The Bot Invasion: A Threat to Blockchain‘s Human-Centric Vision
Blockchains were built on the promise of transparency, decentralization, and accessibility. Yet, the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has introduced a new challenge – the bot invasion. These automated agents, while serving some legitimate purposes, are increasingly disrupting blockchain networks, driving up fees, and manipulating markets.
Nearly half of all internet traffic is generated by bots, and their presence on blockchains is becoming increasingly prevalent. This means that automated systems are now driving a significant portion of onchain activity, often at the expense of human users.
The Consequences of Bot Domination
Bots are already making their mark on blockchain networks, leading to a number of negative consequences:
- Increased congestion and fees: Bots flooding networks with automated transactions drive up gas fees and make it more expensive for humans to interact with blockchains.
- Market manipulation: AI-powered bots can manipulate markets, driving up prices artificially and creating unfair advantages for automated traders.
- Security risks: Bots can be used to launch DDoS attacks, disrupt networks, and exploit vulnerabilities for personal gain.
These issues are not just limited to blockchain networks. AI-driven bots are disrupting traditional financial services, threatening the core principles of how money is managed and transactions are conducted.
The Need for Proof-of-Human Infrastructure
While scalability is critical, it’s not enough to address the bot problem. We need a paradigm shift – a move towards ‘proof-of-human‘ infrastructure.
Proof-of-human systems are designed to verify a person’s humanness and uniqueness, ensuring that blockchains remain under human control. This includes measures such as:
- Guaranteed block space for human users: Allocating dedicated block space for verified human users prevents bots from crowding out essential transactions.
- Gas subsidies for human users: Providing subsidies during periods of high congestion protects humans from being priced out of the network.
- Enhanced execution clients: Optimizing clients with safeguards against bot-driven spam improves efficiency while maintaining human control.
A Human-Centric Future for Blockchain
The choice is clear. We can either let unproductive bots take over our networks, pushing out human users and undermining decentralization, or we can take action to ensure a human-centric future for blockchain.
By implementing proof-of-human infrastructure, we can empower human users, create a fairer and more accessible blockchain ecosystem, and pave the way for a future where technology truly serves humanity. The future of blockchain depends on it.
