This week, we focus on the role of decentralization in the fields of computing networks and AI. In this week’s newsletter, we include a discussion on "sufficient decentralization" with Jesse Walden and Jake Chervinsky from Variant Fund and a dialogue about decentralizing AI featuring Eric Vorhees and Ilia Polosukhin. Keep reading for insights from these thought-provoking conversations!
Additionally, if you're interested in establishing your own community, the community launch is accessible to everyone. Don't forget to set up your very own community!
Yours sincerely,
Popula Team
Ecosystem and Industry Insights
Why Sufficient Decentralization Is No Longer Sufficient | Jesse Walden & Jake Chervinsky - Variant
The panel with Jesse Walden and Jake Chervinky from Variant Fund discusses decentralization's role in distributed computing networks for security and censorship resistance, focusing on "sufficient decentralization" after Bill Hinman's 2019 statement about Ethereum. It explores the legal implications, challenges in decentralized organizations like DAOs, and the concept of "decentralization theater." It highlights the trade-offs of decentralization and proposes progressive decentralization. Regarding regulation, it suggests alternatives to solely relying on decentralization, such as creating protocols or compliance frameworks. Lastly, it mentions airdrops as a method separate from decentralization for regulatory compliance.
Decentralizing AI Our Next Great Challenge | Illia Polosukhin - NEAR Foundation & Erik Voorhees
The panel, moderated by Margarite Corel, CEO of Blockade Labs, featured Eric Vorhees and Ilia Polosukhin, renowned experts in crypto and AI. Vorhees, a staunch advocate for freedom and decentralization, highlighted the necessity of decentralization in AI to avert a dystopian scenario dominated by centralized AI services controlled by tech giants and governments. Polosukhin envisioned a decentralized AI system comprising local and community models for various functions, emphasizing transparency and community curation to combat bias and lack of transparency. Challenges in AI, including sustainable business models and regulatory risks faced by open-source AI communities, were discussed, emphasising the need for a cryptography-first approach to upgrade society's operating system. The panel concluded with a discussion on Morpheus, an open-source, decentralized AI network aimed at fostering a fully sovereign operating system, leveraging blockchain and cryptography interfaces to merge AI with web3 technologies.
The panel, moderated by Margarite Corel, CEO of Blockade Labs, featured Eric Vorhees and Ilia Polosukhin, renowned experts in crypto and AI. Vorhees, a staunch advocate for freedom and decentralization, highlighted the necessity of decentralization in AI to avert a dystopian scenario dominated by centralized AI services controlled by tech giants and governments. Polosukhin envisioned a decentralized AI system comprising local and community models for various functions, emphasizing transparency and community curation to combat bias and lack of transparency. Challenges in AI, including sustainable business models and regulatory risks faced by open-source AI communities, were discussed, with an emphasis on the need for a cryptography-first approach to upgrade society's operating system. The panel concluded with a discussion on Morpheus, an open-source decentralized AI network aimed at fostering a fully sovereign operating system, leveraging blockchain and cryptography interfaces to merge AI with web3 technologies.
Share your thoughts or comments on Popula!
Popula Spotlights and Community Updates
Community Event Highlight
A quick reminder of the 2nd round of our Zealy Campaign — Creatives’ Voyage. If you have not yet started your Sprint journey, join now and have a chance to win $200 in $NEAR!
📅 Ends on Mar. 21 at 12 PM UTC
🎁 $200 in $NEAR
More details here 👇🏻
Community of the Week
WonderPals: WonderPals started out as a cute art collection, made up of 10,000 WonderPals, which are digital collectibles that are programmatically generated to be cute and unique. It has now grown to one of the most recognizable cute brands within Web3. WonderPals is about having fun and enjoying cute art! Join now!
![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/5b2d8a26dc465c3e9645174bcaa1a616.png)
Communities on Popula
Explore these communities and share your posts with us for potential inclusion in future newsletters.
🐝Explore more about Popula or join Popula Community. We always welcome questions, suggestions and feedback!
![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/1d60a028c2bd6df003b84605071681ea.png)
Website | Telegram | Twitter | Discord | Medium | Github | Youtube | Warpcast
![Popula logo](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstorage.googleapis.com%2Fpapyrus_images%2F0492240b3701685c066d6c39a94e9220.png&w=384&q=75)