Fourth Year RoadMap Targets DeAI and Blockchain Integration

The Internet Computer Protocol (ICP) has released its roadmap for the fourth year, outlining key areas of focus for the development of the decentralized blockchain network. The roadmap highlights Decentralized AI (DeAI) and Chain Fusion as major themes, with the aim of positioning ICP as a leader in decentralized AI and as a central orchestration layer for the blockchain industry. ICP's DeAI roadmap envisions training and running AI models directly on-chain, leveraging the network's computational power and smart contract capabilities to create AI smart contracts with enhanced trust and transparency. Chain Fusion aims to facilitate direct interoperability with major blockchains, enabling the creation of smart contracts that span multiple chains and address issues of liquidity fragmentation and tribalism within the industry.

The Internet Computer Protocol's Fourth Year Roadmap: A Vision for Decentralized AI and Blockchain Integration

Internet Computer Celebrates Three Years of Innovation with Strategic Roadmap for Year Four

Zurich, Switzerland - May 16, 2024 - The Internet Computer Protocol (ICP), a revolutionary blockchain network that extends the functionality of Web3, has unveiled its roadmap for the fourth year of development. This comprehensive plan builds upon three years of remarkable progress and outlines key areas of focus to position ICP as a leader in Decentralized AI (DeAI) and as a central orchestration layer for the blockchain industry.

ICP: A Trailblazer in Blockchain Innovation

Since its inception in May 2021, ICP has made significant strides, achieving zero downtime, processing over three billion blocks, and safeguarding more than $3 billion in the Network Nervous System (NNS) DAO. This decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) ensures the smooth operation and evolution of the Internet Computer Protocol. The ICP ecosystem has also witnessed exponential growth in its developer community, with Electric Capital reporting a 12-fold increase between 2020 and 2023.

"The Internet Computer is the first and only Third Generation public blockchain," said Dominic Williams, Founder and Chief Scientist of the DFINITY Foundation. "Our mission is to drive a 'blockchain singularity,' where fully decentralized blockchains become the world's prevailing tech stack, empowering even secure and unstoppable AI."

Year 4 Roadmap: Unleashing the Power of Decentralized AI

The roadmap for ICP's fourth year highlights several key areas of focus, with Decentralized AI and Chain Fusion taking center stage.

Decentralized AI: Transforming AI into a Trustworthy Tool

ICP's Decentralized AI roadmap envisions a world where AI models can be trained and executed directly on-chain. This paradigm shift addresses the limitations of current AI systems, which often operate as opaque black boxes, hindering trust and reliability. ICP's advanced computational power and sophisticated smart contract capabilities aim to overcome these challenges, creating a more transparent and accountable AI ecosystem.

Milestone 1: Enhancing AI Performance and Efficiency

This milestone focuses on improving the speed and efficiency of AI operations on ICP. Key advancements include:

• Faster deterministic floating-point operations, resulting in a 10x performance boost
• Wasm SIMD support, enabling quadruple floating-point operations with a single CPU instruction
• Optimization of the AI inference engine for enhanced performance

Milestone 2: Unleashing the Power of GPUs for AI

This milestone introduces support for GPU-enabled nodes, leveraging the parallel processing capabilities of GPUs to accelerate AI model training and inference. Key developments include:

• A deterministic API for AI computations on GPUs
• Tooling and libraries for AI smart contract development
• Public specification for GPU-enabled nodes
• AI-specialized subnets equipped with GPU-enabled nodes

These advancements will enable a wide range of innovative use cases, such as:

• AI smart contracts for identity verification and fraud detection
• AI smart contracts for code analysis and vulnerability detection
• Natural language processing (NLP) AI smart contracts for user-friendly interactions
• Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) for managing and controlling AIs
• Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) representing pre-trained AIs

Chain Fusion: Bridging the Blockchain Chasm

Chain Fusion is another pivotal initiative in ICP's Year 4 roadmap. This feature aims to facilitate direct interoperability with major blockchains, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ethereum Virtual Machines (EVMs), and Solana, eliminating the need for intermediary services. This direct connectivity will empower developers to create smart contracts that span multiple chains, addressing the fragmentation of liquidity and promoting collaboration within the blockchain industry.

Milestone 1: Full Support for EVM Chains

This milestone enables ICP canister smart contracts to interact seamlessly with EVM smart contracts, allowing secure and direct transfer of tokens between chains. It eliminates the reliance on bridges and centralized custodians, enhancing trust and security.

Milestone 2: Embracing Bitcoin Protocols

ICP will fully utilize Bitcoin-native protocols like BRC20 and Runes, enabling decentralized support for Bitcoin ordinals and runes. Developers will be empowered to build dApps that seamlessly integrate Bitcoin and ICP functionalities, unlocking new possibilities for innovation.

Milestone 3: Bridging the Gap to Solana

Chain Fusion will extend to Solana, creating a direct connection between the two networks. Smart contracts on either network can call and interact with smart contracts on the other, fostering interoperability and liquidity across ecosystems.

About the Internet Computer

The Internet Computer Protocol (ICP) is a decentralized cloud 3.0 protocol that empowers developers to build and operate services and enterprise systems directly on a public blockchain network. These services are tamper-proof and can interact with the outside world in a trustless manner, connecting with legacy Web 2.0 services and other blockchains. ICP's high speed, low cost, and energy efficiency set a new standard for decentralized network operations within Web3.

Positioning ICP as the Cornerstone of Decentralized Web

ICP's focus on Decentralized AI and Chain Fusion underscores its commitment to creating a more transparent and reliable AI ecosystem while fostering interoperability within the blockchain landscape. The milestones outlined in the Year 4 roadmap represent significant steps towards achieving this vision.

As ICP continues to evolve, it will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of Web3 and decentralized technologies. Its ability to empower AI with trust and accountability while connecting blockchains seamlessly positions it as a cornerstone of the decentralized web.