Toly Says 'AI will make Solana more usable and understandable'

Solana Foundation has recently drawn attention to various artificial intelligence-related activities currently underway on the Solana platform. From chatbots to accelerators and grant programs, AI's emerging presence is proving to be a game-changer for the blockchain network.

In a recent discussion with Jonathan Abramovich, who oversees infrastructure business development for Solana Foundation, Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder and CEO of Solana Labs, shed light on his thoughts about AI's role and its potential to enhance usability and comprehension of Solana.

Yakovenko's Vision for AI

Yakovenko lauded the capabilities of AI, especially the natural language interface of AI models like ChatGPT. Drawing parallels with the revolutionary shift brought by Microsoft Windows and the computer mouse, he emphasized that AI is enabling a similar transformation. He added, "Every dev building consumer-oriented apps should be thinking about how their app is going to be interacted with through an AI model because this is a new paradigm for telling computers what to do."

The Solana Labs CEO expressed confidence that AI will make Solana more user-friendly and intuitive. With blockchain's trustless nature, an AI capable of deploying smart contracts and executing transactions could be far more potent than one restricted by centralized financial services.

Yakovenko believes in dedicating resources to explore AI's potential, and offering developers reference examples to facilitate app building in this new AI-driven environment.

Solana's Unique Position in AI Integration

Discussing the ChatGPT plugin, Yakovenko explained its primary function as a text-based block explorer, decoding on-chain objects. Although the current capabilities do not extend to minting NFT sets, Yakovenko envisions a future where it would be possible.

Solana's cost and speed advantages set it apart, creating an environment conducive to executing transactions within a ChatGPT loop. Yakovenko asserted that these factors are crucial in delivering a superior user experience.

AI: The Present and Future for Solana

At present, Solana is focused on unearthing AI's capabilities. Encouraging developers to write plugins and experiment, Yakovenko believes that the exact trajectory AI will take remains uncertain. However, he affirms that the changes it can bring are exciting, likening the current AI capability to the computer in Star Trek.

AI has also begun to influence the way developers comprehend and document code. Yakovenko sees a future where AI could aid in generating code for smart contracts, detecting bugs, writing test code, and even identifying vulnerabilities.

When asked about AI's potential role in validator data monitoring, Yakovenko seemed intrigued, hinting at the possibility of AI-optimized tools for data monitoring.

Yakovenko also considered AI's potential to handle the increased amount of data anticipated with the launch of Firedancer, a unique code base Solana is working on. He speculated that a sophisticated AI could potentially analyze two code bases to generate a third one.

AI's Role in Future Solana Applications

As for AI's specific applications in Solana, Yakovenko forecasts AI differentiation based on training data. He suggests that updated data sources could emerge from crowdfunded, crypto-based projects, such as Hivemapper.

He envisions a scenario where an AI plugin could generate an entire NFT set based on specific criteria, mint them on-chain, create a Discord group, answer questions, and even create lore and stories.

To a question about whether such automation would negate human work, Yakovenko responded, "No, it doesn’t take away the fun work – it just takes away the hard work and the annoying work."

In conclusion, Yakovenko's views suggest a future where AI integrates deeply into