“How Future Of Wealth & Power Is About To Change Forever & No One’s Ready For It…”

Two years ago I wrote about “Why Web3 Will Be A Big Deal” (https://orren.medium.com/why-web3-will-be-a-big-deal-1a50410bbcc2)

*It was a month later that ChatGPT launched.

I argued that the agricultural revolution introduced private property, creating economic growth and new industries around both tangible and intangible assets.

With Web3, ownership of digital assets and data (via tokens and crypto wallets) allows individuals to act as “platforms” for their own content and data.

This ownership model, in contrast to Web2’s centralised control, offers users economic agency, rewarding them for contributing content and data (thus value) within decentralized systems.

Web3, therefore, empowers users by giving them control, interoperability, and compensation for their digital presence.

Then two weeks ago I wrote about “How To Become AI Proof” (https://orren.medium.com/how-to-become-ai-proof-57a1cd5c3126)

I argued that the rapid advancement of Generative AI, potentially leads to an “economic singularity” where AI, robotics, and cheap energy drive unprecedented productivity and abundance, making traditional economic systems based on scarcity and human labor less relevant.

As AI takes over knowledge and production tasks, traditional ownership, work, and economic growth models may become obsolete, shifting value toward human-centered communities and experiences.

Blockchain and cryptocurrency could facilitate transactions between autonomous AI systems, but overall, AI is expected to reshape wealth, reducing the need for human involvement and creating a future of abundance that challenges conventional economic structures.

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Generative AI really accelerated, far quicker than I and most could imagine!

“How To Become AI Proof”, reframes “Why Web3 Will Be A Big Deal” focus on private property and user-owned data platforms by introducing the idea that traditional concepts of ownership, scarcity, and even the very structures that underpin economic growth (like private property) may become obsolete with mainstream adoption of Generative AI .

From Scarcity To Abundance:

The original text highlights the role of property, both tangible and intangible, as platforms for economic growth and individual agency.

In a post-scarcity economy driven by AI, however, abundance becomes the rule rather than the exception.

This diminishes the role of private ownership as a driver of wealth and power because resources and services could be produced with minimal cost or effort.

The concept of investing in a “platform” like property becomes less relevant if abundance dissolves traditional economic constraints.

Data Ownership & Value:

The first piece suggests a Web3 world where users own and control their data, creating their own mini-platforms and extracting value from their tokens.

In a world dominated by AI, data ownership may evolve further where data itself could become so easily generated, replicated, or enhanced by AI that individual control over data might no longer yield significant value.

Instead, AI’s role in autonomously processing, contextualising, and deploying data might redefine the value proposition of Web3’s “token economy.”

Economic Participation & Utility:

Web3 is described as allowing individuals to monetise their data and participate in decentralised networks, but in a future where AI handles much of production and service delivery, human economic participation becomes less essential.

This would shift Web3’s “utility” for token holders from monetary rewards to something less about financial compensation and more about community, connection, or status which are things AI cannot easily replicate but that still hold intrinsic human value.

Community As A Core Value:

While the original piece emphasises decentralisation and individual agency through platforms, the AI-driven future suggests community will become central to human purpose as traditional economic roles erode.

With AI handling production, human-centric economies might pivot to focus on fostering connections, communities, and shared experiences.

In this sense, Web3’s emphasis on decentralised networks could shift from economic growth to social and emotional value.

Redefining Property & Ownership:

Property, as described in the former piece, is fundamental to economic growth.

But in an AI-centric world, where knowledge and production are decentralised and infinitely replicable, the distinction between owning something versus simply having access to it could become blurred.

AI may accelerate a move away from ownership altogether, pushing society toward utility-based access and shareability, and reducing the importance of “platforms” as sources of control or economic leverage.

Trust & Authenticity In A Deepfake World:

The original piece notes Web3’s potential to ensure user control and authenticity.

In a world where AI can create hyper-realistic simulations and deepfakes, the demand for verification and trust would intensify.

Blockchain’s role in ensuring transparency and provenance would likely become crucial, not just for economic transactions but for validating truth, identity, and history in a reality that AI can easily fabricate.

Disruption Of Business Cycles:

The original focus on creating economic opportunities through personal data platforms becomes less relevant if AI’s rapid innovation outpaces human-driven business cycles.

In a world where AI creates, deploys, and iterates on business ideas faster than humans can, traditional entrepreneurial paths and markets may be supplanted by AI-driven ecosystems that rely less on human input.

Redefinition Of Wealth:

Both pieces discuss wealth but from different angles.

In the Web3 context, wealth derives from property and data ownership.

However, if AI ushers in a post-scarcity era, wealth may no longer mean having assets but rather possessing unique experiences, skills, or relationships — things that AI cannot replicate.

The meaning of wealth could shift toward less tangible and non-transferable assets like health, relationships, or community status.

Ultimately, Generative AI introduces a transformative rethinking of what economy, ownership, and agency mean.

The framework of Web3 would be deeply impacted, pivoting from its current emphasis on decentralised data ownership and economic utility to perhaps fostering human connection and emotional utility in a world of AI-generated abundance.