Conference Presentation, Keynote
Social Networking in 2030: How Could Crypto Change Things?
- The transition of social networking to crypto and blockchains is projected to unfold over the next decade, aiming to reach a specific transformative state by 2030.
- Under current trajectories, problems including fake news, hate speech, security breaches, data collection, de-platforming, and reliance on advertising or transaction fee models are expected to intensify.
- Continued dominance by three to four companies over critical artificial intelligence data is predicted to create significant barriers for startups and independent researchers, while AI is also expected to automate numerous jobs.
- Early crypto network participants are anticipated to own or earn tokens to capture network upside, with financial incentives serving to overcome the "bootstrap problem" in the absence of immediate utility.
- Governance is forecast to shift from anonymous product managers to open, democratic, and community-driven processes for platform access and content moderation.
- Open protocols are expected to foster a competitive marketplace for third-party tools such as anti-spam and fake news detectors.
- Service sectors including hospitality, messaging, and ride-sharing are projected to undergo reinvention over the next decade.
- Specific entities, such as top game streamer PewDiePie, are expected to migrate to crypto-driven platforms to leverage community ownership and financial upside.
- New network types, specifically AI data marketplaces, are anticipated where users receive payment for data submission and tokens facilitate data access.
- Users in new crypto-based networks are expected to be compensated for sharing data, with encryption utilized to ensure privacy.
- The trajectory envisions both the reinvention of existing networks and the creation of entirely new ones, potentially resolving many historical internet issues if the approach succeeds.