Erik Voorhees on Building the Uncensored ChatGPT

Key Takeaways

• ShapeShift was born from Mt. Gox’s collapse as a first noncustodial exchange; Ethereum’s asset explosion accelerated adoption and composability.
• Mass adoption is slowed by behavioral friction; institutions aid distribution but often capture value—protocol code can encode and preserve core ethos.
• AI surged mainstream via decades of research plus ChatGPT, while crypto’s trajectory was slower and philosophically distinct from AI’s academic roots.
• Venice aims to merge crypto principles into consumer AI: censorship resistance, privacy, immutability, and token-backed free daily compute (e.g., Diem).
• Build focused consumer products that embed your ethos rather than sprawling ecosystems; examples include Hibachi (ZK private perpetuals) and Infinifi (yield on stablecoins).
• Open-source models, especially in China, preserve choice amid corporate censorship; geopolitics are complex, so maintaining open alternatives is crucial.
• Scandals like FTX damaged public trust; many AI projects distance from crypto to avoid stigma, but decentralized design and transparent protocols can mitigate fallout.

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