"The digitally native uses cases are always going to be the thing that crypto is going to move towards...digitally native areas of crypto are always the area to pay the most attention to."

Definitely agree.

Companies that try to bring "real-world assets" on-chain -- carbon credits, mortgages, titles, etc. -- are some of the most skeuomorphic and uninteresting uses of crypto. That isn't to say that they aren't useful primitives, but they often present the same level of counterparty risk that exists in web2. Tokenized, tradable treasuries are certainly a cool primitive and allows for regional access arbitrage, but does not provide any unique value.

The exciting uses of web3 lie in users wanting an unruggable, credibly neutral substrate to build digitally native platforms/communities/etc.

Full video:

I asked ChatGPT why this came to be:

Aesthetically, I think it looks better/cleaner (cars are an overrated centerpiece of American culture).

https://austinvernon.site

AI Tutors and Education Reform

Despite many lamenting the state of K-12 education in America, almost three-quarters of parents are satisfied with their oldest child's education. Unfortunately, we don't know why the remaining quarter is unhappy. Is it due to a lack of friends, a specific teacher, or their child's poor performance on NAEP tests?

While I generally agree that AI will help the most ambitious ("Average is Over"), Vernon seems to suggest that AI marks the end of the cheating era of early childhood education:

The number two pencil is one of the most critical tools for our iron triangle. Grade books need adjustments at the end of semesters to pass on underperforming students or raise a grade for an unhappy student (or parent). Sometimes state-mandated standardized tests need altering as well. Teachers can make these changes using an eraser or the keyboard on an unconnected spreadsheet without being charged with fraud.

Many education reformers dream of systems where students use personalized software. There are some schools where it works wonderfully. One of my high school mentors joined a non-profit education organization to assist rural schools wanting to adopt these systems. 5-10 districts adopted the program, but many encountered issues. Teachers, parents, and students revolted at one of the most successful implementations, forcing the district to revert to the old ways. Another became a crime scene because teachers didn't realize that a central database tracked the changes they made to student grades at the end of the semester.

Insofar as these AI programs -- and programs in general -- are black boxes to the vast majority of the world, what's to stop these questionable actions from transitioning to a digital environment?

And it appears that the incentive is likely there as disparities will continue to increase and administrators attempting to keep that gap as small as possible.