Web3 & AI Women: The Quiet Revolution or Just a Fancy Badge? đŸ€”

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It’s a funny thing, really. We toss around words like “Web3” and “AI” as if they were some sort of modern magic, or perhaps just the newest way for the media to squeeze readers’ attention with a jumble of syllables. I’ve seen the games they play—algorithmic tricks, like kids in a market trying to sell you a “miraculous” apple. But CoinDesk, at least, has been watching this slow, almost imperceptible turn of the world’s data, as it’s quietly moving, like a restless ghost, on the blockchain for more than ten years—nothing flashy, just the kind of persistence that makes you wonder if they’re knights or just stubborn old men.

In their debut “Top Women in Web3 & AI” list, they gathered a cadre of women whose names seem to belong to the front lines—people who actually do things, rather than just talk about them at conferences after a glass of cheap wine. A list that, I suppose, captures the spirit—but also the stubborn heartbeat—of the moment, no matter how much of it is smoked by Silicon Valley’s most persistent smoke screens.

Parallel Revolutions or Just a Curious Coincidence?

What’s happening now? Two revolutions, seemingly walking hand in hand, like two neighbors whose fences have mysteriously disappeared—blockchain shouting about decentralization and AI whispering promises of reshaping everything from labor to art. They look different but, in truth, they’re just two sides of the same coin—one cryptic, the other guesswork, both quietly rewriting the rules of how we create, verify, and trust.

It’s no coincidence, really. As AI grows hungry for data—like a man starving for dinner—and blockchain seeks new adventures beyond just the realm of digital gold, these fields have decided to bump into each other at the crossroads. Data provenance, decentralized figuring, identity—nothing really new, just the same old hustle dressed up with fancy labels.

Major AI firms are playing with blockchain solutions like kids with new toys, while crypto projects are inviting AI to spot frauds or trade like caffeinated raccoons—anything to stay relevant, I suppose. And then there’s deAI, a new Frankenstein brain born of blockchain’s power, trying to find its own place in the sun, or simply to prove it can do something, anything, better than its parents.

The Ladies of Tomorrow: Who Are They?

Of course, the tech world is not exactly a picture of equality. Women, as usual, seem like the missing puzzle pieces—glimpsed but not quite fitting in, because the system was never built with them in mind. Education, environment—call it what you will—the result is clear: women are still rare birds in this jungle of code and blockchain.

But these 50 women—oh, they are no footnotes stuck at the bottom of some dusty page—they are writing their own chapters in the story. Building protocols, leading startups, shaping policies—these women navigate a world that prefers to overlook them, and yet, they manage to carve out truth and beauty with creativity, empathy, and that stubborn solitary light called integrity.

AI and blockchain: yes, they’re two faces of the same coin—one reasoning in riddles, the other etched in stone. One guesses, the other remembers. Together, they hint at a future—one that might be fair and just, or perhaps just less chaotic—and perhaps that’s enough for now, even if it’s just a shot in the dark.

The list itself emerged from quiet talk, a collaboration between CoinDesk and Proof of Talk, held among the splendors of Paris—so much history, and here they are talking about the future, as if hope is something you can Google. Participants include founders, investors, technocrats, and academics—they all pretend to know where this mess is headed, but frankly, no one really does. At least not yet.

And as AI and blockchain grow restless and insatiable, nations and regions scramble to keep up, like children racing for the last cookie. Europe, with its fancy policies and dreams of technological dominance, is just trying to catch up, like a teacher trying to keep order in a classroom full of distracted students.

How They Picked the Ladies

Ah, the jury. To be fair, they sought fairness—though you’d think it was as easy as picking apples from a tree and not tossing around a lot of bias, political or otherwise. Over 300 nominations poured in—hardly a day goes by without someone claiming they are the “future.” After a careful game of hide-and-seek, names got reduced to 100, then narrowed further by five people who had opinions—oh, those opinions, as vital as bread in a famine.

Judges? A motley crew—some with more money than sense, others with more brains than they knew what to do with—each scrutinizing twenty hopefuls, each trying to make sense of who actually moves the needle. And in the end, the list was chosen, not with certainty, but with hope—and a little bit of “perhaps” for good measure.

The list isn’t just about tech achievements; it’s about a different kind of progress—ones that include people who see beyond the code, who understand that building the future isn’t only about machines, but about understanding human needs and flaws. It’s a small step, perhaps, but a step nonetheless.

Find the full roll call here, if you’re into that sort of thing.

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2025-06-05 19:55