[0:00]Please welcome to the stage, Chiong Diau Fan.
[0:10]Hello, everyone. Very glad being here presenting aligning Web3 AI and blockchain for utility. Last year, in another crypto conference, I talked about a few issues I see in crypto space. Specifically, tokens issued, advanced financial mechanisms running, but there is a lack of underlying utility and substance. There are tokens used to mostly raising capital without actually product innovation. People have too easy and immediate access to capital without actually doing the hard work to finish the building. There is too much of value extraction without equivalent value creation in the crypto space. But with all these systems underlining, I see is the misalignment of the crypto tools with the product innovation. So, what's the solution? Pi is trying to provide answers, and we use crypto tools including its payment ability to issue tokens and smart contracts, and align these tools with the innovation that addressed the quick exit problem. So, specifically, we came up with a new novel design of Pi Launchpad for ecosystems on top of Pi. Pi is a layer one blockchain, and ecosystem tokens are tokens on top of that. So, Pi Launchpad, despite the name, it actually differ very very much from the traditional Launchpads on other crypto networks. Specifically, in three distinctive characteristics. First, the proceeds committed by participants in Pi actually will not be transferred to project party. They will be permanently, irreversibly deposited into liquidity pool. Not only this address the root problem of the quick exit problem, but also it help provide a healthy and stable start for the token. Second, the prerequisite to launch on Pi Launchpad is to have a working product. It can be in the form of a app. Third, participants who engage with the product from the project will actually receive certain beneficial terms or favorable terms or benefits in the launch. This design was specifically created to address the quick exits without real building problem in crypto. However, from the perspective of business, if tokens cannot be used to raise capital, what can tokens be used for? Especially given how much time and effort it requires to issue and operate the token, this is where Pi is uniquely positioned to provide a different answer. Tokens for user acquisition.
[3:22]Pi designed this thing in a way to integrate crypto tokens directly into the evolutionary process for products and innovation. User acquisition is the foundation of a utility creation, because no matter how sophisticated a product feature is, if there is no users, there will be no meaningful usage and network effects. User feedback, demand, and also the ability for businesses to acquire and retain user is the primary driver for innovation, shaping what ideas evolve, becoming, evolving into real world solutions. While many types of tokens can be issued on blockchain, Pi currently focus on launching and facilitating tokens that acquire users to build real products. This construct is based on Pi's resources and infrastructure, and aiming for building utility and also product innovation. So, how does it work? In Pi Launchpad, projects issue tokens and also integrate their tokens into their products. Users can access those tokens through launchpad and afterwards, Dex and AMM, and Pi as a currency and platform is staked and used to facilitate and orchestrate the whole process. Why can Pi provide this? It's because the Pi scale and unique position. Pi not only being a layer one blockchain, is also a large social network of over 60 million mobile engaged users. Out of them, 18 million are KYC'd, meaning their identity have been verified. And out of those 16.5 million actually are already on the mainnet blockchain with a crypto wallet enabled. For product builders and businesses, high quality and global reach are some of the most important resources that are essential for their product success. And these users not only are crypto native, but also mainstream audiences who we think are very important to give feedback and actually use products for its utility case. So, why can tokens design in such a way facilitate product innovation? User acquisition is typically very expensive. Especially for early stage startups, instead of burning cash, businesses can use Web3 tool like issuing a token to potentially acquire users, not just from Pi Network, but overall. And while involving users directly into their product evolution, iterate with them, test products with them, and also making sure that their product is addressing human needs. Second, is that unlike the capital raised, which is just sitting in the wallet of the project party, users acquired are humans. They have agencies. So, they keep the project accountable, the builders accountable for providing on goingly useful services and engagement. If the projects fail to improve their product or keep the engagement, then they have the agency and the free choice to leave. So, organic user acquisition and retention are natural mechanisms by which projects are encouraged to create and innovate, which is the original intent of the design. From the user's perspective, they have the free choice to join and use any products like they do in Web2, but with the difference that they have additional access to this digital asset released by the project. And can access it through Pi Launchpad or Dex or AMM, as well as their ability to own and use these assets in the products of these projects. This shift the relationship between users and the companies, from two sides of the table in Web2 world, to one side of the table in Web3. This is one of the important principles of Web3. In this way, we believe that this design better align the unique capabilities of Web3 such as issuance of a token with support for innovative products. Pi ecosystem tokens are not just about coping existing token models, we actually specifically deliberately avoid coping from existing models, because we see many of the problems of Web3 these days actually stem from the traditional models. There is another aspect that is equally important, which is the types of projects for Launchpad. Instead of looking at token issuers, whose intent is to issue a token and then build a business around the token, Pi Launchpad actually focus on real businesses, with real projects, real products, which has a real problem to solve. Pi's focus is not on tokens for their own sake, or integrations or mechanisms in isolation, but what it takes to actually build a real product that solve human needs. And then connect the Web3 resources and tools to facilitate that. Why do tokens for users acquisition matter? Well, in the age of AI, with all the foundation model breakthroughs and platform advancements that lower the barrier of building, the competition for user attention and user acquisition will be more fierce. There will be basically more tools than users. But business models only exist if someone is using and paying. So, in addition to advancing the tools, people can build faster and smarter through AI, and also in addition to the competition for compute energy and the better algorithm, there is also the competition for distribution, competition for data that improve and refine AI, and also competition for authentic human participation. For all these three aspects, users, data inputs, and authentic participation, Pi has an answer for all of them. As mentioned, Pi is a social network of over 16 million engaged mobile users. And in addition to the Pi Launchpad example I gave earlier, there are so many other avenues that are more lightweight. You don't need to issue a token in order to tap into the Pi community for user acquisition, for example, building a Pi app, integrate with Pi payments, using our directory that is Pi state to boost the rank of your app in the Pi ecosystem, therefore, more users pay attention to your app. There is also the layer of human workforce. Actually, we recently released a report on how such distributed human infrastructure can enable AI and AI companies to enhance their algorithm and enhance their models. Specifically, 526 million tasks were accomplished by over 1 million people. This was done in the context of Pi KYC solution, which uses AI and also human validation to verify over 18 million users in the network.
[11:38]This basically reduced the on boarding frictions of users to be able to transact and at the same time, avoid introducing them to a new payment solution. All of these are built on top of Pi's Layer 1 blockchain that has a native payments, non-custodial wallets and smart contracts. And enabling agent-to-agent, agent-to-human, and P2P programmable transactions. So, with AI disruption, there are actually biggest problems for us to solve in the next decades to come. Exploration of how to align Web3, AI and blockchain for utility is the work we as humans have to figure out the following aspects in AI era. First, human economic participation and livelihoods. So, when the AI advance, everyone of us cannot help but wonder, will AI replace me? Will AI steal my jobs? So, we think the future will actually shifting from wage-for-labor model for most people to ownership-based, ownership of not just capital, but ownership of businesses, IP, creativity, data, human connection, or financial assets. And the solution is not just, you know, some people say, "Oh, the solution is just the basic universal basic income." It's not that simple. How to scale, how to distribute to for the universal basic income, before we get there, how people live without a paying job? And also, how about meritocracy, which is an important motivation for society's innovation? The ownership of all these are participate in financial processes and can be transacted to generate income for people to live on. Another aspect is financial literacy in the year of AI. In order for all these ownerships to be on top, on inside the financial processes, people needs to be financially literate. It's a must-have skill for the majority for the mass adoption. So, Pi actually intends to improve financial literacy globally in systematic way, and explore new meaningful human economic participation in the age of AI. Another challenge is facing by businesses. What are the mechanisms or resources companies need to rely on to survive the AI era? With the foundation model, sometimes overnight can throw some businesses out of business. Uh, render some services useless, because foundation models are so capable. And what is the thing that can help businesses survive this? Is it the users, the data, the network effect? Is it the authentic human participation, or the interactions in their products, or is it the additional assets like tokens or NFTs that help provide them resilience and cushions at the time of difficulty for them to readjust, to overcome the challenge? These are the big questions we need to explore, and what is known is that with any type of major technology disruption, be it electricity, internet, or AI, it's never the case that the old business model just work and new services come on top. It not only creates new types of businesses, but also demand new types of business models.
[15:28]With the individual financial life changes, and also new business models, it's inevitable that there will be change in human socio-economic structure. Blockchain technology is at the forefront defining new financial and business models to work for individuals and organizations. These are fundamental problems that Pi tries to solve, along with millions of pioneers and members of the community all over the world, pulling together the ownership of various things together to create a collective resources of Pi Network and open to different businesses to tap into those resources and in turn, contribute back into the Pi ecosystem. Pi Network, as Layer 1 blockchain, with its large engaged social network, verified human identity and distributed computing power, is innovating to lead during this time of societal transformation. And we invite all of you to build with us and build on top of Pi to solve these fundamental problems of our society in the years to come.
