AI Agents: The Next Wave of Automation

The Future of AI: Insights from DWF Labs’ Andrei Grachev on Automation’s Next Wave

The increasing investment in AI agents suggests a future of widespread automation, potentially more transformative than the industrial revolution. As with any technological innovation, AI agents are bound to face problems in their development. Continuous improvement will be essential for responsible use and realizing AI agents’ full potential.

At Consensus Hong Kong, BeInCrypto interviewed Andrei Grachev, Managing Partner at DWF Labs, about the key challenges AI agents face in achieving mass adoption and what widespread use might look like.

Traditional Tech Sectors and Web3 Embrace AI

Adopting artificial intelligence (AI) will soon be inevitable. Tech giants including Meta, Amazon, Alphabet, and Microsoft have already announced plans to invest up to $320 billion in AI and data centers by 2025. Web3 projects are also making similar investments in AI. In December, DWF Labs launched a $20 million AI agent fund to accelerate innovation in autonomous AI technologies.

“History shows that everything that can be automated will be automated, and definitely some business and normal life processes will be overtaken by AI agents,” Grachev told BeInCrypto.

However, as AI development accelerates, the potential for its misuse becomes a growing concern.

Malicious Use of AI Agents

AI agents are already quickly becoming mainstream in Web3, offering diverse capabilities from market analysis to autonomous crypto trading. However, their increasing integration also presents critical challenges. AI misuse by malicious actors is a major concern, encompassing scenarios ranging from simple phishing campaigns to sophisticated ransomware attacks.

The widespread availability of generative AI since late 2022 has fundamentally changed content creation while also attracting malicious actors seeking to exploit the technology. According to an Entrust report, digital document forgeries facilitated by AI tools now outnumber physical counterfeits, with a 244% year-over-year increase in 2024. Meanwhile, deepfakes accounted for 40% of all biometric fraud.

“It’s already being used for scams. It’s used for video calls when misrepresenting people and misrepresenting their voices,” said Grachev.

Examples of this type of exploitation have already made news headlines. Earlier this month