Sovereign agents: Your own personal AI assistant? | The Crypto Mile

Watch: Sovereign Agents — your own personal AI assistant? | The Crypto Mile

As the online world is impacted by artificial intelligence (AI), each one of us could soon be accompanied by a "sovereign agent".

These AI bots could begin to represent us in online exchanges and have access to our private data and preferences, automating mundane tasks and executing orders on our behalf, such as purchasing goods and services or even signing legal documents.

In the latest episode of The Crypto Mile, Yahoo Finance UK chatted with Jamie Burke, founder of Outlier Ventures, the world's leading web3 accelerator by the volume of investments, about how sovereign agents could transform our online interactions.

"In a world where trust online is quickly eroding due to advancements in AI, deep fakes, and generative AI, establishing and confirming one's identity is increasingly challenging," said Burke.

Burke posits that the answer lies in creating a "sovereign agent", a virtual representation of a person that defends their interests online.

Burke said: "Firstly, these agents will be conversational agents, ideally where people will be able to verbally communicate with them, similar to Amazon's Alexa (AMZN).

"Secondly, to function well they need to know everything about you, or everything you want them to know about you. Imagine if you knew that an AI would only serve your interests, you could have controls on what it did and didn't do, who it shared data with.

"So in the future when you land on a website, or interact with another AI-agent, these 'sovereign agents' can effectively represent you, and your interests."

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Sovereign agents could begin to automate financial transactions and negotiate supply chains.

Burke suggested a sovereign agent could manage one's dating life on dating app Tinder, applying its understanding of the owner's preferences and communication style to procure a date.

Burke said: "Say, you want to plan a family trip to Japan; the agent will consider your family's specific requirements. It won't just devise a travel itinerary but also handle transactions such as booking the best flight, ensuring your family is seated together, and addressing dietary requirements."

Sovereign agents and their impact on web3

Burke said: "You could think of a sovereign agent as a really smart wallet or a really smart contract. In the context of web3, carrying out economic activity or legal contractual activity on your behalf."

Outlier Ventures has invested in in smart agent company Fetch.AI which has something called the "Agentverse".

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"This is an environment where any independent developer or corporation can develop an agent, train it and deploy it to carry out various tasks," Burke said.

Legal implications and future challenges

AI bots could eventually sign contracts on an individual's behalf, prompting a debate around legal personhood extension to AI agents.

Burke's vision for the future involves sovereign agents as an extension of our identities, performing tasks on our behalf and enabling us to navigate the online world more efficiently and securely.

While this does have potential benefits, that could usher in a new era of digital autonomy and efficiency, the development also raises concerns around the escalation of malicious bots, privacy, data ownership, and the legal implications of AI actions.

Watch: AI film apps could see 'blockbusters created in bedrooms by end of the year' | The Crypto Mile

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