AI Agents. They have become quite the hot topic, and like many different buzz words/phrases, there is a lot to unpack and decode before you can really understand what is going on. Do they have massive potential to innovate? Absolutely. Are they ready to release into the wild? Not exactly. Will they perform well in every situation? Nope. But can they transform entire industries if given the right support and structure? Very possible.
Let’s discuss what an AI agent is and what all the buzz is about, and then focus on one of their biggest weaknesses when being deployed at an enterprise level. Then let’s look at these AI agents in a decentralized environment where they can use the blockchain’s infrastructure to fix this weakness, and see just how enterprises might be able to leverage this type of tech.
For those unaware, an AI agent is a piece of software that can operate autonomously across various information systems, performing different tasks according to its design, and can even interact with other agents to solve larger problems. AI agents are different from other types of software because they act, as the name suggests, like a type of synthetic agent. Think of them as virtual people with limited general intelligence, high levels of specific intelligence, and the ability to adapt/learn as they experience different scenarios. Agents can be created and deployed with relative ease given their capabilities, and they have standards they can use to efficiently work with other agents to gather information, process it, and can even buy or trade services/info with each other to create their own small digital economy.
So why would a larger organization like an enterprise care about AI agents? Simply put, these agents have major potential to automate processes; supercharge humans’ ability to analyze information and make informed decisions; go external to track down vast stores of data on a specific subject; and even monitor prices and make purchases if the right conditions are met. This can streamline an entire company’s efficiency, while at the same time providing the power of AI without having to install major hardware or software, as the agents can be used by anyone.
The issue for the enterprise, however, is a big one. AI agents aren’t great at maintaining core data memory to make these decisions, don’t often offer transparency, and as a result can’t instill the level of trust needed to truly act independently. Without these things it’s hard for an agent to analyze an enterprise’s supply chain to recommend optimized solutions, or perform price analysis on various products. Without cultivating transparency and trust, an AI agent that predicts revenue forecast numbers can’t be fully utilized autonomously, and at best can act as an “unreliable advisor.”
This is where the blockchain architecture comes into play for AI agents. You see, a blockchain is especially good at a few key things. One of the biggest benefits is its ability to develop architecture for decentralized, auditable, and portable memory that allows AI agents to not only learn themselves, but share knowledge across systems to those other entities that have been cleared to receive that information. Blockchain is able to create rules via smart contracts for a trustless environment, whether it is facilitating a transaction between two strangers from across the world, or two AI agents from different organizations that need to conduct a transaction. That reliability, accountability, access to the right memory, to the right agents, at the right time, allows agents to become enterprise-ready. This really hasn’t been done before, and we are at the early stages of discovery, brainstorming all the many different ways this will transform how enterprises do business. This will change how an enterprise conducts processes within its company, but also how it can use agents to gain insights and information, and how it can automate many different transactions with other organizations. The truth is, this does give enterprises the ability to automate certain roles in their company. However, in many other cases it allows an enterprise to use agents as a “trusted advisor” role for humans who receive, validate, and use that input to make the final decision in their processes, effectively leveling up their abilities. Enterprises can improve their people’s capabilities and capacity, leveraging their ability to perform more complex tasks while agents take over the repetitive and straightforward jobs.
Is the Web3 community aware of this potential? Yes. Although the reputation of Web3 is sometimes oversimplified as tokens and finance, its ability to act as a key infrastructure foundation cannot be overstated. Web3 launchpads such as Calyx have been building up support for AI agent platforms, and have not been subtle in how large the potential is for full enterprise adoption of decentralized AI agent ecosystems. It is one of the leaders so far in those organizations backing the growth of AI agents, especially as it is built to use a cross-chain approach that enables enterprise-grade AI/Web3 projects to raise funds transparently (and allows swaps for investors that can come from any token they own in Calyx). The launchpad is an especially efficient fundraiser, leveraging NEAR Intents to build a seamless execution and straightforward model for founders and backers.
Their biggest AI agent platform, called Intellex, is currently seeing its launch for investors. The TGE announcement is causing a stir for the normal Web3 investors, but has a large amount of potential for more traditional enterprises that will benefit from Intellex development of their AI agent ecosystems. While Calyx is helping with the launch, Intellex is building the AI agent platform that will build up within enterprises. This is especially good for the platform as it brings with it the ability to deliver portable, auditable memory via that specialized layer for AI agents. This is where all those AI agent benefits mentioned above come into play: easy deployment, pre-trained but also learning continuously, finding/holding/trading knowledge across systems, and doing so using protocols that can be audited to ensure trust and accountability.
Enterprises who are looking to stay on the innovation edge are exploring AI agent use cases, and the only way to ensure the agents can act reliably (auditible, with memory access, with transparency) is through the infrastructure provided through blockchain. While Calyx helping to launch Intellex is a big step, it is also the first step. We will begin to see an entire industry of AI agents developed for use in enterprises, within a blockchain ecosystem. In other words, AI agents with blockchain-backed memory represent the next leap in automation, adoption, and trust.