The Internet Computer blockchain was launched in May 2021, and since then, it has processed over three billion blocks, also experienced zero downtime, and safeguarded over $3 billion in the NNS DAO. Even though the mainnet didn't start until May 2021,however Electric Capital claims that between 2020 and 2023, the ICP developer community expanded twelve times. ICPs revised roadmap outlines accomplishments over the last three years and paves the way for the creation of the first third-generation blockchain globally.

New Roadmap Highlights

The fourth-year roadmap focuses on Decentralized AI and Chain Fusion as key areas for development.

Decentralized AI (DeAI):

ICP's DeAI roadmap aims to enable on-chain AI model training and operation. Current AI models function as opaque systems where users lack insight into data usage and model reliability. ICP's computational capabilities and smart contract versatility are designed to address these issues.

Milestone 1:

• Faster deterministic floating-point operations with a 10x performance boost

• WebAssembly SIMD support for efficient floating-point operations

• Optimization of the AI inference engine

Milestone 2:

• Deterministic API for AI computations on GPU

• Tooling and libraries for developing AI smart contracts

• Public specification for GPU-enabled nodes

• AI-specialized subnets with GPU-enabled nodes

Long-term goals include:

• AI smart contracts verifying video-based KYC

• AI smart contracts checking Ethereum code for bugs

• Natural language interactions with smart contracts via LLM AI

• Web3 communities managing AIs through DAOs

• Pre-trained AIs traded as NFTs

ICP has actively promoted on-chain artificial intelligence. The DFINITY Foundation, a significant sponsor of ICP, introduced a $5 million DeAI award programme in July of last year. ICP is already being built upon by initiatives like Kinic, DecideAI, ELNA AI, ICGPT, and Earthstream.

Chain Fusion

Chain Fusion improves direct interoperability with popular blockchains like Ethereum, Bitcoin, and soon Solana. ICP smart contracts may now communicate with other chains because of this capability, which eliminates industry tribalism and liquidity fragmentation.

Milestone 1:

• Full support for EVM chains, enabling canister smart contracts to manage tokens and interact with smart contracts without bridges or intermediaries

Milestone 2:

• Utilization of Bitcoin-native protocols (BRC20, Runes) for decentralized support of Bitcoin ordinals and runes, allowing seamless dApp development combining Bitcoin and ICP

Milestone 3:

• Upcoming support for Solana, bridging the gap between Solana and ICP, allowing smart contracts on either network to interact with each other

The full roadmap can be viewed here.

About the Internet Computer Protocol:

The Internet Computer Protocol (ICP) is a decentralized cloud 3.0 protocol enabling developers to build and run services and enterprise systems directly on a public blockchain network with unprecedented scalability. ICP services are tamper-proof, allowing interaction with both traditional Web 2.0 services and other blockchains in a trustless manner. The protocol’s speed, low cost, and energy efficiency redefine decentralized network operations in Web3.

How ICP Works

Unlike traditional cloud services that rely on centralized data centers, ICP utilizes a network of independent data centers distributed worldwide. These data centers host the Internet Computer, which runs on specialized nodes using a protocol called the Internet Computer Protocol. This architecture enables smart contracts, called canisters, to run at web speed, providing a scalable and efficient environment for building and deploying decentralized applications (dApps). ICP’s consensus mechanism, based on Chain Key Technology, allows for seamless interoperability and secure data exchange across the network. This innovative approach eliminates the need for intermediary servers, offering enhanced security, reduced costs, and increased transparency for developers and users alike.

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Vested Interest Disclosure: This author is an independent contributor publishing via our business blogging program. HackerNoon has reviewed the report for quality, but the claims herein belong to the author. #DYOR.