Introduction

When people think of artificial intelligence today, they often think of products similar to ChatGPT. To many, AI is limited to generative AI: models that process human language and create text, images, or code. However, this is actually an extremely limited view of AI’s potential. The AI Revolution really begins with actionable AI: machine intelligence that acts on your behalf in the real world. Imagine an AI tool that doesn’t just suggest flights and recommend sights, but books your entire vacation on its own. This is a smart agent -- AI that autonomously makes decisions and acts upon them.

Smarts agents are advanced forms of actionable AI, designed to operate independently in both physical and digital environments, based on a user’s predefined goals. These systems are the next step in AI's evolution, integrating decision-making algorithms and natural language understanding to carry out tasks without human intervention.

Smart agents will eventually handle a vast range of challenging, tedious, and time-consuming work, but for humans to rely on smart agents, they must be effective and most definitely stable. Furthermore, they must operate securely, transparently, and without requiring trust in centralized third parties. Only blockchains provide the requisite environment for these agents, that is transparent, decentralized and verifiable.

Advantages of Onchain Smart Agents

Onchain smart agents represent a paradigm shift for interaction between the digital, physical, and financial worlds. They open a realm of possibilities for automated, secure, efficient, and decentralized operations across various verticals.

Onchain agents generate value in myriad ways:

1. Programmability of Capital: Financially-enabled smart agents are extremely difficult to build with traditional, centralized financial institutions. The inefficiencies that exist in our offchain world create countless roadblocks for even the most capable smart agents. For instance, AI could not open a bank account. The simple solution is that if smart agents cannot use USD, they should use USDC. The open, permissionless, and composable nature of blockchains allows capital to be programmatically controlled by smart agents based on user-defined parameters. Agents can be funded with wallets, owned by smart contracts, and natively interact with protocols and other agents -- all in service of a user’s goals.

2. Ownership of Value and Information: Blockchains enable developers to deploy smart agents that can own assets, information, and data and utilize them in a composable manner. These agents will be monetizable in certain usecases and offerings. For example, agents that are connected to wallets can trade on users’ behalf based on different strategies and goals, with owners earning a commission.

3. Augmented Oracles: Blockchains are deterministic and are not naturally aware of any external state. It wasn't until the invention of oracles that blockchains were able to gather offchain data Smart agents can serve as "smarter" oracles to make smart contracts more autonomous and dynamic, further reducing the need for human interaction in execution. By representing human interests in smart contracts, smart agents are capable of making informed decisions based on more advanced real-world data from a wider variety of sources.

4. Optimized UX: Smart agents can abstract away most complexities to improve UX. For example, smart agents offer an advanced version of product aggregation. Users will be able to deposit assets in a wallet and describe their intent in simple language. Then, a smart agent can analyze that intent and perform complex actions, from bridging assets, executing token swaps, or utilizing flashloans to exploit arbitrage/MEV.

AI Smart Agents Will Change how we interact with Blockchains

We are creating a world that is populated with autonomous smart agents. They will increase onchain activity and enable users to interact with blockchain protocols in innovative ways. By executing transactions autonomously based on real-time data analysis and predictive modeling, these agents can provide constant market activity, utility, and autonomous wealth generation opportunities.

Blockchain's evolution has transitioned through distinct phases, showcasing a shift towards automation and AI dominance. This is how it will play out:

• Human: Blockchain interfaces were mostly human-operated. Users had to navigate complex processes to execute transactions, requiring a deep understanding of the system, asset management, and risk assessment. This complexity limited accessibility to those with significant technical knowledge.

• Human + Agent: The integration of AI in the form of smart agents is reshaping user interaction with blockchains. While certain tasks remain under human supervision to avoid critical mistakes, smart agents are increasingly taking over routine operations. This shift is notably impacting DeFi, where smart agents simplify transaction processes and portfolio management, achieving things which are not possible with unintelligent bots and algorithms. These agents make decisions, analyze markets and manage risk on their own, on behalf of humans.

• Agent dominated: We are moving toward an onchain landscape dominated by smart agent interactions, minimizing or eliminating the need for direct human input. The appeal lies in the ease of use and the ability of these agents to act efficiently. Eventually, the majority of blockchain interactions will be managed by smart agents, revolutionizing open system engagement and creating new opportunities for wealth generation. This is where we are headed.

Looking Ahead

Smart agents will be the main drivers of a new machine economy, removing the limitations of human intervention and traditional market constraints. This fusion of artificial intelligence with blockchain technology enables verifiable, secure, and trustless smart agents that work on our behalf.

At Talus, we’re not just envisioning this future; we’re building it, developing the frameworks and infrastructure necessary for onchain smart agents. A cornerstone of our strategy is the development of a marketplace for AI resources. This will facilitate the exchange, customization, and deployment of AI agents for every onchain vertical. It will democratize access to advanced AI, ensuring that the transformative power of smart agents is available to all.

If you're intrigued by the possibilities of smart agents and blockchain technology, reach out to us at hi@talus.network. Join us in building smart agents that catalyze unprecedented growth and innovation.