The Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (ASI) recently issued a statement on X advocating for decentralization of cloud infrastructure and its role in developing artificial general intelligence (AGI).
The ASI Alliance believes centralized cloud services, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure, pose multiple vulnerabilities, including risks of a single point of failure.
In a written Q&A with Cointelegraph, Humayun Sheikh, CEO of Fetch.ai and chairman of the ASI Alliance, explained that centralized cloud structures are “vulnerable to cyberattacks or outages.”
“By decentralizing the cloud, data and control are distributed across independent nodes, ensuring that if one node fails, the overall system remains secure and operational […] and reduces the potential for catastrophic failures.”
Decentralized cloud system hurdles
Although Sheikh proposes decentralization as advantageous in terms of resilience and security, he also acknowledges the obstacles to its establishment.
“Decentralized clouds face several challenges, including technical complexity, scalability, and coordination across distributed nodes. Managing data across multiple independent nodes introduces difficulties in ensuring consistent performance, data integrity, and synchronization.”
He also noted “regulatory and governance issues” due to the nature of decentralized networks and their lack of “centralized oversight.”
“[This makes] it harder to enforce standards and ensure compliance with legal and data protection regulations.
Innovation and equity through decentralization
The ASI Alliance highlighted decentralization’s implications on democratizing computational resource access, lowering barriers for smaller businesses and developers, and decreasing centralized cloud provider dominance.
Sheikh explained that the distribution of “data and computing power across independent nodes” encourages competition and “new AI technologies.”
“This democratized access fosters innovation, allowing businesses to compete on a level playing field.”
Vitalik pushes for decentralized cities
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin recently shared his vision for a city built upon the principles of decentralization, democracy, and capitalism.
Posting on the decentralized social media platform Farcaster, Buterin offered commentary on whether cities should be for the public good or be for-profit institutes.
He said that “we want public infrastructure to work well for all income levels” and that homelessness should not be “solved” with “one-way bus tickets to other cities.”
