Artificial Intelligence for Web3 Development: a Useful Tool or an Obstacle?

Artificial intelligence has become a prominent trend in recent times. There are claims that it will eventually replace human beings in various fields, including Web3 development. This notion suggests that even the most skilled specialists may find themselves with limited opportunities in this domain.

It would be incredibly beneficial if we could simply assign AI a task, such as creating a design for a new character or location, and have it generate a unique and intricate design that meets all the specified requirements. Similarly, AI tools dedicated to coding have emerged, causing some developers to fear that their skills and knowledge may become obsolete in the future.

While it is true that AI is rapidly advancing and capable of handling certain tasks, it still has a long way to go before it can fully replace human involvement in Web3 creation. However, the hype surrounding AI is primarily due to its potential and the possibilities it presents. Consequently, I decided to explore current trends in greater detail to assess the extent of progress and determine if there are opportunities to leverage AI without relying solely on human specialists.

AI for Design

Plenty of AI solutions emerge that aim to enhance the designing processes and make them as simple as possible. Even though designers rely on techniques they have been using for years, AI can enhance their work by generating content with top accuracy. Also, it is no longer necessary to create each design from scratch. If there is an opportunity to use already existing details, it is easier to do it with AI. Creating prototypes and testing them is also easier when AI is applied.

AI certainly excels in data analysis and idea generation. Its ability to swiftly search extensive databases and extract information that aligns with predefined criteria is invaluable.

Speech-to-Face tools have also emerged, enabling the generation of a facial representation that corresponds to a given voice. This technology converts a voice file into a video, reconstructing the facial image of an individual to reflect their speaking habits, emotions, and more. Numerous companies are actively working on developing such tools, with Nvidia leading the way in this field.

Image source: https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/omniverse/apps/audio2face/ 

Another AI application that I find interesting is when AI is fed with video, and then motion is translated into a digital avatar. This technology is already advanced enough and can be applied efficiently in the development of any Web3 environment, such as metaverses.

However, if we speak about unique tasks that require high creativity level, AI cannot do much about it. It is something only a professional designer can handle. 

In this regard, AI will be able to replace people in design only if it becomes really creative. For now, though, it can generate ideas only based on the content previously created. So, designers can use it to enhance their performance, but for sure, at the moment, I don’t see how AI can replace them.

AI for Development Tasks

Companies turn to artificial intelligence to speed up software delivery. It raises concerns among developers that one day, AI may replace them. 

And indeed, large language models such as GPT-4 can do many development-related things. They can answer complex technical questions, suggest code snippets, and even write parts of simple applications. 

However, I’d say that AI development is an evolution, not a revolution. B.C.Holmes, the chief technologist at Inteliware, says that today’s approach to AI “is more a change in our awareness than it is about the actual underlying technology.” He has been working on AI applications for development purposes for more than 2 decades, so he knows what he is talking about.

The rise of AI adoption and the technology’s quick development still cannot be ignored.

In the future, the major tasks for AI will be:

• Explorative work
• Acceleration of routine tasks automation
• Writing boilerplate code
• Answering high-level but very specific technical questions.

However, at the moment, the ability of AI to write functional code is still very limited.

By taking up the tasks such as moving data between objects, making API calls, and performing other routine repetitive tasks, AI can free developers up for more complex tasks that require non-standard approaches and attention. Over time, it will assist not only in performing separate tasks but with handling complex environments. However, to adapt those environments to real-world needs and situations, human oversight will be needed.

Where Can AI Be Useful?

For now, we see that AI cannot really replace people in development or design tasks if we speak about creativity, customization, or solutions that are far from standard.

However, I cannot deny that AI can be helpful in making Web3 environments safer, more immersive, and more collaborative.

How?

Safety is one of the main concerns regarding the future of Web3. As long as Web3 is expected to be decentralized, huge moderation teams would be needed to keep all users safe and prevent harassment, hate speech, discrimination, etc. 

AI can easily detect speech patterns that are prohibited and take actions such as issuing a warning to a user, muting, or blocking him. 

AI can be used to create bots that will take care of providing interactions to users, such as responding to standard questions, reacting to predetermined situations, and similar. 

AI tools can be of great assistance, they can speed up the work of developers and designers, make images more accurate and realistic, and perform many other tasks. However, it all is possible only with human supervision and assistance.