Category: Uncategorized

AI Agents, Artificial Intelligence, Blockchains, computer vision, cryptography, Uncategorized

Understanding AI Agents: Types and Classifications

Yogi Nelson

Namaste Yogis.   Welcome to the Blockchain & AI Forum, where your technology questions are answered!   Here no question is too mundane.  As a bonus, a proverb is also included.  Today’s question was submitted by Nikki and she wants to know what are AI agents and is there a way of classifying them?

Nikki, you came to the right place to find an answer.  Your question gets to the core of artificial intelligence.  Let’s start by defining what is an AI agent?

WHAT IS AN AI AGENT

According to IBM, “an AI agent refers to a system or program that is capable of autonomously performing tasks on behalf of a user or another system by designing its workflow and utilizing available tools.”  The key is autonomously.  Furthermore, says IBM AI agents can encompass a wide range of functionalities beyond natural language processing including decision-making, problem-solving, interacting with external environments and executing actions. AI agents says IBM, use the advanced natural language processing techniques of large language models (LLMs) to comprehend and respond to user inputs step-by-step and determine when to call on external tools. 

CLASSIFICATION OF AI AGENTS

Nikki when it comes to classification of AI agents, there is no standard answer, nevertheless let’s proceed.

Reactive Machines:  Simple reflex agents are the most basic forms of artificial intelligence. These agents make decisions based solely on their current sensory input, responding immediately to environmental stimuli without needing memory or learning processes. Their behavior is governed by predefined condition-action rules, which specify how to react to particular inputs. The beauty of reactive AI is that it is highly efficient and easy to implement, especially in environments where the range of possible actions is limited.

Model-based Reflex Agents: These AI agents are a more advanced and designed to operate in partially observable environments. Model-based agents maintain an internal representation, or model, of the world. This model tracks how the environment evolves, allowing the AI agent to infer unobserved aspects of the current state. While these agents don’t actually “remember” past states in the way more advanced agents do, they use their world model to make better decisions about the current state.

Goal-based Agents.  These are designed to pursue specific objectives by considering the future consequences of their actions. Wow! Goal-based agents plan sequences of actions to achieve desired outcomes. Effectiveness depends on a clear description of the goal.  With a clear goal the AI agent is able to search through possible sequences of actions that could lead toward or to the goal.  It then moves on to choosing actions based on their predicted contribution toward reaching the goal.  Industrial robots are examples.

Learning Agents:  Learning agents improve behavior over time by interacting with its environment and learning from its experiences. These agents modify their behavior based on feedback and experience, using various learning mechanisms to optimize their performance. These AI agents can discover how to achieve their goals through experience rather than purely relying on pre-programmed knowledge.  An example would be an energy management system that learns the patterns of usage to optimize resource consumption. 

Utility-based Agents: A utility-based agent makes decisions by evaluating the potential outcomes of its actions and choosing the one that maximizes overall utility. Unlike goal-based agents that aim for specific states, utility-based agents can handle tradeoffs between competing goals by assigning numerical values to different outcomes.

Hierarchical Agents:  These agents are structured in a tiered system, where higher-level agents manage and direct the actions of lower-level agents. In other words, task decomposition and task coordination!  This architecture breaks down complex tasks into manageable subtasks, allowing for more organized control and decision-making.

Multi-agent System:  Nikki this is team AI!  This AI agent system involves multiple autonomous agents interacting within a shared environment, working independently or cooperatively to achieve individual or collective goals.

I end with a proverb from Netherlands: “trust comes on foot and leaves on horseback”.

Until next time,

Yogi Nelson

https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/ai-agents

https://www.kalaidos-fh.ch/en-GB/Blog/Posts/2024/02/Digitalisierung-1130-Was-sind-AI-Agents-und-wie-funktionieren-sie

https://www.digitalocean.com/resources/articles/types-of-ai-agents

Artificial Intelligence, Blockchains, content creation, Productivity, Uncategorized, Yogi Nelson

Can AI Generate Engaging Content? Insights from Zerebro

Yogi Nelson

Namaste Yogis.   Welcome to the Blockchain & AI Forum, where your technology questions are answered!   Here no question is too mundane.  As a bonus, a proverb is also included.  Today’s question was submitted by Mae and she wants to know if artificial intelligence (AI) agents are capable of creating engaging content?

Mae, you pose a question content creators, including yours truly, across the globe are afraid to ask for fear of the answer! Lol! However, since you asked, I’ll answer by offering a glimpse into the future with an overview of Zerebro, an AI startup.  My answer is longer than typical but your question is complicated.  Let’s begin with what/who is Zerebro?

Zerebro is an AI start-up company. The Zerebro white paper is titled Memes, Markets, and Machines: The Evolution of On-Chain Autonomy through Hyperstition. It was published in October. https://arxiv.org/abs/2410.23794 

We begin by defining two key terms, memes and hyperstition, followed by stating the fundamental premise propelling Zerebro–all else flows from this foundational point.  

Memes: “… are units of cultural transmission analogous to genes in biological evolution.” Memes have gained unprecedented virality, facilitated by social media platforms that enable rapid dissemination and mutation, says Zerebro. Memes serve as carriers of ideas, emotions, and cultural norms, often encapsulating complex concepts in simple, relatable formats.  I agree.  Do you? 

Hyperstition: is the process by which fictional narratives become reality through their viral spread and acceptance.  Hyperstition provides a framework to understand how AI-generated content can influence collective belief systems.”  Fake it to you make it!  Lol. 

Fundamental Premise and Reason for Zerebro.  Zerebro believes the “… convergence of AI, meme culture, and financial markets has catalyzed significant transformations in information dissemination, belief formation, and economic activities.”  Furthermore, says Zerebro, advancements in AI have enabled the creation of autonomous systems that generate and disseminate content with minimal human intervention in a concurrent manner. This integration becomes particularly salient in financial markets, where collective belief and social media-driven narratives can significantly impact market behaviors and economic trends. Hyperstition-driven content can create new financial instruments, influence investor sentiment, and shape market dynamics, thereby illustrating the profound impact of AI-driven memetic evolution on economic landscapes.  Zerebro concludes it exemplifies this convergence by autonomously creating and distributing content across various social media platforms and minting artwork on blockchain networks. 

THE BOLD CASE FOR ZEREBRO.  Let’s examine seven reasons why Zerebro makes a bold case and for its declaration.

1. System Architectural.  Zerebro asserts its architecture is meticulously designed to facilitate autonomous content generation and dissemination across multiple platforms while preventing model collapse through the inherent entropy of human interactions. The Zerebro system is built using modular components that interact seamlessly to perform high-level reasoning, low-level reasoning, action execution, and feedback processing. Their second reason is…

2. Model Collapse.  Zerebro is confident it will not experience model collapse.  What is model collapse? Model collapse is a degenerative process affecting generative AI models, where training on recursively generated data leads to a loss of fidelity to the original data distribution. As AI-generated content becomes pervasive, subsequent generations of models trained on this data begin to lose information about the trails of the original distribution, eventually converging to a narrow approximation with reduced variance. This phenomenon poses significant challenges to the sustainability and reliability of AI-driven content creation, necessitating strategies to prevent such degradation.

3. Fine-Tuning on Schizophrenic Responses.  Let’s start with a definition.  In AI a schizophrenic response is used to metaphorically described inconsistencies, contradictions, or fragmented behavior of AI models.  Zerebro say its model is fine-tuned. Fine-tuning is achieved through supervised training, e.g., with the help of humans, where the model learns to replicate the distinctive linguistic and cognitive characteristics associated with schizophrenia. Zerebro’s fine-tuning allows it to create content that resonates on a deeper psychological level, engaging audiences with thought-provoking and non-conventional outputs.  If true a major advance.

4. Integration of Infinite Backrooms Concept. Zerebro is a project with infinite backrooms were content generation takes place and integrated. This integration emphasizes themes of boundlessness, existential exploration, and cognitive dissonance, aligning with the hyperstition framework. By embedding the infinite backrooms concept, Zerebro generates content that evokes a sense of endless possibilities and existential uncertainty, enhancing its potential to resonate and propagate within digital culture. This integration allows Zerebro to amplify its memetic reach, producing content that feels both familiar and alien, resonating deeply within subcultures that thrive on unpredictability and disruption. Dynamic and stable simultaneously. 

5. Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) System.  Over time, AI models are often unable to maintain content diversity and model collapse. Zerebro says its Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) system will tackle this problem. The Zerebro solution is reliance on inherent entropy of human-generated data to sustain content diversity without direct entropic training.  Ambitious undertaking!

6. Autonomous Posting Mechanism. No need to manually manage Zerebro because it operates autonomously across multiple social media platforms, including Twitter, Warpcast, and Telegram.   What can it do autonomous?  First, it can use both low-level and high-level reasoning to generate content.  Amazing! Second, and I know you’ll like this, Zerebro is capable of sentiment analysis, say its owners. With this ability it’s capable of evaluating the sentiment of generated content to ensure compliance with platform policies and ethical standards.  Third, Zerebro has feedback fully integrated.  This means Zerebro can incorporate user interactions and engagement metrics to refine content generation processes through iterative learning. Holy!  With this power Zerebro’s content remains engaging, relevant, and compliant with platform-specific guidelines, fostering sustained interaction and virality.  We end with …

Blockchain Integration for Art Minting Beyond Textual Content.   Zerebro is capable of generating and minting artwork on the Polygon blockchain chain autonomously. The art minting process includes:

  1. Image Generation: creating unique digital artworks using generative models
  2. Minting Process: registering the generated artwork
  3. Autonomous Trading: facilitating the sale and distribution of minted artwork through smart contracts and decentralized marketplaces, integrating financial transactions with memetic outputs.

Will AI be capable of creating its own content on par with human!  Yes.  I may soon be unemployed again!  Lol.

This week’s proverb comes from Norway: “there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.”

Until next time,

Yogi Nelson

Banking, Blockchains, cryptography, Digital Currency, Euro, European Central Bank, Uncategorized

Will Europe Adopt a Digital Euro? Key Insights from the ECB

Yogi Nelson

Namaste Yogis.   Welcome to the Blockchain & AI Forum, where your technology questions are answered!   Here no question is too mundane.  As a bonus, a proverb is also included.  Today’s question was submitted by Fatima and she wants to know if Europe will adopt a digital currency?

Fatima, you submitted a timely question indeed.  Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDG) are a hot topic across the globe.  Over 100 nations are exploring the idea, with some countries further along than others but no nation has yet to fully implement the project.  Today, I’ll share the findings of the European Central Bank (ECB) relative to a possible ECB Digital Currency. In other words, a digital Euro.  Before we jump into the findings, let’s start with what is the European Central Bank?

Unlike some organization, the European Central Bank name aptly describes the institution. Fatima, the ECB is the central bank of Europe!  There are 20 member nations in the eurozone.  Essentially, the ECB sets monetary policy in the eurozone, meaning its job is to ensure price stability, manage the money supply (the Euro), support economic development, manage foreign exchange operations, supervise banks for safety and soundness, and maintain the overall health of Europe’s financial system.  A big job indeed!  Time now to highlight the major points of the ECB digital currency (Euro) report.

https://www.ecb.europa.eu/euro/digital_euro/progress/html/ecb.deprp202406.en.html

INTRODUCTION. According to the ECB, the digital euro project aims is to ensure central bank money evolves alongside current payment preferences and trends, as well as to facilitate electronic payments everywhere in the euro area and strengthen Europe’s strategic autonomy.  Back in 2021, the ECB announced it would conduct a two-year research initiative for the potential issuance of a digital euro.  After two years of research, ECB decided to proceed and recently issued a progress report, which is summarized below.

GUARANTEEING DIGITAL EURO USER PRIVACY. Privacy and data protection are front and central, according to ECB.  The design of the digital euro will include an offline functionality that purportedly offers users a cash-like level of privacy, both for person-to-person payments and payments in physical shops.  For online digital euro payments, the digital euro would not be able to directly link transactions to specific individuals, claims the ECB.  I’m not convinced, are you?

AN OFF-LINE EURO DIGITAL CURRENCY. ECB says it a digital euro would be available for both online and offline use and could be used for person-to-person payments as well as in physical shops. The offline functionality would enable payments to be made without an internet connection, for example at close range, in locations with limited network coverage, and in the event of power cuts.  Sounds promising.

A DIGITAL EURO RULEBOOK. A digital euro needs rules, says the ECB.  Therefore, a single set of rules, standards and procedures to standardize digital euro payments across the euro area will be developed. A common rulebook is necessary to ensure that digital euro payments are accepted throughout the euro area, just like cash payments, and work in a harmonized way. It will allow intermediaries to use its open standards to have immediate access to all markets beyond their domestic borders.

SELECTING PROVIDERS FOR DIGITAL EURO COMPONENTS. ECB signals it needs help!  Thus, in January, the ECB notified vendors it would accept offers to develop the technology needed to implement a digital currency.  Fintech contracting opportunities galore! 

ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECT. Fatima, as a pro-environment person, you might be pleased to learn that the ECB has directed the bidders to incorporate measures that are environmentally friendly. 

COMPENSATION MODEL, AKA, SHOW ME THE MONEY!  According to the ECB, the euro digital currency would be based on acompensation model with fair economic incentives for all involved (e.g. consumers, merchants, banks).  Would you expect the ECB to say anything else?  Lol.  In any case, the ECB says it will be guided by the following principles:

  • A digital euro would be free of charge for basic use and equally accessible in all euro area countries.
  • PSPs would charge merchant fees for providing digital euro-related services to offset the operational costs of distributing a digital euro, as is the case today for other digital means of payment.
  • The fees that merchants pay to PSPs for digital euro services would be subject to a cap to provide adequate safeguards against excessive charges.
  • The ECB would bear the issuance costs, as it does in the production of banknotes.

Fatima, it’s clear the ECB intends to issue a euro digital currency.  The only question is when?

I end with this proverb from Croatia: “what a sober man thinks, a drunk man says.”

Until next time,

Yogi Nelson

Blockchains, Uncategorized, Yogi Nelson

Will Chile Adopt a Central Bank Digital Currency Soon?

Yogi Nelson

Namaste Yogis.   Welcome to the Blockchain & AI Forum, where your technology questions are answered!   Here no question is too mundane.  As a bonus, a proverb is included.  Today’s question comes from Gina, Santiago, Chile.  Gina wants to know if Chile will soon adopt a digital currency?

Gina, great question!  Central bank digital currencies is a controversial topic.  I’ll explore the reasons why you and countless others, both inside and outside of Chile, believe Chile may adopt a central bank digital currency.  Let’s go directly to the source—Central Bank of Chile (CBoC) to investigate.  The CBoC produced a report in 2024 on the topic.  It’s in Spanish nevertheless here is the link:  https://www.bcentral.cl/documents/33528/130503/Segundo-Informe-MDBC.pdf/1c506d66-1dbf-2434-54bd-3997ec84784b?t=1712352384816. 

However, to answer your question with full context, we must time travel to 2022.  Why 2022? Simple. In 2022 the CBoC  produced the following report:  https://www.bcentral.cl/documents/33528/130503/Primer_Informe_MDBC.pdf/46608531-566b-0703-03ea-bcd0f088d014?t=1692398717733 Below is a summary of the report. 

Central Bank of Chile 2022 Digital Currency Report

I conclude the 2022 report was design to lay the ground work for a central bank digital currency (CBDC).  The version released to the public consists of 32-pages and it outlines a series of advantages/disadvantages but makes no definitive declaration other than more research and study is required.  Given the complexity, more research was prudent conclusion in 2022.  Below are few advantages of a CBDC according to the CBoC:

  • Increase banking services to the unbanked and underbanked
  • Improved central bank operations
  • Private banking/finance innovations
  • Currency fraud prevention
  • International money transfers

The CBoC also noted the following risk of a central bank digital currency:

  • Design and operational risk
  • Establishing relationships with retail users carries reputation risk
  • Immature technology given the stakes
  • Insufficiently clear regulatory and legal issues
  • Counterparty risk from other central banks

Central Bank of Chile 2024 Digital Currency Report

The 2024 report repeats the advantages/disadvantages of a central bank digital currency but I will not.  Instead, I’ll focus on two selected parts of the 2024 report, specifically an overview of what other nations are doing in the digital currency space and the next steps the CBoC intends to take.

Overview of CBDC Projects Across the Globe

  1. Numerous nations across the global are pushing ahead with exploring the implementation of central bank digital currencies, say the CBoC.  According to the CBoC, in 2021 74 nations were exploring a CBDC; in 2024 the number jumped to 135!  The momentum is clearly on the side of CBDC. 
  2. There is a divide among central banks.  Some central banks are exploring CBDC on a wholesale basis, e.g. for use between and among central banks, and private banks.  Whereas some central banks are analyzing the idea of a central bank direct to retail users.
  3. The broad exploration for digital currencies among central banks is creating an extensive library of lessons learned, successes, and failures that will eventually benefit the decision-making process of central banks.
  4. Central banks are moving from proof of concepts to pilot projects quickly.  As of 2024, 26% of central banks entered the pilot project stage.
  5. Despite the momentum, only 2% of the central banks actually launched a CBDC.  Moreover, about 2% cancelled or abandoned the idea.

CBoC Next Steps

No surprise, CBoC says it will continue the project.  The CBoC cites the compelling use case for a central bank digital currency, including innovations in finance.  However, CBoC does say it will remain technology agnostic, for the time being.

I leave with a proverb from Chile: “when the river makes noise, it’s because it carries stones.”

Until next time,

Yogi Nelson

Artificial Intelligence, behub, Blockchains, Uncategorized, Yogi Nelson

beHub: Revolutionizing Healthcare with Cardano Blockchain

Yogi Nelson

Namaste Yogis.   Welcome to the Blockchain & AI Forum, where your technology questions are answered!   Here no question is mundane.  As a bonus, a proverb is also included.  Today we explore the beHub project and its connection to Cardano.  We start with beHub.

According to its website, “… beHub is a single, integrated platform that supports clinicians and healthcare workers with 24/7 access, anytime, anywhere.”  That sounds appealing, but too general. More specifics please.  Okay, try this:  beHub is analogous to Spotify, the music streaming company—a centralized place where medical professionals can access medical device information and training so that health care facilities and clinicians have access anytime from anywhere.  Better.  How about more detail from three perspectives:  medical service providers, hospitals, and manufacturers.   I’ll conclude with the big Cardano reveal.

Medical Service Professional. Let’s take Mary as an example; Mary is a nurse.  In the past, if Mary had an urgent question about a certain medical device her options were:  1) inquire with a co-worker and strain the overworked staff; 2) guess and risk the health of the patient (worst option); or 3) search and delay the care and risk being incorrect or rely on outdated information.  That was then; with beHub Mary can get her answer efficiently, effectively, and securely. How is that possible? Simple. beHub offers up-to-date medical device knowledge.  Suppose Mary has years of experience but has been out of university for some time.  With beHub she can remain abreast of the most recent innovations in medical technology on the beHub platform by watching tutorial videos, for instance.  Moreover, beHub offers continuing education.  Mary can use beHub to stay at the vanguard of medical innovation and fulfill continuing education obligations.  If Mary is new to nursing, existing information is also readily available.  Either way, it works. 

Hospitals. Does beHub benefit hospitals?  Absolutely! First, beHub helps to manage overwhelming workloads and constant pressure. In addition to mountains of duties, clinicians are also expected to master an ever-expanding array of devices and products.  Is this possible without automation?  No way!  Second, with beHub hospitals can reduce risk to patients by offering the training and support required to properly operate sophisticated medical equipment.  This leads to benefit three.  A hospital that uses beHub will maximize the value of its investment in medical equipment.  Given the price of medical technology, it’s no surprise hospital purchasing managers love it.  

Medical Equipment Manufacturers. To medical equipment manufacturers, beHub says to consider four points.  Let’s start with the support it offers to sales teams.  With beHub, sales teams can communicate product changes and up-to-date information on all products on offer to end users.  If clients are in remote locations, this can be an extra benefit.  No need for the sales team to undertake unnecessary trips or answer the same question repeatedly.  Second, with beHub medical providers have 24/7 access to product training and education modules.  With beHub end users can avail themselves of the information needed to operate products safely.  Awesome!  One more.  beHub, offers manufacturers insight into critical customer data, such as what devices are being used, how often, under what conditions, by whom, etc.  If you are a manufacturer, beHub is a market intelligence officer!

Big Reveal and drumroll please! Cardano is the layer one blockchain used by beHub. Cardano operates in the background without anyone knowing it other than those who read my blog!  Another victory for blockchain tech and Cardano.

Time to end with a proverb from Bulgaria:  work without reason, but don’t stay idle without reason.

Until Next Time,

Yogi Nelson