The Good Tech Companies - Can Blockchain and AI Finally Trust Each Other? Flare and Google Cloud’s Hackathon Says Yes

Starting point is 00:00:00 This audio is presented by Hacker Noon, where anyone can learn anything about any technology. Can blockchain and AI finally trust each other? Flare and Google Cloud Hackathon says yes, by Aishan Pandey. How can blockchain handle complex AI computations without losing its core promise of transparency? The Flarex Google Cloud Hackathon, held from March 7 to 9, 2025, at UC Berkeley's California Memorial Stadium, tackled this question head-on. Over 460 developers and researchers from institutions like UC Berkeley, the University of Waterloo, and EdZurch participated, showcasing how blockchain and AI can integrate using verifiable off-chain computation. The Flarex Google Cloud Hackathon,

Starting point is 00:00:43 held from March 7 to 9 inches collaboration with blockchain at Berkeley, demonstrated how verifiable AI can be seamlessly integrated with blockchain technology. Addressing blockchain's computational limitations, blockchain excels at decentralized consensus but falters with the heavy data processing AI demands. The event introduced a solution, Google Cloud Confidential Space, built on trusted execution environments, Tees. Tees process complex tasks off-chain in secure hardware enclaves, producing cryptographic attestations verified on Flare's blockchain. This ensures computations remain tampered proof. Flare's built-in protocols, the Flare Time Series Oracle, FTSO, and Flare Data Connector, FDC, provided data integrity and provenance, critical for AI applications.

Starting point is 00:01:31 Further, one of the key challenges in blockchain technology is achieving rich data computation while maintaining transparency and security. Traditional blockchains excel a decentralized consensus and deterministic execution but struggle with large-scale parallel processing, particularly for AI-intensive workloads. This hackathon sought to overcome that limitation by leveraging Google Cloud Confidential Space, a secure enclave built on trusted execution environments, Tees. Confidential Space ensures hardware-enforced confidentiality and generates cryptographic attestations, which can be verified on the Flare blockchain. This process guarantees that computations occur in a tamper-proof environment, preserving

Starting point is 00:02:12 both data integrity and security. Flare's enshrined data protocols, such as the Flare Time Series Oracle, FTSO, and the Flare Data Connector, FDC, played a crucial role in ensuring data provenance and integrity verification for AI applications. A competitive and innovative hackathon, with over 460 participants competing across four tracks, the hackathon produced verifiable AI solutions ranging from iPowered decentralized finance, DeFi, applications,FY, to consensus learning models. Every project utilized confidential space instances running on AMD's secure encrypted

Starting point is 00:02:50 virtualization, SEV, platform with virtual trusted platform module, VTPM, attestations. The CITESTATIONS provided cryptographic proof that all AI computations were executed within an isolated, trusted environment. René Colga, product manager at Google Cloud, expressed enthusiasm about the developer's engagement with the confidential space secure enclaves, stating, We're thrilled to see developers using our confidential space secure enclaveesto build trusted AI solutions. Projects like 2Defy and the Flare AI Kits launch are exciting steps towards a future where AI and blockchain ensure data integrity and computational assurance. 2Defy. Bridging traditional finance and defy with AI.

Starting point is 00:03:33 One of the outstanding projects from the hackathon was 2Defy, an AI-powered solution developed by University of Waterloo students Alex and Hidarth. The project won first place in the AIX-DEFY, DEFY track and secured second placing the RAG Knowledge track. 2DEFY aimed to simplify the transition from traditional finance, TRAD-FI, TODECENTRALIZED FINANCE, DEFY, by integrating Google Gemini AI. Users could upload screenshots of their Robinhood portfolios, which Gemini 2.0 then analyzed Toassess risk tolerance. The i-generated risk profile was mapped to an automated DeFi strategy, incorporating staking and liquidity provision on Flare. To streamline onboarding, 2Defi also introduced embedded wallets, allowing userstow create Google login-based wallets on Flare, removing the complexities of traditional Web3 user experiences.

Starting point is 00:04:27 Flare AI Kit Empowering verifiable AI on blockchain The hackathon also marked the official kickoff of Flare AI Kit, an open-source software development kit, SDK, designed for building verifiable AI agents on Flare. The kit leverages Google Cloud confidential space to provide developers with secure, attestable AI execution environments,

Starting point is 00:04:50 ensuring AI safety, provenance, and verifiability. Hackathon participants demonstrated the potential of Flare AI Kit as a foundation framework for AI-powered blockchain applications. Moving forward, Flare AI Kit is expected to evolve into a production-ready framework, further enhancing functionality, usability, and integration options. The ultimate goal is to make Flare AI Kit available on the Google Cloud Marketplace, where enterprises

Starting point is 00:05:16 and developers can access it as a turnkey solution. The future of verifiable AI on blockchain, the success of the Flare X Google Cloud Hackathon is just the beginning. As developers and researchers continue to push the boundaries of AI and blockchain convergence, projects like Flare AI Kit will play a crucial role in shaping the future of verifiable AI applications. By integrating confidential space tees, AI, and the Flare blockchain, Flare AI Kit is set to redefine how secure verifiable AI applications are built, deployed, and the Flare blockchain, Flare AI Kit is set to redefine how secure, verifiable AI applications are built, deployed, and trusted globally. Developers looking to get started can explore the Flare Developer Hub for in-depth documentation

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The Good Tech Companies - Can Blockchain and AI Finally Trust Each Other? Flare and Google Cloud’s Hackathon Says Yes

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