Newsletter Issue #10

This week's newsletter presents a collection of recent articles on the intersection between AI and crypto and why it’s a match made in heaven. These are important issues that are likely to shape our future as creators and consumers. Also, these are topics we deeply care about at Popula, where, among other things, we record all content and interactions onchain as a first step and foundation for this future. Near is also betting on blockchains' role in shaping and securing the future development of AI.

Yours sincerely,

Popula Team

Ecosystem and Industry Insights

AI+
The article explores the intersection of AI and blockchain (crypto) technologies, focusing on their complementary roles in creating, utilizing, and valuing data and information. The key idea is that crypto facilitates the valuation and ownership of information, while AI benefits from on-chain accessibility to information. The article delves into components such as training data, models, tools, output, and prompts, demonstrating how they are intertwined within the crypto-AI ecosystem. The emergence of on-chain minting of AI outputs is a pivotal development, offering solutions to attribution and value capture issues typical of the traditional internet. The article concludes with contemplative questions and considerations for the future of AI and crypto integration.
Minting Is the Native Business Model for Web3 (and maybe AI too)
The article discusses the challenges of personal data ownership and how Web3 could revolutionize the relationship between creators, collectors, and AI models. It addresses the issue of big tech companies using personal data without ownership rights and big companies owning the AI models trained on others’ data. Blockchain can change this. Zora, for instance, introduces a unique concept where liking content is replaced by "minting," involving a small payment to the creator in exchange for content ownership. Collectors can build their data sets on the blockchain, which they own. The author envisions a future where open-source AI/ML models can be trained on these user-owned data sets, fostering a more decentralized and user-centric ecosystem. The article emphasizes the potential for individuals to own their work, get compensated for it, and collectively shape a new paradigm that benefits writers, readers, collectors, and creators.
Minting Is the Native Business Model for Web3 (and maybe AI too)
We have all been targeted by ads that you look at and wonder "how do they know I am in the market for that product?" The answer is that the AI/ML mod...
https://avc.xyz
Come for the robots, stay for the humans
The article reflects on the challenges of building successful social networks, often hindered by the "cold start" problem. Typically, builders need to create two components for a successful social network: the tool and the network, following Chris Dixon's concept of "come for the tool, stay for the network.” To overcome this problem, the author sees potential in AI-generated information, envisioning a shift towards a "come for the robots, stay for the humans" model. Instead of starting with a tool or a specific network, the idea is to begin with AI agents providing valuable information and seeding initial content and activity, attracting human users who can later form the network and gradually replace AI agents’ activity akin to the gradual replacement of NPCs in an online game as more human players join. The article suggests potential applications in professional networks and social communities, emphasizing the possibility of easier launches for social products with AI involvement. Popula pioneered a similar approach when experimenting with ChatGPT to kickstart community conversations.
Come for the robots, stay for the humans
Will cold starts get warmer in the age of AI?
https://www.flyingpenguins.io

Bonus content

Illia with Cosmose KaiChing’s Miron
In a recent Twitter Space AMA, Illia Polosukhin and Cosmose AI’s founder, Miron Mironiuk, discussed the crucial role of data in today's AI landscape. Emphasis was placed on empowering users through KaiChing, a platform by Cosmose that combines payment and data control. The key innovation is edge computing, which involves keeping data on users' devices and bringing AI models to them for enhanced privacy and control. The conversation also highlighted the Near Crowd project, focusing on crowdsourced data labelling as a significant aspect of the intersection between AI and crypto. Overall, the discussion centred on user-owned AI, aiming to give users control over their data and compensation for its high quality.

Share your thoughts or comments on Popula!

Popula Spotlights and Community Updates

Community Event Highlight

To celebrate the Year of the Dragon, we teamed up with EastBlue for an incredible campaign, go to Arkana, complete the missions and win 120 $USDC!

For more detail, please refer to 👇🏻

Popula | LIVE on Mainnet

@beepopula

Popula and @EastBlue_io team up for an incredible campaign to celebrate the Year of the Dragon!

Complete the missions and join the raffle for a chance to share 120 $USDC!

arkana.gg/mission/popula

Ends at 4:50 PM, Feb 24 (UTC)

Ring in the New Year with a rewarding…

Community of the Week

WeirdoGhostGang: Weirdo Ghost Gang, affectionately known as "Lil Ghost", is a Web3 native IP incubated by ManesLAB. Having a storied background in pioneering aesthetics, a free-spirited community culture, and diverse development trajectories, Weirdo Ghost Gang has captivated collectors, artists, and musicians worldwide. Embodying Web3's free, open, innovative, and inclusive lifestyle, Weirdo Ghost Gang amplifies creative content and operations to inspire. OUTA the box, be a WEIRDO, join now!