While studying ROBO and the ecosystem being built around it by Fabric Foundation, there is one idea that has stuck with me since my initial introduction to this space. The conversation around artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency tends to center around software and data sets. The work being done within Fabric is unique in that it offers a new approach to this conversation and asks a more profound question: What happens when machines need an economy?
While this question seems esoteric, it is worth noting that the direction in which modern technology is headed means it is possible this question is not one of philosophy but of practicality in the near future. Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more prevalent as it moves from being simply a tool within various industries and into becoming more of an automation tool within those same spaces. At the same time, robotics is becoming more and more advanced each year. In fact, data related to robotics around the globe shows there are more than four million robots already in place, and this number is increasing by hundreds of thousands each year.
Fabric seeks to address this problem through blockchain-based infrastructure. The idea is surprisingly simple. Autonomous entities are unable to open bank accounts or obtain identity documents. Once robots are employed for a function and are being rewarded for it, there is a need for a financial and identity system to accompany it. Fabric seeks to create this system directly onto a blockchain using Web3 wallets and decentralized identity tools. Within this system, ROBO is utilized as a utility and governance token for coordination.
The system is expected to launch into Base, which currently handles millions of transactions daily across its entire ecosystem. This is a reasonable test case for early adoption as the system expands. The future of Fabric is ambitious should adoption continue to grow. Fabric seeks to eventually create a dedicated blockchain where economic activity from robot operations is a native part of the system.
It is within this framework that the role of ROBO is more clearly elucidated. On its most basic level, it is used as the unit of exchange for all activity within the network. Robots working in conjunction with one another within the Fabric ecosystem would use wallets associated with their on-chain identities. All transactions and verification mechanisms within the ecosystem would be measured in ROBO. Essentially, if robots are working together within the network in an economic capacity, it is in ROBO that it is done.
In addition to its use as a unit of exchange within the ecosystem, there is also the role of staking within the ecosystem. Staking is used as part of the coordination mechanism within Fabric. ROBO is locked in order to contribute to the activation of robot hardware within the ecosystem. This is not to say that stakers have any claim to the robots themselves. Instead, it is to say that they have contributed to the overall functionality of the ecosystem. They would have access to the robots as they begin working and performing tasks within the ecosystem.
This creates an interesting economic loop. The participants who are staking their tokens are, in essence, putting financial interest into the success of this system. At the same time, there is revenue generated through the activities of robots, which is supposed to be used to buy ROBO tokens from the market. As can be seen, there is an interesting opportunity here. If this system is successful, more robots can mean more demand for this token. Several decentralized infrastructure networks have shown promise in tying token demand directly to system usage.
Another interesting layer is introduced when developers and businesses start building applications on this network. If they want to utilize this robotic infrastructure, they too have to buy and stake ROBO tokens. This is to ensure that they have economic alignment with this system. This is similar to how Ethereum was able to grow as a system, as developers and users eventually became stakeholders in the ecosystem they were building.
Of course, this creates many questions as well. The infrastructure of robotics is still quite costly and technologically complex, and there are security issues with robots moving around in an open environment, unlike those in factories. All of these issues are still very much valid, and it is up to early experiments to see if this model can be effectively scaled.
Meanwhile, the technological environment is still changing in various ways that make this question more and more pertinent. Artificial intelligence is extending beyond data analytics into actual physical automation, robotics is becoming more and more powerful every year, and blockchain networks are developing into coordination layers of decentralized physical infrastructure. When all of these technological trends are considered, new combinations are beginning to emerge.
ROBO exists in one of these spaces of overlap. Instead of joining the crowded narrative of AI tokens, the project is attempting to explore the infrastructure of a machine-based economic system, which has not yet come to pass. Whether this comes to fruition in short order or over time is still uncertain, but history has shown that when new systems of technology come to fruition, the foundational elements of the infrastructure are often the most important.
Perhaps, in an autonomous world, there needs to be an economic system of transparency for machines to interact with both human beings and other machines, and the infrastructure of this, still in its early stages of development, may be the beginnings of how this could come to fruition. This, however, is still in its early stages of development, but the question it poses is becoming harder to avoid for the world of cryptocurrency and beyond: if machines are going to be participants in the global economic system, then there needs to be infrastructure for them to run on.