5 Cool Bittensor Subnets to Test Out

Bittensor is one of the most talked about projects in the crypto x AI niche. While many may not understand the specifics of how it works, Bittensor (TAO) has been on everyone’s timelines this past year.

At the heart of Bittensor are subnets. These are specialized protocols, each with its own unique algorithm and incentives. They leverage Bittenor’s infrastructure and incentive distribution network to build and run AI-powered projects. Think of them as the engines driving Bittensor's innovation.

These subnets are crucial for the Bittensor ecosystem's sustainability. They attract users, developers, and liquidity. In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the most interesting subnets on Bittensor and discover why they’re worth exploring.

Let’s dive in!

SN3: MyShell TTS (Text-to-Speech)

MyShell is a platform building a collaborative playground for AI researchers, creators, and users. Here, everyone can tinker with, share, and even own AI agents.

One of MyShell's primary focuses is on text-to-speech (TTS) models, which they are building as a subnet on Bittensor. The goal is simple: to create AI that can speak like a human. They're building models that can mimic various voices, ultimately aiming for a single, versatile model that adapts to different speakers.

The potential applications of such TTS models are vast. Think AI-powered audiobooks, virtual assistants with a human touch, even language learning tools that actually sound like native speakers. Content creators are already using them to churn out high-quality audio quickly and at minimal cost. Imagine cranking out voice-overs for YouTube shorts or Instagram reels without spending hours in the booth.

Want to test the MyShell TTS model yourself? Head over to BittAudio and play around.

SN5: OpenKaito (Open Search Engine)

OpenKaito is a decentralized indexing layer that allows anyone to contribute to a more open and accessible web. It incentivizes users to become "miners" to develop solutions for data acquisition, indexing, and ranking – the very building blocks of search results.

If you’ve been active on Twitter over the past few months, you would’ve seen Kaito AI all over the timeline — it’s the new darling tool for researchers and analysts to get their crypto data fix. KaitoAI uses an approach that produces results to search queries based on the team’s in-house resources. In OpenKaito, the Bittensor subnet version, the same function is opened up to the community where people contribute their own resources – data sources, indexing algorithms, the works. 

And it gets better. OpenKaito can tap into other Bittensor subnets that are essentially AI data pipelines. Imagine using Reddit data scraped by another subnet (SN13: Dataverse, with a cool 702 million anonymized rows!) to refine your search results.

OpenKaito is still under development, but you can experience the potential of its search engine with Kaito today.

SN34: BitMind (Deepfake Detection)

Deepfakes, the digital doppelgangers that can make anyone say or do anything, are a growing threat. They're like a weapon of mass deception, capable of swaying elections, destroying reputations, and causing untold chaos. Imagine a world where you can't trust what you see or hear. It's a nightmare scenario, and it's closer than you think.

BitMind is a subnet on Bittensor that aims to combat this threat. By incentivizing participants to create advanced models capable of reliably distinguishing between authentic and fabricated content. 

The need for tools like BitMind is more pressing than ever. As deepfakes become more sophisticated, so too must our defenses and tools like BitMind are a step in that direction.

SN30: Bettensor / SN41: Sportstensor (Sports Prediction)

Sports prediction markets aren't exactly new. But Bittensor subnets like SN30: Bettensor and SN41: Sportstensor are shaking things up by introducing a new approach to setting odds.

In traditional sports betting, the odds are determined by the platform's own oddsmakers. It's a top-down approach that can be susceptible to human error and bias. But on these subnets, the odds are set by the community, leveraging the wisdom of the crowd to generate more accurate forecasts.

By combining the power of AI with human expertise, these platforms aim to overcome the emotional biases that can cloud judgment and improve the accuracy of predictions. This, in turn, leads to a fairer distribution of rewards.

These platforms also highlight the performance of top contributors, showcasing their accuracy rates. It's a way to build trust and demonstrate the effectiveness of the prediction system over time. It's a win-win for everyone involved.

SN16: BitAds (Online Advertising)

Traditional online advertising models often reward clicks, regardless of whether those clicks lead to actual sales. It's like paying for a foot in the door, even if the person never walks in. This incentivizes low-quality traffic and a lack of transparency overall.

BitAds is a subnet on Bittensor that flips the script by rewarding miners (marketers) based on actual sales they generate. It's a performance-based model that aligns incentives for everyone involved. Advertisers only pay for results, and miners are rewarded for effectiveness of the campaigns.

While the concept is still in its early stages, the BitAds team is learning and adapting with every campaign. They've already addressed issues like artificial traffic generation by implementing changes to data collection, scoring metrics, and integration with e-commerce platforms like Shopify.

What's Next

In a niche of crypto x AI that can be full of vapourware, it’s good to see that there’s real development happening in the Bittensor ecosystem. However, these subnets are still in their early stages and face the uphill challenge of attracting users and developers. But, with the right marketing, education, and community building efforts, they can generate great value for the entire ecosystem.

Subnets are crucial to Bittensor's success and it’s important to ensure that subnets are well-supported and visible. Taopill, a hub for discovering and learning about subnets, is a great example of an effort in this direction.

And there's even more exciting updates for Bittensor on the horizon: the BIT1 proposal, also known as Dynamic TAO (dTAO). This upgrade will allow each subnet to have its own token. This will incentivize subnets to perform well and add a speculative element to the Bittensor ecosystem, as everyone will be able to gain exposure to these subnets through dTAO.

It's an exciting time to be part of this ecosystem.