Adaora Anders
5 min readAug 11, 2021

How Epik Protocol Is Redefining Artificial Intelligence

Ever listened to Siri provide you with directions to a location?

That’s artificial intelligence. And it’s not limited to Apple products. Artificial intelligence is currently making inroads into search engines — Google’s algorithm is a case study — manufacturing, advertising, and a lot more.

Current Realities

Despite the many positives of artificial intelligence, the status quo isn’t quite enticing. Artificial intelligence, as it’s currently deployed, is archaic. Knowledge graph technology, which defines the capabilities of artificial intelligence, is expensive to compile. The effort required is also beyond the average startup. So everyone relies on existing knowledge graph entities. While this appears to be a cost-saving option, the risk runs deep. Data manipulations have become commonplace among such entities, which jeopardizes whatever purpose the artificial intelligence was meant to achieve.

Epik Protocol

Blockchain technology alters the dynamics of the artificial intelligence space. Epik Protocol is one of the few projects spearheading the revolution of artificial intelligence using blockchain. The blockchain-based project was created to rescue artificial intelligence from the machinations of a few.

How Epik Protocol Is Shaping Up Artificial Intelligence

Still unsure how Epik Protocol is transforming artificial intelligence? Here’s everything you need to know.

A Decentralized Trusted Knowledge Graph

Artificial intelligence relies on the integrity of the knowledge graph (KG). If the KG is flawed, the potential of artificial intelligence will be greatly affected. Since much of the existing knowledge graphs are compromised or centralized, they aren’t ideal if artificial intelligence is to make progress. To rectify this anomaly, Epik Protocol is building a decentralized knowledge graph that isn’t subject to the control of a specific entity.

The Role of Filecoin

To hold all the data that’s required by artificial intelligence entities, a knowledge graph requires storage. Epik Protocol relies on Filecoin, blockchain-based decentralized storage. The choice of the Filecoin decentralized storage facility isn’t farfetched. Filecoin’s storage technology is based on the IPFS, a game-changing peer-to-peer decentralized storage system. But Filecoin’s has a few tweaks. Imagine an artist replicate a painting. Of course, the artist will improve on the painting, adding landscapes and other interesting things. That’s exactly the case with Filecoin. The decentralized data storage facility technology builds on the progress of IPFS. Unlike the latter, Filecoin added different measures to guarantee the quality of data uploaded. The decentralized data storage technology introduced the Proof-of-Storage system, which is geared at rewarding active participants in its ecosystem. Another introduction to the Filecoin framework is the Zero-Knowledge proof. The decentralized data framework hopes this addition encourages more parties to meet the needs of the ecosystem. Of course, with no central body checking the quality of data stored, issues of fraud becomes likely.

Filecoin deploys the innovative Proof-of-Replication combined with the Proof-of-Spacetime to checkmate these criminal tendencies. And there’s no need to fret about a central body accessing data without permission. The many upgrades done by Filecoin still fall short of what’s needed to have Epik Protocol’s knowledge graph functioning optimally. So Epik is creating a layer 2 that’s focused on collating data for its knowledge graph. Filecoin’s current decentralized data storage technology will serve as the anchor for the Epik layer 2 to thrive. The data snapshots taken will remain stored on Filecoin. Epik’s layer 2 constructs are expected to cater to the various data collection processes.

The Epik Ecosystem

It’s not all smart contracts. Epik Protocol has many parties working together for the greater good. These parties constitute the different arms of the quality data collection chain. It’s similar to how an establishment has several employees with a unique job description. In the case of Epik, these aren’t employees. They are partners in a well-oiled ecosystem. Yes, you read that right — it’s well-oiled. The different partners aren’t playing their part for the love of technology. Or maybe they’re. That remains to be seen. What’s established is that everyone gets incentivized for their contribution. But what do these partners do?

Domain experts

If there was a most sensitive role, this must be it. Domain experts are the pros that assess whatever data will be uploaded to the Knowledge Graph. So if they flop their lines, the entire protocol suffers as they jeopardize the accuracy of the data submitted to the knowledge graph. Perhaps that explains why this position is based on reputation. You have to be nominated, and their approval for the role is subject to the community. If the EPIK token holders deem a candidate for the domain expert role unworthy, it’s over. Also, there are penalties for those who fail to perform their duties. So the domain experts aren’t to be taken lightly.

Bounty Hunters

You can consider these partners as the assistant to the domain expert. A bounty hunter’s role is mostly decided by the domain expert. Of course, they are also involved in the data collection process and assessment.

Knowledge Nodes

Though Filecoin and Epik do a go job of harmonizing storage, individual storage facilities are still important. The decentralized data storage mantra claim isn’t just mouthed to please the crowd. Knowledge Nodes are the partners responsible for providing these storage facilities. They offer their storage up for the KG data. Unsurprisingly, it’s not open to all. Interested parties have to pledge EPIK tokens to get acknowledged as Knowledge Nodes. All these different partners make the Epik Protocol tick. To encourage them, they get EPIK tokens for their troubles. The exact amount of tokens vary, depending on what’s done. The remuneration process is done through smart contracts, so there’s no way to game the protocol.

Final Thoughts

Artificial intelligence is the future. Regardless of your pespective, artificial intelligence can help humans in more ways than we can ever imagine.

Though some progress has been made in artificial intelligence, there’s a lot of ground that’s yet to be covered. Epik Protocol’s input will demystify an area of artificial intelligence that has been in the shadows for far too long. With Epik Protocol in the picture, we can stay hopeful on the promise of artificial intelligence that gets more done.

For more information, visit Epik’s official websites below:

Website: https://www.epik-protocol.io/

Discord: https://discord.com/invite/Tz6kZbd

Medium: https://epikprotocol.medium.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/EpikProtocol

Telegram: https://t.me/EpikProtocol