Links have been the currency of the internet since forever.

AI changes that - no links - no webpages - just a genie that pops up and gives you the answer.

What's the new currency of the AI Web?

Truthfully, I don't know.

It might be tokens.

Links were the superpower of Web1. We had seen images and text laid out in magazines and newspapers. What was novel was the hyperlink. A magazine page that could link to a different magazine’s page. 

Similarly, the Newsfeed was the superpower of web2. We had seen “feeds” before. You could watch live TV or radio or subscribe to a physical magazine or even a news site. The Newsfeed was novel because it was an endless feed from many sources of content specifically customized to your attention. It democratized publishing, commoditized content, and it updates constantly based on your usage/attention. 

Web3’s superpower is the collective use of others’ data — you can think of this as a “shared canvas.” Think “Basepaint for social media.”

AI can be thought of in this way too. ChatGPT uses the collective output of the internet to create content specifically for you. The AI web is also usage of others data to create new data. 

2 sides of the same coin, 1 side has clear attribution/ownership.