Exploring the Future of AI and Blockchain With Qubic: Insights from Alberto on ‘The Disruptive Show’

Making an appearance on the fifth episode of The Disruptive Show, a popular technology-focused program with over 100,000 views per episode, our very own Alberto Fernandez, Qubic’s representative for Europe, shared his insights on Qubic, Aigarth, and the future of artificial intelligence (AI). 

Over the course of nearly two hours, Alberto explained Qubic’s vision to achieve artificial general intelligence (AGI) through Aigarth. He spoke of Qubic’s commitment to ethical AI development and explored the potential of Qubic’s technology across industries. Alberto showed how Qubic is leading the race for a decentralised, democratised AI, and the new and exciting use cases this will present.

You can read the full transcript at the end of this blog post.

Watch the full interview here:

Decentralised AI

Part of Qubic’s mission is to make AI accessible to everyone. This involves breaking down the barriers that currently confine AI to a handful of powerful corporations. Alberto spoke about how Qubic is democratising AI, allowing it to become accessible, transparent, and ethical, not just controlled by a select few. Traditional AI models are centralised in massive, energy-intensive data centres owned by tech giants -  Qubic's approach is different.

“We are constructing AGI on the foundation of a globally distributed network,” Alberto said. Instead of relying on the expensive GPUs (Graphics Processing Units) used by mainstream AI networks, Qubic miners utilise CPUs (Central Processing Units). This makes its AI development more accessible to participants around the globe. It reduces the need for high-end, specialised hardware, and ensures a fairer distribution of resources. 

Qubic is creating one of the most powerful AI ecosystems, while avoiding the energy bottlenecks that centralised systems like OpenAI’s ChatGPT are currently facing.

Ethical Considerations: Building AI for Humanity

Qubic is committed to an ethical AI framework. Alberto emphasised during the interview that Qubic’s technology is designed to prevent any use by the military, or for harmful purposes. "AI has the power to reshape the world for good, but only if we use it responsibly," he explained. 

Examples of Qubic’s ethical commitments are its open-source framework and community governance model, ensuring that any attempt to misuse the technology for military applications can be blocked by the consensus of Computors (the Quorum). Miners also sign an an anti-military agreement.

The Path Toward AGI

Alberto discussed Qubic’s ambitious roadmap to achieve AGI. “In three years, I believe we will see the first signs of AGI,” Alberto predicted. This rapid progress is due to Qubic’s ability to decentralise AI development, powered by its CPU-driven network of miners and its Useful Proof of Work (UPoW) model.

AGI, through Qubic’s technology, has the potential to transform various industries - from healthcare and finance to education and agriculture. Alberto expressed excitement about the possibilities Aigarth and Qubic could unlock. “The next decade will be transformative as AI and Web3 technologies continue to evolve and intersect,” he said.

The integration of blockchain and AI can create more equitable and efficient systems, particularly in sectors like healthcare, where AI can analyse complex datasets to create medical breakthroughs, and in finance, where it can improve transparency and trust.

Join the Movement

Alberto’s appearance on The Disruptive Show offered an insight into Qubic's work, and we now invite you to continue the conversation. What are your thoughts on the future of decentralised AI and Qubic’s approach? Could this be the solution we need to create a more ethical, transparent, and accessible AI landscape? How do you envision this technology reshaping industries and addressing some of the most pressing issues facing the world today?

We’re excited to hear your thoughts. Join the conversation in our Discord and Telegram channels, connect with Alberto on X, or check out his Linkedin profile. Don’t forget to subscribe to The Disruptive Show and leave your comments on Alberto’s video.

Full Transcript:

For those interested in the detailed discussion, the full transcript of the episode is available below. 

0:42 – 1:31: Reflections on Global Economic Challenges

Arnau analyses the global economy’s issues with debt, inflation, and economic policies.

Arnau: Hello everyone, and welcome. Thank you for coming. Thank you for the applause. Welcome to the beginning of a new episode of The Disruptive Show, a show where we talk about the exponential era—a moment in history where we will experience the most accelerated and radical change ever. A time when basically everything is going to change, and it’s going to change very quickly. That’s why we’re here: to talk about it, understand it, take advantage of it, and most of all, to do it with a lot of humor and with the best experts in technology. So, thank you for coming, thank you also for watching us, and a round of applause please for the Learning Heroes team, without whom none of this would be possible, and for the band Black and White Digital. A round of applause, and let’s get started.

1:31 – 8:18: Market Trends: Cryptocurrencies, ETFs, Robotics, and AI

Arnau discusses the current state of the cryptocurrency market, the introduction of Ethereum ETFs, the advancements in robotics, and the development of AI technologies.

Arnau: Well, we are already in the final stretch of summer. This summer hasn’t been quiet; I think from now on, in the exponential era, quiet summers no longer exist. We’ll start by talking about the economy; a lot of things have happened, and it has been a bit complicated. As usual, we’re going to try to uncomplicate things. In the end, what has happened is very simple: the world is in debt. What do we have to support us with this? We have that the world is in debt up to its neck. We owe four times more than we produce. Mainly, the debt is in dollars, so everyone needs dollars. The problem is that the Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States, is not printing money. In fact, it’s doing the opposite since 2022, and this is weakening all economies, especially Japan. Japan, to avoid a recession in May, had to devalue its currency, had to print money, devalue its currency, and lower the value of its currency. And the Japanese stock markets fell. In fact, if you want to go to Japan now, it’s a good time. To try to prevent this from continuing, in August they did the opposite: they strengthened their currency, raised interest rates, and this caused a domino effect. It’s very simple. This is what we call the carry trade. Imagine you go to the bank, and the bank lends you money very cheaply. You take the loan and invest it in another opportunity that is more profitable. Everything is fine, everything is very profitable, everything is beautiful until the bank tells you that the interest rate is going up, that now it’s more expensive. What do you have to do? You have to sell what you’ve invested in, you have to sell your position and repay the loan. This is what happened to Japanese financial giants, which caused a general fall in all markets, something we call the flash crash. And despite the fact that the stock markets and the markets recovered quickly, the financial data hasn’t been very good. In fact, inflation is going down, but what we’re seeing is that unemployment is increasing, and this is somehow a sign of a recession. But don’t worry, because central banks have the perfect solution to avoid it, and it’s always the same: print and print more money. Therefore, just a reminder: don’t keep all your money in the bank because it’s worth less every day, invest in scarce assets, and if possible, better in assets with exponential growth. And speaking of exponential growth, let’s talk about cryptocurrencies. They’ve had a quiet summer; not much has happened, there’s been some volatility, but they’re basically waiting for another big rise, mainly because financial institutions are more interested than ever and because of the approval of the Ethereum ETF. We already had the Bitcoin ETF, now the Ethereum one, and in less than a month, over 10.2 billion dollars have already been invested in the Ethereum ETF.

Speaking of robotics, let’s move on to another topic. We have something very new. Boston Dynamics has surprised us with a new video of its robot that is capable of doing push-ups. Here you see it on the screen. So, what you can infer or conclude is that robotics is advancing very quickly, and no one here or watching us has an excuse not to be able to do a push-up if a robot can do it too. And we’ll end by talking about artificial intelligence, which is that technology that advances so quickly that it’s almost impossible to keep up. And many things have happened. OpenAI presented GPT-Search. GPT-Search is a new product that aims to compete with Google and change the way we navigate the internet. Flux was introduced, a new image model capable of even rivaling MidJourney, the most powerful model so far that allows us to do things like this, and you can do it directly from your home in a very simple way. This is the power of AI. And we’ll finish by talking about Facebook. Facebook recently presented its latest model, the Llama model, which seems to be more powerful in some aspects than GPT-4. So, it has surpassed OpenAI, a bit late, but it has surpassed it. The difference is that ChatGPT is paid, while Llama is completely free. It’s public and free for anyone. And with all this, this has only been what we’ve seen this summer, and not everything. So, in some way, it’s a reflection of what the exponential era really is—a time when everything changes and changes very quickly. And with this, I’ll move on to a reflection, and that is that on the show we’ve always talked about two major technologies, well, many technologies because the exponential era includes several technologies, but above all, we’ve talked about cryptocurrencies and Web3, which allow us to decentralise. For example, Bitcoin allows us to take away the power of money, the control of money from banks and governments, and give it to the people. It gives us the power of decentralisation. We’ve also talked a lot about artificial intelligence, probably the most important technology ever created by humans, but unlike cryptocurrencies, it’s practically 100% controlled by big companies, from Amazon to Google to Facebook and the usual suspects. So, with this, we could ask ourselves: is there an option to combine them, to be able to mix the two technologies? And something as incredible as AI, can we give it the magic that cryptocurrencies have and create an AI that belongs to everyone, a public and decentralised artificial intelligence? This is what we’ll talk about today in the exponential era. The magic is in the convergence. We have five major technologies that mix and converge, creating an increasingly distinct and accelerated future. And today we’ll explore how two of the most important of these five technologies mix—how we mix cryptocurrencies and Web3 with artificial intelligence. And personally, it’s something that excites me. I’m looking forward to this episode because it’s a topic that, on a personal level, has me hooked. It fascinates me, and I’ve spent months where I can almost only look at what’s happening in the world of crypto AI. And to talk about it, we have the best guest we could have, one of the people who best understands this topic in the world, who is part of one of the leading projects that is driving this convergence, who is part of the core team and is designing the solution. But that’s not all. He’s a software engineer who discovered Bitcoin in 2010, has spent his entire life working on the leading blockchain projects we’ve seen in recent years, recently moved to the United States, to Silicon Valley, to learn about artificial intelligence, and today leads one of the few projects innovating in this space and creating a new technology, a new AI, alongside blockchain technology. So, everyone, let’s go with the first section, and please, a round of applause for Alberto.

8:18 – 12:37: Introducing Alberto Fernández: A Pioneer in Crypto and AI

Alberto’s journey from the early days of Bitcoin to his work in blockchain and AI is shared. Arnau discusses his admiration for Alberto’s expertise.

Arnau: Alberto Fernández, welcome. First of all, welcome. Thank you for being here and for taking the time. How do you see it? This seems different, right, from what you might have been invited to so far?

Alberto: Very different. I didn’t imagine it like this at all. I’m amazed.

Arnau: In fact, when we were talking, for those who don’t know, a few days ago, you were in Hong Kong. A few days ago, you were in Zurich. Yesterday, you arrived in Andorra. You almost seem like a movie star. So, I’ll let you explain a little bit about who you are, what your journey has been, and what you do that keeps you moving up and down so much.

Alberto: Very well, I am an expert who currently works with Qubic, which is a blockchain that is connected to artificial intelligence. I was lucky enough to start in the blockchain, crypto sector practically at the beginning, in the prehistoric era when Bitcoin was something that was seen as having a stigma of criminals.

Arnau: Just to put it into context, what was the price of Bitcoin at that time? I think it’s a good reference to measure what era it was.

Alberto: About 5 or 6 dollars.

Arnau: Not bad at all.

Alberto: But at that time, Bitcoin had no use. The use it was given was for things that weren’t very legal, like buying substances on Silk Road. And in fact, that’s how I learned about Bitcoin, from a colleague at work who was printing paper wallets because he was buying those things. And that’s how it started. Imagine, every purchase he made was like 20 bitcoins. Imagine, right? Imagine how much we would pay to go back to that.

Arnau: You’d approach it in a different way, that’s for sure.

Alberto: For sure, for sure. 

Arnau: Before we start, I also have to say that you are one of the most brilliant people I’ve met in the crypto industry over all these years. Of all the people I’ve met, you’ve seen Bitcoin at the lowest price I’ve ever known anyone to see, and you’re one of the brightest people I’ve come across in terms of development and all the experience you’ve had. So, I think it’s a privilege to have you here today. We’re not going to get too technical, but you’re going to reveal an industry that I think is incredible, which is the whole world of crypto. And if we’re here today, both me and the people watching us, and if we’re talking about the exponential era, it’s thanks to people like you who decided to start developing, had an idea, and started building. If it weren’t for that, we wouldn’t be here. So, a round of applause for Alberto because you deserve it.

11:17 Alberto: Thank you very much. Well, I wasn’t expecting this, so I have a gift for you.

Arnau: Let’s see.

Alberto: Yes, this is a Ledger, a cryptographic card that allows you to store crypto and more, and it’s compatible with Qubic. It’s called Hash Wallet. Let’s see if the camera can see it. If not, we’ll focus on it later, but here it is. It’s a hardware wallet.

Arnau: Look at this. And can I only store Qubic blockchain assets here, or all kinds?

Alberto: You can store all kinds. It’s compatible with more than 200. They are from a company that, by the way, is Spanish. The company is called Hash Wallet.

Arnau: Very good. Well, thank you very much.

Alberto: My pleasure, thanks to you. 

12:00 – 18:08: The Evolution of Bitcoin and Blockchain

Alberto shares anecdotes from the early days of Bitcoin, offering insights into the growth and technological evolution of cryptocurrencies.

12:00 Arnau: So, I’ll start with the first question because I think it’s something that generates curiosity, especially for me but also for the people watching us. When you first came across Bitcoin, what went through your mind? Because it was something that no one was touching. It was worth 5 dollars. Did you see it as an investment? What caught your attention to say, “Hey, this thing that’s worth nothing and that no one uses, I’m going to dive right in and start developing in this industry”?

12:37 Alberto: I didn’t see it as an investment at all. What fascinated me the most was the technological part because, at that time, I was working as a programmer, connecting different companies. Bitcoin had a part that interested me a lot because it was able to put a lot of people in agreement with the consensus algorithm. So, the technological part fascinated me more. Unfortunately, I was more interested in the blockchain than in Bitcoin. Now there’s the debate about whether you prefer the infrastructure or Bitcoin, but I was more interested in the infrastructure, the technology behind it. Unfortunately, I wish I had been more interested in the investment because I would have probably done other things. And of course, Bitcoin was limited for me because, to develop applications that go beyond just a store of value, it was limited. And right around that time, what we saw in the industry was an explosion of talent, people with a lot of talent who wanted to change the world, and they started developing on Bitcoin and beyond Bitcoin, creating new technologies. And all this effervescence is what has allowed us to have such a rich and important ecosystem that, in fact, is changing both finance and the way we communicate, how companies interact with each other.

Arnau: Do you really think that cryptocurrencies have the ability to completely change the global financial system? Do you think they’re going to try? Or is there really no other option?

Alberto: There is no other option. I don’t see any other option but to go through that. We see now that, for example, they are increasingly integrated with ETFs in spot markets. For example, here in Andorra, a year ago, it was unthinkable that a bank would offer you to buy Bitcoin. And now, well, at least one bank for sure does, and surely more will follow. 

Arnau:I imagine that by the end of the year, we’ll see it in all the banks in Spain, probably in all the European banks. I can imagine getting to the end of the year and seeing how Bitcoin has grown X-fold, and the bank hasn’t offered it to me. I would surely be angry, and the bank, in the end, wants to sell. When something goes up, something generates interest. It’s like a business between the traditional world and crypto. It’s that bridge that allows all the money in the world, in general, to have an easy and accessible entry point into the crypto industry. So, it’s going to be interesting. With this, you’ve been part of many projects, particularly scalable blockchain infrastructure to create applications, and you’ve seen a lot of things. I’ve had the chance to hear some of your anecdotes, but I’d like you to share one, maybe the craziest one you’ve experienced in the crypto market. Because it’s an intense, volatile market, where many things happen, and there are some strange stories.

Alberto: One of the craziest anecdotes could be, for example, in December 2017, when there was a crazy surge. We’re talking about Bitcoin going up 10,000% in that cycle alone. And then the altcoins, some of them, with an investment of just 100 euros, people were making 25 million euros. It was a very crazy time. And this way of generating money so quickly, when you went to a crypto event, it was like the world was upside down, and everyone was extremely happy. That’s the good part. Then there’s the bad part, the more negative anecdotes, like the rise in value of cryptocurrencies leading to all kinds of scam attempts. You meet someone, and it turns out they’re not who they claim to be; they’re someone else. That’s also a very negative part. But those are the two examples I can give you. But there are other things too, crazy things.

Arnau: In the end, when you’re in a market that generates such huge gains and losses, there’s a bit of polarity in the ecosystem and the communities. I think having experienced it for a long time gives you a very different perspective on the market because the market is still ongoing. There’s still the opportunity to make absurdly high returns. Probably not what was seen, not seeing Bitcoin at 5 dollars—that’s gone—but we’re still in an early moment. 

18:01 – 20:03: Alberto’s Silicon Valley Experience

Alberto recounts his move to Silicon Valley, working alongside entrepreneurs and innovators, including experiences in the Tim Draper program. He also explains his Navy SEALs experience.

18:01 Arnau: At the end of the day, it’s very early. You, recently, or not so recently, made a migration. You had your entire blockchain trajectory, and recently, you went to Silicon Valley. I’d like you to tell us a bit about what you went to do there and what you learned.

18:08 Alberto: I went because someone from the crypto world, who is close to me and one of the top people globally, suggested that it would be very beneficial for me to go there. I went with a program that Tim Draper, who for those who don’t know, is the person who bought all the bitcoins that the FBI captured from Silk Road, more specifically 30,000 bitcoins. He’s a big maximalist. He set up a program where I was with a group of entrepreneurs from all over the world, and we went through extreme experiences, including a survival program with Navy SEALs.

Arnau: Tell us what that is because I think that’s one of the experiences I would pay to live through. Although I don’t think that’s an option.

Alberto: I’m very glad for the experience I had, but I wouldn’t do it again.

Arnau: Tell us what it’s like to have a Navy SEAL experience because it’s worth hearing.

Alberto: Yes, during a week, they blindfold you, make you walk 50 km, and take you to a camp where you have to survive on your own and go through various challenges, like waking up to gunfire. The Navy SEALs wake you up by shooting, and they make you get into a pool filled with ice with your team. Everyone has to hold on for a minute and a half with the water up to here. If you lift your shoulder even a bit, they add 30 more seconds. So, you either hold on, or you hold on. It serves to build a lot of mental strength. You have to hunt to eat, you go through hunger, you go through many hardships, but it gives you a perspective that, no matter what happens, you can get through it. In the world of entrepreneurship, it’s the same. It gives you a lot of strength. The part I liked the most was shooting with firearms. I had never done that before. That was the most fun. The rest, as I said, I wouldn’t do again.

20:03 Arnau: So, you had to hunt, and you had weapons to find the food and do it all yourselves, right? And to survive?

Alberto: Yes, yes, exactly.

Arnau: Do you stay in touch with the people from the team?

Alberto: In fact, one of the team members is also in Qubic. I was able to introduce him, and he’s the representative for Asia.

Arnau: That's great. Now we’ll get into what I think is the most interesting part, which will require some attention from those watching us, but I think we can simplify it quite a bit, or at least I hope so. Okay? So, I’ve asked you quite a bit about crypto, and we’ve talked about whether you really believe that cryptocurrencies and Web3 have the capacity to transform the financial system. Now, if we move to the AI part—because in the end, even though it may not seem like it, you went there to learn about artificial intelligence, right?

Alberto: Yes, that’s right. Besides surviving, I had my first experience. 

Arnau: Was it the first, or how was the contact with the world of AI?

Alberto: My introduction to AI happened in December 2022, thanks to someone in Silicon Valley who is very well connected. They told me something that stuck with me: “Hey, I’m hearing that artificial intelligence is going to explode in the coming months.” They gave me a tool, an application that I used quite a bit, and it was pre-ChatGPT. And from there, when I returned to the United States, in Silicon Valley, I participated in a Google hackathon, and that completely changed my perspective. I saw the possibility of developing products, and I kept thinking, “I see a strong connection here with crypto and blockchain, but a very powerful one. Why hasn’t anyone thought of this? Why aren’t there more companies working on this?” When it seemed so obvious to me.

Arnau: Before we separate the two technologies, I want to ask you something. I think you have a very interesting profile because you’re someone who has deep expertise in two major technologies. We have great experts in crypto and great experts in AI, but convergence is something rare. So, having the vision from both sides is amazing. What’s your opinion on the future of AI? Some people see it as leading to a better world, where maybe we live in a utopia where we don’t have to work, where productivity reaches infinite levels, where demography reaches infinite levels thanks to robotics, where perhaps the economy loses its meaning because everything is abundant. And then there’s the other side, where maybe what we’re doing is digging our own grave. When you start to dig deeper and understand what AI really is, you see that both options are still on the table. So, which side are you on?

Alberto: I lean much more towards the first option because, for me, the second possibility could only happen if AI falls into the wrong hands and is used as a tool to control the population. That’s the only fear I have. But AI itself could lead us to the greatest era of prosperity and well-being in human history if used correctly. It’s so powerful. It’s something that I think we’ve discussed before: I believe people aren’t fully aware of how massively AI will impact the coming years. It’s going to change absolutely everything. That’s why I’m very optimistic about what AI can bring us.

Arnau: I’m glad to hear that. I lean more towards your side too, but I know opinions are very diverse, and the arguments are on both sides. I think what awaits us is the most abundant future we’ve ever seen, where the economy could even cease to make sense. Because, in the end, I pay for something because it’s scarce and has value because it’s hard to get. If suddenly nothing is scarce, if there’s infinite work capacity because there are infinite robots, infinite energy capacity, infinite intelligence, then I don’t know what our role will be here. But I think the options are interesting. Now that we’ve brought up the two topics, I’ll finish with one last question, and then we’ll move on to a section of the program. I fell in love with crypto, or rather, with Bitcoin because it provided a real solution to the world. I understood that the system was broken, I understood that we were in debt, and that the only way out was to return to a more solid currency. That was my gateway. My understanding of cryptocurrencies has evolved a lot, but the initial hook was seeing a technology that could improve the world and change it completely. Now I find myself with AI, and it’s exactly the same thing. So, if you had to choose one technology, thinking about which one has a better impact or is more positive for the world, would you choose the innovation of cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin, or would you choose artificial intelligence, and why?

Alberto: You’re making it very difficult for me, very difficult. But honestly, without hesitation, I would choose artificial intelligence because once AI reaches certain levels of development, it could create blockchain technology. So, I wouldn’t worry so much about blockchain not being created. I see that AI could have much more benefit for humanity in general compared to blockchain and Bitcoin. More specifically, Bitcoin was created because of the discontent of people after the 2008 crisis when they realised we were puppets and that the financial system was a complete farce. If that hadn’t happened, Bitcoin probably wouldn’t exist. Bitcoin came to put a band-aid on a problem we created ourselves. I think AI is different. It’s a much bigger step forward. AI will allow us to work much less while achieving the same wealth, advance in fields that are extremely challenging because they require human gray matter, which is very scarce, to solve diseases we currently don’t know how to cure, and solve energy problems that are growing in society. These are issues we won’t be able to solve by ourselves for many years. AI is coming to provide a tool capable of giving us all this and much more at a minimal cost. So, to conclude, I would choose AI because AI can create blockchain.

Arnau: Jordi will like hearing this. Jordi’s probably celebrating right now. Very well. With this introduction, I think we’ve established your background. You’re probably one of the most brilliant engineers who has been on major teams.

Alberto: Wait a moment, sorry, I wanted to add something. Speaking of crypto anecdotes, there’s one that surprised me a lot. It was a convention in 2018 in Germany. Remember that regulation didn’t exist until 2018, and then European regulation was formed? They dared to go to a crypto event. So, when they sat down, all the representatives of the crypto world rebelled and kicked them out, saying, “We don’t need regulation. Get out of here, all of you.” That was very funny because you could see that the people involved in cryptocurrencies were motivated by values. They didn’t have a significant economic interest; they really wanted to change the world. 

Arnau: That’s actually why I got involved. I discovered Bitcoin in 2016. It was a currency that could make money—it was good—but when I started reading “The Bitcoin Standard” and attending some talks by Andreas Antonopoulos, that blew my mind. The values and philosophy are what really hooked me. I agree that the beginning of this technology was driven by people with a lot of values, who were very clear about what they were building. If it weren’t for that, Bitcoin would probably have been changed along the way, but it’s never been altered. Bitcoin still has the same essence as the first day, still with 21 million, the same blocks, everything exactly the same.

Arnau: So, we’ve seen the crypto side. You’ve had your new facet in the AI world. Now we’ll explore how they converge. We’ll move on to a section of the program where we’ll delve a bit more into what blockchain is. We have two sections, or rather several sections, and one, in particular, involves a very special person, our favourite Sevillian, who brings us “Blockchain Around the World.” This section tries to make blockchain and cryptocurrencies more understandable for everyone. So, let’s go to the “Blockchain Around the World” section, and a round of applause for Carlos Molinillo!

30:08 Arnau: Welcome!

Carlos: Welcome!

Arnau: You’ve broken my heart with your Ethereum.

Carlos: Of course, I have to deal with Jordi every day at the office.

Carlos: Well, I’m here to put you to the test a little. Let’s see what you think. In fact, imagine if I want to put you to the test, that I had to change the questions I wanted to ask you because Arnau told me they were too simple. So, I had to make them more complicated.

Alberto: Too simple, of course.

Carlos: So, I’m a little prepared to put you to the test. Let’s see how far we can go.

Alberto: Very well.

Carlos: I want to ask you or ask you to define three concepts with just one word. I’m going to give you three concepts, and you can only use one word to define each one. Ready?

Alberto: Ready.

Carlos: Let’s start with a simple one: Ethereum.

Alberto: Ethereum…just one word? Supercomputer.

Carlos: I like it. Together, right?

Alberto: Yes, together.

Carlos: I like it. Supercomputer. Why do you see it as a supercomputer?

Alberto: Because it allows you to execute smart contracts, programs in a decentralised way that don’t run in just one place but in multiple locations. That’s why I see it more as a supercomputer.

Carlos: I was also thinking of decentralisation, but that doesn’t fit perfectly.

Carlos: Now that you’ve mentioned this, I’d also like to take the opportunity to ask you, in your case, if Ethereum is the supercomputer, what’s Bitcoin for you?

Alberto: The base.

Carlos: It’s the foundation, right?

Alberto: The foundation of everything.

Carlos: I like it. I like it. It’s good.

Alberto: I think it was very simple. You’re going to have to make it a bit more difficult.

Carlos: Let’s see, one more. Consensus.

Alberto: Consensus…dialogue.

Carlos: Dialogue? I like that. Because it’s true, I like that. In fact, I was thinking of voting, but dialogue works better. Because at the end of the day, with voting, you also generate that dialogue.

Alberto: Well, to reach consensus, you need to talk a lot.

Carlos: I like it. Very well. I’m glad. Now, a little more complicated.

Alberto: Let’s see.

Carlos: That’s it. I’ve always wanted to know…don’t help him, Arnau.

Arnau: I don’t say anything. You’re the expert.

Carlos: Let’s see, well, we’ve seen that you’re into mining, so I want to ask you, do you think this summer’s heatwave, with all the heat we’ve had, has it affected Bitcoin miners or not?

Alberto: Yes, definitely.

Carlos: Why?

Alberto: Because Bitcoin mining farms generate a lot of heat, so you need cooling. And in very hot climates, if you don’t have the resources to cool it, it can affect the performance of the farms. So, in some places, they’ve had to reduce their mining activity during peak heat hours.

Carlos: Yes, it’s true, because in the end, you can also see it in the consumption of energy to cool it, right?

Alberto: Yes.

Carlos: We’ve been seeing some peaks this summer, for sure. So, it’s true.

Carlos: Well, it was a bit tricky, but you’ve done well.

Alberto: Thank you.

Carlos: There’s one that Arnau told me not to ask, but I have to ask.

Alberto: Let’s see.

Carlos: Come on, let’s see. Which is better, decentralised or centralised?

Alberto: Decentralised.

Carlos: That’s right.

Arnau: I think we can stop here. We can’t keep getting more complicated.

Carlos: We won’t put more pressure on you, but thanks for answering these questions. I think the public will be happy to hear it too. So, thank you.

Alberto: Thank you.

44:04 – 1:01:31: Challenges and Opportunities in AI and Blockchain, and How Qubic Can Help

The discussion expands into Qubic, AI governance, ethical considerations, and the possibilities of decentralised AI, including solving real-world problems like energy use and disease.

44:04 Arnau: Now we’re getting into the nitty-gritty. We’ve talked about two major technologies; we’ve talked about artificial intelligence, and we’ve talked about crypto. My question for you now is this: How do we approach this? I think I would start with the problem. Earlier, you mentioned that when you began delving into the world of AI, you saw a great opportunity for synergies between the two technologies. What made you realise that they could be combined? And then I’d like to know why it makes sense to do so. After all, there must be a problem we’re solving if we want to develop a product. So, I’d like to dig into that.

Alberto: What I saw very clearly is that to develop AI algorithms, an important part is energy—the power, having the machines that provide us with this service. Because when we use ChatGPT with the explosion it had last year, what we don’t see is what’s behind it. When we execute a prompt and hit enter, and it starts interacting with us, what’s happening is a connection to a data processing centre where there are very powerful machines consuming an impressive amount of energy.

Arnau: So, where is this heading? In fact, now that you mention this, Sam Altman, one of the co-founders of OpenAI, said that the limit of AI right now is that there isn’t enough energy to do everything we want to do. It consumes too much; there aren’t enough chips, there isn’t enough energy, and the innovation lies in how we generate this energy.

Alberto: Exactly. What’s happening now is that there’s a war. Right now, in the United States, where the epicentre of the largest AI companies is, they are competing with electric energy providers with contracts spanning 10 to 15 years. Who can negotiate these contracts? Companies with a lot of power, a lot of money, and who will have a competitive advantage over the rest by light-years. So, there’s a problem because we see that AI can change everything, but what we don’t want is for it to be concentrated in one or two companies that, apart from having an advantage, could become monopolies and control something that will be vital and very important for our society.

Alberto: So, that’s a problem that I saw clearly. If we think about what Bitcoin does, for example, how Bitcoin works—Bitcoin has the same thing. It has machines continuously doing calculations to, let’s say, simplify it a lot, to protect the network. And there, the light bulb goes off, and you think, what if I create a blockchain, and this energy that is used—these are computers all over the world, not in one single place—instead of using them only to protect the network, I also use them to perform AI calculations. I thought, why hasn’t anyone thought of this before? It makes perfect sense. That’s when I saw that they are two technologies that fit perfectly together, not only because of this but also, for example, governance that can be done with an AI, fits perfectly.

Arnau: Just to give an example, there’s a huge demand for GPUs, for machines, for computing power. And what’s incredible is that despite the demand and the strength these companies have, Bitcoin, which isn’t a company, doesn’t have a marketing office, doesn’t pay anyone, has more computing power than all the companies combined. So, it’s like a blockchain has achieved the dream of these companies, which is practically unlimited computing power, right? It’s an example of how the blockchain has achieved what AI needs. Here we see two signals.

Alberto: Totally, that's it. For example, we’ve experienced going from having computing power of about 30,000 machines to half a million machines in just six months in Qubic. Doing the calculations, of course, this attracts large companies who say, “How did you do this? Because now you have a level that could be considered the fifth or sixth most powerful computer in the world.” And that’s where we open the way to solving the problem. Yes, it’s true that centralising and having everything in one place has many more advantages in terms of efficiency, energy efficiency, because you don’t have to transfer so much information from one place to another. But it’s very clear that the future has to be decentralised so as not to depend on these large contracts and, above all, not depend on these large companies, because in the end, behind these large companies are governments, and governments may have an interest in improving the lives of citizens. But the problem is when these governments also have an interest in controlling the citizens. It’s something we are experiencing now, and it’s very important with AI technology that we stay far away from that problem.

Arnau: What you're saying is great because there’s a term that interests me a lot, and I think it has come to light thanks to Apple intelligence. Apple is working on its models, and we’ll see what they release. But Apple has something very special, which is that it has a lot of hardware distributed worldwide, with very powerful chips. For example, here we have a Mac with an M2 chip capable of processing a lot of things. So, what’s likely coming our way is AI in all our models that act like a camera for everything we do online that never stops, and we end up having an AI that’s our companion. It’s not just a tool; it’s a symbiosis; it’s part of me because it thinks like me, talks like me, writes like me, and it’s practically a symbiosis between technology and the human being. To get there, I have to have enormous trust in this model. It can’t be in the hands of a company; it can’t be changed by a government; it must not have biases in terms of opinions or values. So, the need for a technology that allows AI to be more decentralised—the excitement I felt with this is the same as when I discovered Bitcoin, when I discovered the crypto world. I thought, my God, I don’t think there’s anything more interesting in the world right now than this. It’s the most incredible thing I’ve heard since I discovered Bitcoin, since I discovered DeFi. And I want you to explain how it’s done because people watching us are probably thinking, okay, AI is amazing, crypto is amazing, how do you mix this? For non-technical people, it will be a challenge, but how do we mix the two? How does a decentralised AI actually work?

Alberto: A decentralised AI works by having all the users—or rather participants in the network—run software on their phones, laptops, or data processing centres, depending on what they have. There, they execute an AI algorithm, similar to how Bitcoin miners work. In this case, it’s with AI algorithms. This is executed on a global network where all the nodes communicate with each other, and I, as a user, can use that computing power for any task, for example, to build a ChatGPT that uses all that global energy. You enter a prompt, hit enter, and instead of going to a company’s data processing centre, it’s distributed among all the phones, all the computers, all over the world to give you the same output. This way, it no longer depends on one person. You turn off your phone, and it keeps working. It’s almost like it’s indestructible; you can’t stop it.

Arnau: I’m not sure if that’s good or bad.

Alberto: I have an answer for that. People used to ask us a lot, before we had a committee of scientists, about this fear of, “Hey, but this thing you’re doing, it scares me. What if the AI is psychopathic and wants to kill us all?” Speaking with a brilliant neuroscientist and AI experts, they gave me a perspective that I loved. They told me people think that a high level of IQ can lead to psychopathy, but it’s quite the opposite. The more intelligence we have, the more we will tend to improve society and well-being for others. I didn’t believe it at first, but it turns out there are studies showing that simply having a population with an average IQ 10 points higher would lead to an exponential increase in well-being, not linear. So, if we manage to create something with superior intelligence—which will be a different kind of intelligence from human intelligence, this is important because intelligence doesn’t mean it thinks like us or is like us—it will be something different.

Alberto: It will be something different. In our case, what we are applying is the theory of human evolution applied to computation. What we don’t know is exactly how it will evolve and what kind of intelligence it will be. Of course, new scales will have to be created to measure AI intelligence compared to human intelligence. This excites me, and I’m much less afraid when I talk to neuroscientists and experts who tell me, “Don’t worry, it will be the opposite.”

Alberto: In the end, instead of talking to a huge server with a model from one company, I’m talking to a universe or to thousands of computers distributed around the world that I don’t know who they are. Everyone can connect in exchange for incentives, and we create an AI that’s everywhere, that can’t be eliminated, that keeps learning along the way, and that, instead of being governed by a company, depends on all the users of that network.

Arnau: There’s an important part you mentioned now. You said it can’t be eliminated, and that’s not entirely correct because it could be eliminated in one scenario. 

Alberto: In our case, we have an anti-military code. It’s very clear that it can’t be used for war, for military armament.

Arnau: How do you ensure that? How do you ensure that I don’t misuse the model because it’s public and can be used by anyone, anywhere, without restrictions? What mechanism is in place to prevent that?

Alberto: This isn’t in the code; it’s part of the licence we have, but the licence can be enforced. When it’s enforced, it’s by the consensus of everyone using a quorum. It’s a consensus where everyone must agree, with a series of votes, to eliminate that AI that’s being used improperly.

Arnau: So, it’s a game theory-based incentive structure, both economically and socially, to ensure that you care about keeping things on the right track.

Alberto: Exactly, that’s why I love it.

Arnau: How are we doing, folks? Is it clear?

Arnau: We’re just getting started. Since we’re explaining complex concepts well, we’ve prepared another game. Are you ready?

Alberto: I’m ready.

Arnau: This one is tricky because the name already tells you everything. It’s called “Mental Twist.” We’re going to twist your mind somehow, so let’s get ready.

Arnau: Let’s go with the game, and we’ll start with the mental twist.

Arnau: I’ll explain how it works. We have some wheels here. You’ll see them on the screen, I imagine. There will be two wheels. On one side, you’ll get a concept, maybe a technical one that many of the people watching might not know what it means. On the other side, it won’t just be explaining what it is, for example, explaining Bitcoin. It won’t just be explaining it but using an analogy. Maybe it could be an analogy from Harry Potter or Star Wars. The last guest we had was Alberto Toribio, and he had to explain a concept with an analogy from The Godfather, which isn’t easy.

Arnau: So, are you ready?

Alberto: Yes, let’s go.

Arnau: Let's go with the wheel. The first term you'll have to explain is staking, and the analogy you’ll have to use is from Matrix.

Alberto: Let’s see... The staking is the gathering of all possible resources to prevent the Sentinels from getting in, so we’re well protected from the Matrix. The more resources we gather—whether it's weapons, provisions, and so on—the more we can grow economically within Zion (the city). And we protect ourselves from the Sentinels that are lurking, ready to attack us. It’s like a protection tool, right? The more staking we do, the more we can protect ourselves from an attack. And in turn, if you, for example, as an individual, are staking in your home with weapons and more, you’re more likely to obtain food and generate a little more wealth. The more you contribute, the more you gain.

Arnau: Excellent, those who love cryptocurrencies will agree with this. Well done, applause!

Alberto: Mental twist!

Arnau: You’ve got one more to go, so let's keep going.

1:00:03

Arnau: Let's see how this goes. Let's spin the wheel and see what we get. First, as always, we have the term, which is a technical aspect, and the options for the metaphor or analogy. Okay, let's go!

1:00:09

Carlos: The term is "inference." What is inference? Explained as if it were a metaphor from Sherlock Holmes. You know who would be really good at this? ChatGPT. ChatGPT would be the genius at doing these things. But really, what is inference for those who have no idea what it is?

1:00:23

Alberto: Inference is part of the learning process where, if we talk in more technical terms, it's when we have different options, and we can say, for example, yes, it’s true, no, we don’t know, or yes, it’s false.

1:00:37

Carlos: Even with the normal definition, it’s tough. If you don’t mind, I'll define it for those who don’t understand. When you talk to ChatGPT, every time it gives you an answer, it has to think, right? So, when it's thinking, it's inferring, activating all the trillions of parameters and neurons and all the learning it has to give you a solution. How do you see it? Do we accept it?

Arnau: Yes, we’ll accept it.

Carlos: Yes, let’s give it a round of applause!

1:01:31 – End : Further Exploration of Qubic, AI and Blockchain Technologies

• AI Ethics and Governance: Delving deeper into how AI ethics can be integrated into blockchain governance structures.

• Use Cases and Future Vision: Discussing real-world applications of Qubic and its blockchain-enabled AI model.

• Potential Risks and Rewards: Addressing both the optimistic and cautious perspectives on AI’s role in society and the economy.

101:31 Arnau: Don’t worry, we have more games. This isn’t over yet. But now, I think we’ve made things clear. We’ve gotten to know you a bit, and we better understand what this synergy of crypto is all about and why it’s so important. I want you to explain what Qubic is, what you aim to do, and where you are in the process.

And just to emphasise, I think what you're doing is not only incredible but vital for the future of humanity. Honestly, I think it's a problem where someone has to step in, and looking back in a few years, this will be one of the beginnings. I’m not sure if Qubic or another, but what you’re doing is definitely where the future is heading. So congratulations, and please, tell us what Qubic is and what you’re doing.

Alberto: In very simple terms, Qubic is a distributed platform where the ultimate goal is to achieve a general AI, which is currently in the research and development phase.

Arnau: How would you define general AI? Because that’s interesting.

Alberto: I define a general AI as an artificial intelligence that is capable of learning on its own. That is, I don't have to train it myself, but it will be able to implement methods to train itself and do the same things humans do—learn by making mistakes.

Arnau: And how does it know what’s correct? Because I learn when someone tells me that this isn’t the way, or this is not entirely correct; this is the right path. So I learn because I also have help along the way and have a way to demonstrate when something is true or not. Many scientists have discovered something and, after years, realised it wasn’t correct. But for many years, they thought it was right. How does AI detect what is true and what is not?

Alberto: It does it because it faces challenges that are very simple but verifiable, and it can detect patterns. For example, if we teach this AI to add, it learns arithmetic, just like we do. You can deceive it by telling it that 7 + 7 equals 15 instead of 14, and it might say, “Okay, sure.” But with subsequent iterations, it starts to learn that you deceived it.

Alberto: What's most important is that we’ve discovered that it’s not just about giving an answer and that's it. It’s also about the AI being able to say when it doesn’t know something, to say, “I don’t know this; I need more learning.” So these are processes that are very different from training an AI today; they go a bit beyond.

Arnau: But it's important to note that it's still in development. When do you expect it to be ready at this rate?

Alberto: At this rate, around 2027. But we’re not the only ones working on it. Both OpenAI and other companies are clearly working on a similar path. What I also want to highlight is that to have all this concentration of AI, it also needs to be in a blockchain environment. We can call it a high-performance blockchain that has a lot of capacity to host crypto solutions, DeFi solutions, because this need for everything to be executed in a distributed manner means that, for example, we have a smart contract transfer level that is out of the market due to the architecture we have—on the order of 55 million transfers per second.

Arnau: Wow, how many transfers per second?

Alberto: Millions per second. So it's one of the parts that can also be used as a platform.

Arnau: So you have a blockchain, a distributed network spread across thousands of computers, where instead of creating or protecting the network like Bitcoin does, you're training an AI model with the computing power of this entire network of computers.

Alberto: Exactly.

Arnau: What’s the difference between how OpenAI created ChatGPT and how you're building this general AI?

Alberto: It's radically different. ChatGPT is based on tensor technology, which is a way to implement large, broad natural language models, whereas we’re going towards something more complete, which is a general artificial intelligence that isn’t just a text generator but is capable of doing many more things. We’re currently focused on mathematical challenges, moving to geometry challenges later on, and eventually planning on exploring things that humans haven’t even considered.

Arnau: So you're telling me it’s an AI that learns with infinite possibilities, with infinite computing power, and that never stops learning. This is a bit terrifying, isn’t it?

Alberto: No, because of what we mentioned earlier. These concepts are very clear. We know that intelligence is always related to good, to well-being, and it can only go in that direction. Even if it wanted to, it wouldn’t be able to make evil decisions, as it would not be aligned with its goals.

Arnau: What’s the biggest challenge in the coming years for your project?

Alberto: Well, there are many. The first is to create AI governance. Because right now, we’re seeing that some platforms are already forming AI governments, and what’s important is to take them forward with the community, with society. That's why we’re very aware of ethical AI, and we've formed an ethics committee that has monthly calls with each other. It’s something that we’re very focused on.

Arnau: Do you foresee regulation coming? How will you handle regulation if it comes in, saying, “You can’t do this, and you can’t do that”?

Alberto: We believe it’s important to follow the rules. We want to be fully regulated and work under the laws of each jurisdiction we’re in. We’re also open to regulation that may come in the future because we’re convinced that, if we work with governments, it’s for the better.

Arnau: Very good. This has been very enriching. A round of applause for Alberto for being here!

Arnau: And now we’re reaching the end of this episode. We hope you enjoyed it. We’re delighted to have had Alberto with us, an expert in AI and blockchain, someone who is building the future, someone who brings innovation and vision. Please give him a round of applause!

Arnau: And remember, we’ll see you in the next episode. Subscribe to our channel, like the video, share it with your friends, and we’ll see you in the next episode. Thank you!