How AI becomes an economic actor in Web3: wallets, smart contracts and autonomy
Artificial intelligence is no longer simply a tool for analytics or user-facing automation in Web3 - it is now emerging as an independent economic actor; smart contracts enable on-chain AI agents to manage capital, execute transactions and governance through wallets. These systems do not aid human decision-making rather than exist in blockchain networks with limited autonomy and directly respond to incentives, constraints and market signals. This transition is a structural transformation in the decentralised economies: on-chain economic activity is becoming more influenced by non-human actors that can perform and coordinate continuous economic activity. The transformation is enabled by three converging layers:
· wallet infrastructure - grants agency
· smart contracts - enforces outcomes
· agent-based AI systems - interprets data and makes decisions
Together, they redefine how value is allocated, risk is managed and co-ordination occurs across DeFi, DAOs, cross-chain systems and digital ma…
