What the “Father of AGI” Taught Me About Building the Future
Jason Dussault
Chief Executive Officer, Co-Founder
This Post is Disseminated on behalf of Intellistake Technologies Corp.
A few months ago, I was listening to Dr. Ben Goertzel on The Joe Rogan Experience, and later on Lex Fridman’s podcast; when he said something that stopped me mid-listen:
“If the first AI is beneficially oriented, controlled in a participatory, democratic way, and aimed at doing good for humans, that will bias things in a positive direction. There’s a lot of uncertainty, but it behooves us to bias the odds in our favor — that’s why we’re building open-source, decentralized AI.”1
It wasn’t the first time I’d heard Ben speak, but that quote stayed with me. He wasn’t talking about AI as a product or a market trend; he was talking about who would own intelligence itself; and whether the future of AI would belong to a few, or to all of us. That question lingered. Long enough that I decided to reach out and meet him in person.
A few weeks later, I took a ferry out to one of Seattle’s islands, where Ben and his team work from a quiet, private office. It wasn’t what I expected; no futuristic lab of robots or endless screens and computers, just focus and calm. Upon meeting him there, I understood why so many in the AI world call him “the Father of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).” He coined the modern term AGI over twenty years ago writing multiple thesis, papers and published multiple books on this topic2, back when most people didn’t even know what simple AI even was.
..and sitting across from him, it was clear he hasn’t slowed down one bit.
Why We Started Building the Foundations
That meeting changed how I thought about our place in this landscape; as participants in something much larger..
AI is about intelligence. Blockchain is about trust. Put them together, and you get intelligent systems that no single entity owns or controls. That’s the foundation we’re trying to help build at Intellistake. Gregory and I didn’t start this company to chase forced headlines; we built it because we believe the convergence of AI and blockchain is inevitable; and it needs real infrastructure behind it.
Right now, there are two competing versions of the future. One is centralized: built by corporations that control the data, the models, and the output. The other is decentralized: powered by open transparent networks, shared computing, and collective participation. In my view the second path is harder, but it’s the one that ensures transparency, security, and shared benefit.
That’s why we aligned with the Artificial Superintelligence (ASI) Alliance [FET]; an initiative co-founded by Ben Goertzel that merges the technologies of SingularityNET, Fetch.ai, CUDOS and Ocean Protocol. It’s one of the first coordinated efforts to build decentralized infrastructure for intelligence itself.
And unlike most “AI projects” you read about, this one is already live and growing.
Owning the Roads, Not Just the Cars
At Intellistake, we wanted to go beyond investing; we wanted to contribute. That’s why we became a validator on the ASI Alliance network. Validators are the unseen infrastructure; the servers that verify, secure, and sustain the network’s activity. Every transaction, every AI agent, every layer of future applications runs across this backbone.
It’s not flashy work, but it’s essential for all others to build upon. Most investors buy the car. We decided to own the roads all those cars drive on.
To me, that’s the real opportunity; to quietly build the systems that help make the rest of the industry possible. AI and blockchain together are on track to reshape the world’s digital and economic landscape. AI alone could add $15.7 trillion to global GDP by 20303. Blockchain, meanwhile, has evolved into a market size estimated at USD 31.28 billion in 2024, and is projected to reach USD 1,431.54 billion by 20304. The global network operates around the clock. When those forces truly merge, we’ll see an economy that’s not just digital; it’s intelligent, transparent, and self-sustaining.
That’s why we structured Intellistake so traditional investors can participate without the complexity of wallets or private keys. Through our public listing, anyone can gain exposure to decentralized AI’s growth through a regulated, accessible market gateway.
The One Chance to Build It Right
Before I left that island office, Ben said something that wasn’t on any podcast. We were talking about the pace of it all, the breakthroughs, the noise, the speculation; and he paused for a moment before saying quietly, “We have one chance to build this right.”
That’s what I keep coming back to.
At Intellistake, we’re not chasing hype; we’re building the scaffolding. The foundation that will hold long after the noise fades. Decentralized AI isn’t just another chapter in tech; it’s the framework for how intelligence and value could move across the world in the decades to come.
We’re still early. The infrastructure works, but the story hasn’t gone mainstream yet. That’s exactly where we want to be, building quietly while the world catches up. Because when it does, the only thing that will matter is who built the architecture that made it possible.
And at Intellistake ..that’s exactly what we’re doing.
Sources
1) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpSmCKe27WE
2) https://www.forbes.com/sites/gilpress/2024/03/29/artificial-general-intelligence-or-agi-a-very-short-history/
3) https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2019/02/25/ai-will-add-15-trillion-to-the-world-economy-by-2030/
4) https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/blockchain-technology-market
Disclaimer
There has been significant volatility in digital assets and their value can decline rapidly, which in turn would lead to a decline in the stock price of companies holding digital assets. Intellistake is a start-up that does not have the same access to capital as other larger more established companies.
Intellistake has just commenced operating its business and is at an early stage of development. Intellistake is entering this space by acquiring and operating blockchain validator hardware that supports AI networks and investing in AI-related digital tokens to primarily operate validator hardware.
Intellistake is developing custom AI software systems called "AI Agents" for businesses. It recently announced the development of IntelliScope, a newly designed enterprise artificial-intelligence (AI) suite that applies decentralized AI technologies to deliver transparent and verifiable corporate intelligence. IntelliScope, which is in testing, is being publicly introduced as Intellistake's enterprise AI suite, reflecting the Company's focus on advancing practical applications of decentralized AI technologies.
The IntelliScope suite is being developed as a collection of modular AI agents, each intended to address specific enterprise challenges. Development has advanced through internal closed testing, where functionality is being refined and validated. Built to leverage decentralized AI technologies developed within the ASI Alliance FET token ecosystem, IntelliScope is now preparing to move into closed beta testing with an enterprise client, a phase focused on gathering feedback to shape premium features and expand real-world use cases.
The Company intends to deliver these solutions either as one-time projects or ongoing subscription services. Revenue comes from implementation fees and monthly subscription payments. The Company does not presently have any customers. Intellistake is just commencing operations. It is targeting significant growth but its business is subject to several risks related to general business, economic and social uncertainties; the sufficiency of cash to meet liquidity needs; legislative, political and competitive developments; the inherent risks involved in the digital currency and general securities markets; the volatility of digital currency prices and the additional risks identified in the "Risk Factors" section of the Company’s filings with applicable securities regulators. Intellistake has not yet developed or commercialized its AI solutions.
This report contains "forward-looking information" concerning anticipated developments and events related to the Company that may occur in the future. Forward looking information contained in this report includes, but is not limited to, all statements in respect of the Company's growth and development, the operations and business segments of the Company, expectations regarding the market for digital currencies and decentralized AI, support for decentralized AI and blockchain networks, expected allocation amounts for and selection of digital currencies, leveraging blockchain technology to support long-term stakeholder value, a broader strategy to grow the Company’s position in AI and tech digital assets, development of AI Agents and the commercialization thereof, operation of validator infrastructure, opportunities for token rewards, revenue generation potential and commencement of staking and validator operations.
In certain cases, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of words such as "expects", "intends", "anticipates" or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "would", or "might" suggesting future outcomes, or other expectations, assumptions, intentions or statements about future events or performance. Forward-looking information contained in this report is based on certain assumptions regarding, among other things, the Company will continue to have access to financing until it achieves profitability; the technology and blockchain industries in which the Company intends to focus its business in will grow at the rate and in the manner expected; the ability to attract and retain qualified personnel; the success of market initiatives and the ability to grow brand awareness; the ability to distribute Company's services; the Company creates strategies to mitigate risks associated with cryptocurrency price fluctuations; the Company remains compliant with all applicable laws and securities regulations; the Company engages and collaborates with local experts, as necessary, to address jurisdiction-specific matters and ensures compliance with foreign regulations to avoid penalties; the Company addresses any potential cybersecurity threats promptly and effectively; the AI Agent technology can be developed and deployed with real world applications; and the ability to successfully deploy the new business strategy as a result of the change of business. While the Company considers these assumptions to be reasonable, they may be incorrect.
Forward looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results to be materially different from any future results expressed by the forward-looking information. Such factors include risks related to general business, economic and social uncertainties; failure to raise the capital necessary to fund its operations; inability to create strategies to mitigate the risks associated with cryptocurrency price fluctuations; risks relating to the ability to develop the AI Agent technology and relating to the deployment of validator operations; the ability to acquire digital tokens at reasonable acquisition prices; the costs of regulation in the digital asset industries increase to the extent that the Company is no longer generating sufficient returns for shareholders; failure to promptly and effectively address cybersecurity threats; insufficient resources to maintain its operations on a competitive basis; and the actual costs, timing and future plans differs expectations; legislative, environmental and other judicial, regulatory, political and competitive developments; the inherent risks involved in the cryptocurrency and general securities markets; the Company may not be able to profitably liquidate its current digital currency inventory, or at all; a decline in digital currency prices may have a significant negative impact on the Company's operations; the Company's success may depend on the continued involvement of key personnel, including advisors, whose involvement cannot be guaranteed; institutional adoption of decentralized AI infrastructure remains uncertain and may not occur at the pace or scale anticipated; evolving regulatory frameworks, including those related to AI (such as Canada's proposed Artificial Intelligence and Data Act), may impose additional compliance burdens or restrict certain business activities; valuation figures are based on publicly available market data and internal assessments at the time of the referenced transactions and may not reflect current or future valuations; the volatility of digital currency prices; the inherent uncertainty of cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses, currency fluctuations; regulatory restrictions, liability, competition, loss of key employees and other related risks and uncertainties; delay or failure to receive regulatory approvals; failure to attract qualified personnel, labour disputes; and the additional risks identified in the "Risk Factors" section of the Company's filings with applicable Canadian securities regulators.
Although the Company has attempted to identify factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The forward-looking information is made as of the date of this report. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update forward-looking information.
