At its conference in Bangkok, NEAR Protocol announced the creation of the world's largest open AI model with 1.4 trillion parameters.
Development of AI Model
The NEAR project will be supported by crowdsourced research and contributions. Thousands of participants worldwide will collaborate to develop and enhance the model. The process will be accessible through the NEAR AI Research Hub, where users can start by training a smaller 500 million-parameter model.
Monetization and Privacy
One aspect of the model is its business model. NEAR Protocol has reportedly designed a sustainable framework that includes monetizing the model through token sales, intended to fund the costly training and computational needs. Co-founder Illia Polosukhin explained that tokenholders would be reimbursed through the inferences generated by the model. The model will use Encrypted Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) to safeguard the privacy of participants and users.
The New AI Assistant
In addition to the model, NEAR Protocol introduced an AI Assistant demonstrating the capabilities of its new AI infrastructure. Polosukhin showcased how the assistant can create a memecoin, design a website, and even search for custom T-shirt printers. In the future, the assistant will be able to book flights, order food, and interact with Web2 services through the blockchain. A key feature is chain abstraction technology, allowing asset swaps across different blockchains.
NEAR Protocol offers new opportunities for AI development with models and assistants for integration with existing systems.
