Regarding the concept of Web3, what we are familiar with now is Gavin Wood’s iterative Internet idea that integrates decentralized blockchain technology and token economics proposed in 2014. This idea was also simplified by Chris Dixon, a partner of a16z:
- web1: read (read)
- web2: read + write (read + write)
- web3: read +write + own (read + write + own)
However, in the context of the global economy continuing to face severe challenges, coupled with the negative impact of thunderstorms such as Luna and FTX, the current concept of Web3 has been stigmatized around the world.
At the same time, the centralized explosion of many AI models such as DALL-E, Stable Diffusion, Midjourney, and ChatGPT has also begun to make some people (such as a16z game General partner Jon Lai) change their minds, and they began to think that the definition of Web3 should be AIGC.
Thinking: Do we need to redefine Web3?
What puzzles me is that the conflict between AI and blockchain technology does not seem to be strong, so why can’t Web3 be read + AIGC + own (combine the two concepts)?
Many people know this sentence mentioned in the book “From 0 to 1” by PayPal founder Peter Thiel:
“To generate dominance in a market, it needs to be more than 10 times technologically better than the closest alternative.”
While this 10x figure may seem like an estimate, it does tell us that the improvements we need to beat the first-mover peers in the current market are enormous.
Just adding ownership, it is simply impossible to achieve the escape velocity that overcomes gravity, so many so-called “Web3” applications will be ignored or just short-lived. But we need to admit that decentralization and increased ownership are indeed an improvement.
Now that we have a revolutionary AI breakthrough, there is no reason to exclude it from the Web3 vision.
Let’s assume that ownership (blockchain technology) improves a product X times and AI technology improves it Y times, then blend them and add some other Z times improvement (e.g. UI, etc.), we may create disruptive substitutes (X+Y+Z and even some improvements will have a synergistic effect, that is, one plus one is greater than two).
Therefore, I tend to think that the real Web3 coincides with the concept of the Metaverse, that is, the new generation of the Internet brought about by various innovative technologies such as AI+blockchain.
Take games as an example: Web3 games not only require ownership but are also inseparable from AI
According to the previous definition of Web3, we may tend to think that only 100% of the games on the chain belong to Web3 games and define the games whose ownership is on the chain as Web2.5 games.
But if we take AI into account, this statement can be very misleading, because the impact of AI on the game may even exceed the blockchain, and if we only focus on the latter, then the resulting blockchain game Still has no competition.
In a ” The Big Ideas ” watch list recently released by a16z, several game partners of the VC agency have an outlook on the game field in 2023, mainly around the two keywords of AI and blockchain.
“The biggest revolution hitting the games industry in 2023 will be the creation of producible generative AI models for all asset types needed to make modern games…Scientists are working on AI models for all asset types, including 3D models, music, sound effects, etc.
—James Gwertzman, General Partner, a16z Game Team”
“With AI-assisted and cloud-based tools, there will emerge a new mobile-first platform for UGC that will have a discovery-mode user experience more akin to TikTok than Roblox or Netflix, where users are instantly delighted when they open the app. Hands-on Game Creation Mode: Unlocked.
— Troy Kirwin, Partner, a16z Games Team”
“From ELIZA to ChatGPT, computers have successfully disguised themselves as humans. This phenomenon has also appeared in games through the massive popularity of “robots”. As AI develops, games will become bigger, more complex, and more realistic, these bots are increasingly convincing humans.
—Jack Soslow, a16z Game Team Partner”
“Game development is one of the first industries to experience major disruption due to generative AI. New tools are already allowing artists and writers to transfer the initial (mechanical) creative spark to generative models and refocus their efforts on editing and optimization.
AI innovations that affect players will be more exciting than AI innovations that benefit developers. Artificial intelligence continues to redefine the possibilities of game design and game experience.
What about a new generation of games designed natively for AI? Possibly? We’ll see emergent, procedurally generated worlds, each with its rich history, inhabitants, and mysteries. There will be interactive fiction, where stories evolve through player choices and generated imagery, video, and audio Let’s talk, the possibilities are endless.
—Jack Soslow, a16z Game Team Partner”
“We are on the cusp of unlocking a new generation of web3-native games that will be fun, have broad appeal, and be uniquely enabled by blockchain technology… game mods enhanced by web3 composability, Creators can automatically obtain ownership and financial rewards through code, and freely utilize each other’s assets.
—Jonathan Lai, general partner of a16z game team”
Therefore, the new generation of Web3 native games may not only be based on the blockchain, but they are also inseparable from AI. Of course, on-chain chain games like a dark forest, which combine zero-knowledge proof technology and blockchain, also belong to a type of Web3 native game, but the development in this direction seems to face more challenges.
