> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://rice-ai.gitbook.io/home/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://rice-ai.gitbook.io/home/decentralization/why-decentralization.md). # Why Decentralization? ### **The Disadvantage of Centralisation** We’ve already identified that the primary challenge in training AGI for robots is the issue of data scarcity. In a centralized approach, data collection is prohibitively expensive for any single entity to acquire sufficient training data. To mitigate costs, centralized companies often turn to synthetic data—artificially generated by AI models themselves—but this data rarely matches the quality and practicality of real-world data. In contrast, a decentralized approach democratizes data acquisition. Through protocols like RICE AI, anyone can contribute real-world robotics data and be rewarded with tokens from the network. This shifts the cost burden away from a single entity, fostering community-driven development and enabling robust, high-quality training data collection. By leveraging contributions from a global network of users, RICE AI’s decentralized model ensures scalability and cost-efficiency while building foundation models for AGI robots. This innovative approach is not just a solution to data scarcity—it’s a paradigm shift for the robotics industry. ### **Community-Driven Development** Decentralization allows for community input and governance, ensuring that the ecosystem evolves according to industry needs. it fosters a vibrant community of developers and users who contribute to and benefit from the ecosystem, promoting innovation and rapid development. ### **Setting Standards** Decentralized systems rely on open standards, encouraging widespread use to establish our technology as the industry standard. ### **Create Network Effect** As more users join the decentralized network, its value increases, attracting more participants and resources. This also lowers the cost for a decentralized protocol to compete against centralized AI competitors. --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com. ## Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter: ``` GET https://rice-ai.gitbook.io/home/decentralization/why-decentralization.md?ask=&goal= ``` `ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. `goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.