Greetings!
We need your voice in shaping the future of the decentralized web.
In light of concerns raised during the 2024 Presidential campaign about media manipulation, censorship, and disinformation, we have extended the public comment period of the Call for Ideas on the desirable properties of a meta-layer. We believe the highest priority for the next president should be safeguarding the basic rights of the American people, once and for all—an effort that will benefit all Americans, regardless of party, class, or creed.
Considering the rapid and unpredictable onset of super intelligence, this must be done soon to prevent the rise of a system of perpetual surveillance and control that could undermine democracy as we know it and threaten the American democratic experiment.
This mission extends far beyond the physical realm, centering on the digital world. The protections enshrined in the Bill of Rights—the first ten amendments of the United States Constitution—are foundational and must extend into the digital domain. Without free speech online, our democracy is at risk, and with it, the rest of these critical rights. Privacy is already compromised, as corporations capture and exploit nearly all our personal data.
The Metaweb offers the best path forward to preserve freedom of speech. It can be a free speech zone in the space above every webpage. In this space, virality is unaffected by bots, fake accounts, or coordinated tweet raids. It enables the distinction between real people in good standing within the ecosystem and impersonator accounts or bots, while empowering individuals with tunable, adaptive personal AIs to curate their digital experiences. These personal filters can be customized across a range of attributes, achieving a balance between freedom and individual preference.
All legal speech is allowed in the Metaweb. AI-assisted internet researchers will have the tools to create value by connecting and tagging content. By bridging data, context, and genuine virality, the Metaweb fosters authentic connections and establishes reputation systems immune to manipulation. While the Dead Web may encroach on the content layer, it doesn’t have to extend to the meta-layer.
In this separate yet conceptually connected, decentralized environment, we can enforce AI containment. The Metaweb constrains AI to actions that do not harm the ecosystem, creating a safeguarded space for human interaction and collaboration. This can only be achieved in a meta-environment above the webpage, where we know who is real and what is artificial.
An exciting initiative has taken root, the Meta-Layer initiative. Our mission is to develop the next level of the web by constructing an application substrate that supports overlay applications across all web pages. Imagine smart tags that can attach actionable information and interactions directly to web content and meta-communities that allow like-minded individuals to collaborate and engage on top of any webpage. This is not just about improving the current web experience—it's about creating an entirely new layer of interaction, one that allows people to gather, share knowledge, and collectively tackle challenges in a decentralized and balanced manner.
At the advice of none other than a "Father of the Internet," Vint Cerf, we've embarked on our first task: writing an essay on the desirable properties of a meta-layer. Vint Cerf himself attended our inaugural meeting, where he shared invaluable insights on the architecture of this meta-layer. Now, we turn to you, the community, to participate in the next phase—defining these desirable properties together. We want to ensure that this vision reflects the needs, values, and aspirations of all stakeholders.
As a token of appreciation, everyone who fully participates will receive a soul-bound Overweb badge—an ordinal built on the emerging satplication framework. This badge isn't just a static token; it will evolve over time. When it transfers from your initial address, it transforms from a simple ID badge into a valuable digital artifact, recording your achievements and history on-chain. The badge will proudly display your unique Overweb number, a credential that will be sought-after as the Overweb emerges. This badge, like the satplication itself, is a testament to the power of decentralized, permanent, and updatable technology that reflects your journey in this movement.
Join us in building the future of the web, and let your voice be heard. Your participation can make all the difference as we work together toward a decentralized and people-centered digital future!
Learn how to participate in the Call for Ideas. Meaningful contributions will be available here for posterity. Click "i" for contextual information.