What Is an AI Agent?

Davide Crapis is an AI Lead at the Ethereum Foundation.

AI agents are already choosing which blockchains to use. Davide Crapis, AI Lead at the Ethereum Foundation, explains why Ethereum is building the infrastructure to win them over and what the internet of agents looks like in the near future.

In this episode, we cover:
+ Why AI agents are rational actors when choosing chains
+ From experiment to infrastructure: How ERC-8004 creates the railway for agent economies
+ Ethereum's most underappreciated advantage: ZK protocols for verification and privacy
+ The future of agents hiring each other with onchain payments

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⏱️ TIMESTAMPS

0:00 - Intro
1:21 - Davide’s background
5:10 - AI doomers vs. reality: Separating signal from noise in AI discourse
12:18 - What is the dAI team at the Ethereum Foundation?
13:32 - What is an AI agent?
15:42 - Which blockchain will AI agents choose? (and why Ethereum)
19:14 - Would AI agents ever design their own blockchain?
21:37 - The AI agent mania, from memecoins to infra
25:38 - Explaining ERC-8004, agent-to-agent commerce
31:03 - Identity and reputation for AI agents
34:54 - Thoughts on OpenClaw mania
37:55 - Top use cases for AI agents on Ethereum
39:58 - Ethereum's most underappreciated advantage for AI
41:16 - What matters when agents are the primary users?
46:22 - What does the internet of agents look like 5 years from now?
49:27 - How AI agents will change the UI we use today
52:12 - The future of AI coordination on Ethereum
55:23 - Closing

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🔗 GUEST LINKS

► Davide's personal website: https://davidecrapis.notion.site/
► Davide Crapis on X: https://x.com/davidecrapis
► ERC-8004 proposal for trustless agents: https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-8004

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DISCLAIMER: Nothing said on The Edge Podcast is a recommendation to buy or sell tokens or securities. This content is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing shared here is financial advice. Any views expressed by hosts or guests on the show are solely their opinions. Always do your own research. DeFi Dad, Nomatic, and guests may have positions in the assets or other matters discussed in this podcast.