.V.I.S., the AI companion of Iron Man, as an example of AGI. While J.A.R.V.I.S. is impressive, it pales in comparison to the ASI-powered Deep Thought computer from the "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" series.

The Superintelligence Collective: A Decentralized Force

The merged entity, dubbed the Superintelligence Collective, combines the strengths of Fetch.ai, SingularityNET, and Ocean Protocol to offer a decentralized alternative to AI initiatives dominated by Big Tech. Fetch.ai, a Web3 platform, develops a decentralized multi-agent system for AI deployment. SingularityNET has created an AI-driven, blockchain-based marketplace and ecosystem for AI providers, while Ocean Protocol focuses on decentralized data exchange.

Challenging Big Tech's Monopoly

This merger emerges during a period of exponential growth in AI projects and provides a viable alternative to Big Tech's control over AI development, application, and monetization. The Collective aims to compete with the likes of OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, Meta, Anthropic, and others. By offering a platform for developers, they hope to foster the creation of AI models that rival centralized, proprietary systems.

Uniting Expertise and Investment

The merger of research, brands, technologies, and products will create a foundation for a scalable, decentralized AI infrastructure that blends the unique strengths of each company. This will accelerate investment in AGI research, a critical step towards realizing the full potential of AI.

Openness and Decentralization: A Philosophical Divide

The choice between centralized and decentralized AI has become a defining philosophical debate. As AI becomes more sophisticated, the complexity and cost of developing meaningful products have escalated. This, in turn, has highlighted the appeal of decentralized ecosystems for small-scale developers and the open-source community.

"Decentralized AI empowers individuals and communities by eliminating the gatekeepers of centralized authorities," said Humayun Sheikh, CEO of Fetch.ai, in a press release shared with Decrypt.

Tokenomics: A Rare but Promising Merger

The merger requires the migration of tokens, with Fetch.ai's FET leading the way and becoming ASI. SingularityNET's AGIX tokens and Ocean Protocol's OCEAN tokens will also migrate to ASI. Assuming the proposal receives overwhelming approval from each community, the newly created ASI token will have a Fully Diluted Valuation (FDV) of approximately $7.5 billion as of March 26, 2024.

Specifically, the plan is to merge tokens at a conversion rate of 0.433350 to 1 for SingularityNET holders, 0.433226 to 1 for Ocean Protocol, and Fetch.AI essentially executing a rebranding while maintaining the same token value. $ASI is expected to launch at $2.82 per token, assuming the proposal is approved.

Precedent for Token Mergers

Although somewhat unusual, this type of token merger is not without precedent. In 2022, NuCypher and Keep Network employed a similar strategy to merge into a new entity called Threshold Network Token, demonstrating the potential viability of such collaborations. Since the announcement of this merger, SingularityNET has spiked by 10%, Fetch.AI by 12.82%, and Ocean Protocol by around 23%.

Superintelligence Collective's Leadership and Structure

Ben Goertzel, the AI researcher who coined the term "AGI" in 2005, will lead the Superintelligence Collective as CEO. He will be joined by Fetch.AI's Humayun Sheikh as Chairman and Trent McConaghy from Ocean Protocol as a yet-to-be-assigned role. The companies overseeing the development of the three merging networks will continue to operate as separate entities, collaborating closely within the shared ASI tokenomic ecosystem and the mission of the Superintelligence Collective.

A Top 20 Cryptocurrency Contender

The diluted capitalization could easily position the ASI token within the top 20 of the most valuable cryptocurrency projects, just below Uniswap and surpassing notable projects like Litecoin, DAI, and Stellar. The merger would also make the Superintelligence Collective the second-most valuable AI token in the crypto space, trailing only Curve Protocol, which has an $8.1 billion market capitalization at the time of writing.

Leaders Express Optimism

The leaders of the three projects have expressed their enthusiasm about the merger, emphasizing a shared vision of creating a decentralized, democratic, and inclusive AI ecosystem. They believe this merger will accelerate investment in AGI and pave the way for a more democratic and trustworthy AI ecosystem.

The Superintelligence Collective: A Catalyst for AI's Future?

If approved by the community, the Superintelligence Collective has the potential to reshape the AI landscape. By combining the strengths of three leading decentralized AI projects, this merger seeks to empower developers, foster innovation, and accelerate progress toward the development of AGI and potentially ASI. As the AI industry continues to evolve, the outcome of this ambitious collaboration is sure to be watched with great interest.