Opinion by: Steven Smith, head of protocol and applied research, Tools for Humanity
Blockchains, designed for transparency and decentralization, now face a significant threat from AI bots. These bots, responsible for a large portion of internet traffic and blockchain transactions, can clog networks, inflate fees, and monopolize resources.
This article examines the escalating battle between bots and humans in the blockchain space, highlighting the need for ‘proof-of-human’ infrastructure to maintain fairness and accessibility.
The Rise of AI Bots on Blockchains
AI bots are becoming increasingly sophisticated, impacting various aspects of blockchain networks:
- Market Manipulation: Bots dominate trading volumes and manipulate DeFi markets.
- Network Congestion: Bot-induced congestion leads to high failure rates and increased gas fees.
- Economic Impact: AI bots are disrupting traditional finance, posing security threats to institutions and users.
The surge in DDoS attacks against financial institutions, fueled by AI-driven botnets, underscores the growing risk. Without intervention, automated systems could control both decentralized and traditional financial systems, prioritizing speed and scale over fairness.
The Limitations of Scalability
While scalability solutions like Layer-2 networks and rollups improve transaction speed and cost, they don’t address the underlying problem of bot dominance. Lower fees can make it easier for attackers to flood networks, while faster transactions can exacerbate the advantages of AI traders over human investors.
Examples of bot attacks include:
- Zcash: A spam attack severely disrupted the blockchain.
- Manta Network: A DDoS attack slowed withdrawals during its token launch.
- Ethereum: Bots manipulated gas prices, delaying transactions and increasing fees for human users.
To address this, blockchain development must prioritize ‘proof-of-human’ mechanisms to distinguish between real users and bots.
The Importance of Proof-of-Human Infrastructure
‘Proof-of-human’ infrastructure digitally verifies a person’s humanness and uniqueness. Implementing a human-first approach is key to prevent blockchains from becoming automated playgrounds for bots as AI agents scale.
Key components of proof-of-human infrastructure include:
- Guaranteed Block Space: Allocating guaranteed block space for verified human users ensures priority access.
- Gas Subsidies: Providing gas subsidies for human users prevents them from being priced out during network congestion.
- Optimized Execution Clients: Implementing safeguards against bot-driven spam enhances efficiency.
By prioritizing human experiences and implementing proof-of-human systems, the blockchain industry can ensure fairer access, security, and sustainable growth.
Conclusion: A Human-Centric Blockchain Future
The future of blockchain depends on our ability to distinguish between real people and bots online. By implementing the necessary parameters, we can keep blockchains human-centric, ensure greater control over productive bots, and prevent the core promise of decentralization from being undermined.
Now is the time to act and implement ‘proof-of-human’ infrastructure to build a more equitable and sustainable blockchain ecosystem.
Opinion by: Steven Smith, head of protocol and applied research, Tools for Humanity.
This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.
