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➠ @AnthropicAI the company behind @claudeai is exploring how ZK proofs can solve one of AI's trust problems: How can users verify that an AI response actually came from the model they were promised? Today, AI inference largely works on trust. You send a request to an AI platform, its servers process it, and you receive an answer. But you cannot independently confirm which model generated that response. A service could secretly route your request to a cheaper model to reduce costs while making you believe you received an answer from a more advanced model. Anthropic wants to address this with FlashProve. FlashProve uses cryptographic proofs called zkSNARKs to help verify that an AI response was generated using specific model weights. ➤ Here is how it works. The AI provider creates a cryptographic commitment to its model weights. When the model generates a response, a proof can accompany that response, allowing users to verify that the promised model was used. The interesting part is that the provider does not have to reveal its private model weights. In simple terms, you can verify the computation without exposing the information behind it. This is what Zero-Knowledge technology makes possible. And this is where the connection to crypto becomes important. Blockchain networks have been using ZK proofs to verify transactions and state transitions without requiring the entire computation to be repeated. One network that has already invested heavily in this technology is @Mantle_Official. Mantle transitioned from an Optimistic Rollup to a ZK Rollup through OP Succinct. Its architecture uses Succinct's SP1 zkVM to generate proofs that Layer 2 state transitions are correct, while @ethereum smart contracts verify those proofs. ➤ Why does this matter? Optimistic Rollups traditionally rely on a fraud-proof challenge period, which can make withdrawals take up to seven days. ZK Rollups use validity proofs to demonstrate that transactions were processed correctly. From figures, Mantle reduced finality to approximately one hour and withdrawal times to around six hours. Proof generation costs have also been reduced to approximately $0.002 per transaction through the Succinct Prover Network. Now, there is another connection worth understanding. @SuccinctLabs and @StarkWareLtd were listed among the co-authors of Anthropic's FlashProve research. Mantle did not directly participate in the research, and this does not mean it has integrated FlashProve. However, Succinct's involvement highlights how cryptographic technology developed for blockchain verification can also contribute to AI research. Think about the similarities. Blockchain networks need to prove that transactions and state changes are correct. AI platforms need to prove that their models performed the computations they claim to have performed. Both industries are looking for ways to reduce blind trust and make verification possible. For Mantle, this brings another dimension to the technology it has been developing. Its early decision to move towards ZK infrastructure becomes more relevant as cryptographic verification expands into other industries. This does not automatically make Mantle superior to competing networks, but it gives us a reason to look beyond the usual blockchain scaling discussion. ZK proofs are developing beyond their original use cases. Their ability to verify computations while protecting private information creates opportunities across AI, blockchain, data security and digital infrastructure. The future of digital trust will not depend entirely on what platforms tell us. It will increasingly depend on what they can prove.