The Arweave ecosystem received a major upgrade this year with the introduction of the AO computer. Since the testnet launch, developers have been building new experiences on this decentralized supercomputer. In this post, I’ll give a brief overview of AO and highlight a few consumer apps you can use today.
What is AO?
AO is a decentralized computing system built around the actor-oriented model. It enables multiple parallel processes without the limitations of traditional decentralized models. AO is built in modular form, allowing for seamless integration with existing smart contract platforms and customizable computational resources, virtual machines, security, and payment methods. Think of Arweave as the decentralized hard drive and AO as the CPU or GPU running multiple processes in parallel.
ao's core objective is to enable trustless and cooperating compute services without any practical bounds on scale. This allows for a radically new design space of applications that were not previously possible: Blending the benefits of smart contract applications (services without requiring trust in anything but code), and traditional compute environments (Amazon EC2, etc).
- The AO Protocol: A Decentralized Open-Access Supercomputer, DRAFT-9, Sep 5, 2024.
Apps you can use today
The early consumer apps on the AO testnet range from metaverses and content marketplaces to DeFi tools, with many more in development. Below are a few apps that are available for use today.
Metaverses/Games
A 3D world built with Unity, running on AO and stored on Arweave. Players explore as elephant characters named Dumdum. With a recent update, if players own “The Gun” atomic asset in Bazar, the in-game character gets a gun. Own more shares, get a bigger gun!
Today’s the day! 
Introducing THE GUN 
—the first Permaverse Atomic Asset, available in 1,000 shares!
This asset comes with a unique feature: More is Bigger. The more shares you own, the bigger your gun will appear in the Permaverse. Who will claim the largest one?…
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A fun 2D world featuring a fully functioning LLM running onchain. Users can interact with the Llama King for $Llama coins. Llamaland highlights the potential for onchain LLMs. It’s built on the open-source Reality Protocol, which allows anyone to create their own worlds.
𝔚𝔢𝔩𝔠𝔬𝔪𝔢 𝔱𝔬 𝔏𝔩𝔞𝔪𝔞 𝔏𝔞𝔫𝔡 
________________
Another world built on Reality Protocol, Aqualandia is a 2D world that can be accessed through Llamaland and other Reality Protocol worlds. Aqualandia even has a really fun in-game fishing feature that uses $Llama as a currency for a chance to reel in rare collectable fish.
Big things are happening! We are expanding to @aoTheComputer, built on Arweave, and something special is on the horizon. 
Get ready to dive into an epic fishing adventure where you can reel in more than just fish... 
Stay tuned! 
#GameFi #FishingGame #Arweave #AO…
A battle survival game built on AO and stored on Arweave. It’s fast-paced and offers token rewards for players. For now, live gameplay happens during scheduled sessions. Follow AO Builders on X to stay up to date on live gameplays.👇
Plan for this week is simple:
1. Build on @aoTheComputer
2. Play CyberBeavers with Gamers (Thursday & Friday, 13.00 & 14.00 UTC)
3. Dev Oracles
4.
Prep podcasts
5. Stay social and in touch with @ArweaveEco &
...
1. Build on @aoTheComputer
2. Play CyberBeavers with Gamers (Thursday & Friday, 13.00 & 14.00 UTC)
3. Dev Oracles
4.
Prep podcasts 5. Stay social and in touch with @ArweaveEco &
...
Marketplace
Bazar is a decentralized digital content marketplace running on AO and Arweave, built on the Universal Content Marketplace (UCM) protocol. Many apps in this post integrate Bazar’s atomic assets into their platforms, providing the financial infrastructure for content creators on the permaweb.
Trade digital content on the permaweb with BazAR, powered by @aoTheComputer.
Content creation
A content-uploading tool and creator hub for the permaweb. Users can upload digital content to Arweave and sell it on Bazar or use it in other apps.
Helix is the Arweave creator hub where artists can upload digital content to the permaweb in just a few steps. 
Check out this new tutorial on how to create atomic assets on Helix and list them for sale on Bazar
youtu.be/bhLlFepA7LU?si…
Check out this new tutorial on how to create atomic assets on Helix and list them for sale on Bazar
youtu.be/bhLlFepA7LU?si…
A markdown editor that stores all notes as atomic assets on Arweave. Notes can be created and traded on Bazar.
Introducing Atomic Note (alpha)
An Editable PermaNote as an Atomic Asset on @aoTheComputer
- Semantic version control with diff-match-patch
- Universal Data License #UDL
- Compatible with AO Profiles @OurBazAR
- Multiple editors
Create Atomic Notes
arweave.net/hYEq3SP_HT9Q7C…
An Editable PermaNote as an Atomic Asset on @aoTheComputer
- Semantic version control with diff-match-patch
- Universal Data License #UDL
- Compatible with AO Profiles @OurBazAR
- Multiple editors
Create Atomic Notes
arweave.net/hYEq3SP_HT9Q7C…
Atomic asset Communities
These collectible elephants were among the first Bazar collections and quickly became a community favorite. The Dumdumz team is now working on an interactive game called the Dumverse, which I’m looking forward to trying out.
Wat Dis?!? 50 of meez is now on @OurBazAR! We continuez loonngg work to upload us on BazAR. We so excited to be on @aoTheComputer and see our faces everywhere! 
Time to get somez Joose and lolli's! 
#NFT
Time to get somez Joose and lolli's! #NFT
Another early collection on Bazar. This collection, from permaweb artist @Aightek, features futuristic PFPs that grant owners access to Meka City, built on Reality Protocol.
# > SYSTEM ONLINE 
# > WELCOME TO MEKA CITY
# > POPULATION: 494
The gates to Meka City are OPEN! Dive into our futuristic world, explore, and start earning Cyber $Kredit today.
Enter the City: mekahuman.ar.io
You need a citizenship to enter!!
# > WELCOME TO MEKA CITY
# > POPULATION: 494
The gates to Meka City are OPEN! Dive into our futuristic world, explore, and start earning Cyber $Kredit today.
Enter the City: mekahuman.ar.ioYou need a citizenship to enter!!
DeFi
A simple app for bridging tokens from Ethereum to AO. Users can bridge ETH or USDC and start exploring permaweb applications.
Have you tried wAR Depot? 
Swap USDC or ETH for wrapped AR and kickstart your permaweb journey in just a few steps.
Swap USDC or ETH for wrapped AR and kickstart your permaweb journey in just a few steps.
An AR-to-AO bridge that turns AR tokens into Wrapped AR, powered by EverPay.
1/3 
AOX - The Bridge to AO
We're thrilled to launch the first bridge connecting @aoTheComputer to the multichain world!
Our mission? To make it the gateway for assets moving in and out of the AO ecosystem!
AOX - The Bridge to AO We're thrilled to launch the first bridge connecting @aoTheComputer to the multichain world! Our mission? To make it the gateway for assets moving in and out of the AO ecosystem!
Full AO Ecosystem Overview
For a full ecosystem overview, checkout this in depth AO ecosystem list created by EverPay.👇
AO Ecosystem Overview
The @aoTheComputer ecosystem is really booming, with around 40 new projects popping up in the last 100 days.
Check out the updated ecosystem map and see what’s new!
As of September 14th, it's been exactly 200 days since AO's launch.
The AO ecosystem is growing at a visibly rapid pace!
The @aoTheComputer ecosystem is really booming, with around 40 new projects popping up in the last 100 days.
Check out the updated ecosystem map and see what’s new!
As of September 14th, it's been exactly 200 days since AO's launch.The AO ecosystem is growing at a visibly rapid pace!
Final thoughts
The permaweb is still early. These applications are experimental and currently in testnet, but the excitement has been building since AO’s launch. This overview reflects my personal experience using permaweb applications but there are many more in development.
With the AO community evolving rapidly, I’ll continue sharing updates as I dive deeper into the ecosystem. If you’re a developer or user exploring this space, I’d love to hear about your experiences or answer any questions - reach out or subscribe to stay connected!
What is interesting is.... interactive AI chatbots (via Llama meta ai etc) that can use data from Arweave or rewards/tokens on Bazar.... Reality Protocol or 2D graphics is fine, but just allow people to create chatbots just via Text.... How can the creation of chatbots using Llama be made easy for everyone..... which reward via tokens for engagement, learning etc.... Do you know any projects or links working on this?
Agreed that the most exciting part about Llamaland is the AI running under the hood! I don't know of any specific projects building a chatbot with only text but Llamaland is open source and anyone can implement their own AI agents into their own Reality Protocol world: - https://github.com/elliotsayes/Reality/blob/main/docs/Readme.md - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aqu1r4XsEjg&t=425s That is a great idea though and I will keep an eye out for projects and recommend these features to the Reality team.