Dear friends, thank you for your hard work. After a whole day of intensive communication and sharing, everyone might feel mentally exhausted. Here, I would like to bring some lighter topics for everyone.

The theme I want to discuss today is "Redefining Token in the Age of AGI." In fact, the term "Token" existed long before blockchain, but its connotation and definition have been continuously evolving and iterating. Therefore, at this point in time, it is necessary for us to re-examine and define Token to prove that it is not an evil thing, but a legitimate and valuable term.

Three Cognitive Revolutions of Humanity

To deeply understand the core value of Token economics, we might start from tens of thousands of years ago in human history. I recently read a new book titled "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind." The book mentions that a scientist divided human history into three cognitive revolutions.

The first cognitive revolution occurred tens of thousands of years ago when humans invented language. The birth of language allowed human society to form, making cooperation possible and enabling the exchange of ideas. Before this, these activities were extremely difficult.

The second cognitive revolution took place thousands of years ago when humans invented writing. The emergence of writing not only facilitated communication but also allowed all knowledge and experiences to be preserved and passed down. Human society thus achieved better development.

The third cognitive revolution occurred several decades ago with the invention of computer languages and code, marking a new era for human society. I believe this revolution did not begin with the era of large models but quietly started when computer languages and codes were invented in the last century. Because code, human language, and writing are all tools for human cognition and expression, they collectively drive the progress of human society.

Today, in the digital society and virtual space, algorithms, computing power, and data have become the foundation for building a new society. In the AGI era, the term Token is frequently mentioned again to define certain functions of AI or as a basis for pricing.

From code to the era of large models, humanity is completing the third cognitive revolution.

Five Stages of AGI Development

Open AI divides the development of AI into five stages. Two months ago, we just entered the second stage. However, with the launch of Open AI's o1, the second stage has officially been achieved. Just a week ago, Elon Musk's release of autonomous driving technology (Robo Taxi) indicated that the third stage is also about to be realized.

The first stage is the conversationalist, and ChatGPT has already helped us achieve this goal.

The second stage is the reasoner, where machines begin to possess thinking abilities. The "Turing Test" proposed by Turing in 1950 was designed to test the thinking ability of machines. With the launch of o1, we can answer Turing's question: machines can indeed think.

The third stage is the agent, where machines not only possess thinking abilities but also have the ability to act. Musk's autonomous driving technology is a typical representative of this stage.

The fourth stage is the innovator, where it is expected that AI will soon be able to innovate from zero to one, no longer relying on human guidance and creativity.

The fifth stage is the organizer, which is a more challenging task than innovation. It requires AI to systematically construct a parallel universe and operate it effectively.

According to Open AI's classification, we expect the third stage to be achieved by the end of this year or before June next year.

AGI and ASI

Another classification method divides AI into Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI). Some predict that in the era of superintelligence, AI's intelligence will far exceed that of humans, even reaching a level where "everyone is an Einstein."

When will the watershed between AGI and ASI arrive? When will the singularity occur? Kurzweil predicted in his 2005 book "The Singularity Is Near" and this year's new book "The Singularity Is Nearer" that 2030 will be the moment of the ASI singularity. Recent predictions suggest that between 2026 and 2030, AI will enter the fifth stage of development, which is also the watershed between AGI and ASI.

UBI and UHI

Training AI requires data, but the quality of data is crucial. Garbage data will only produce garbage results. Using AI-generated data to train large models often leads to a decline in model performance. Therefore, what we need is random data generated by humans.

As long as we are human, the data we generate is the data needed by AI and is the best data in large models, rather than the data generated by large models and AI themselves.

I have already seen two research groups that have proven that using AI-generated data to train AI large models will cause the large models to collapse.

Therefore, as long as you are human and can generate random data, you should receive feedback from AI, as this is important for AI and makes AI smarter.

Thus, the concept of Universal Basic Income (UBI) is reasonable. Because humans provide AI with data that makes it smarter, AI should return value to humanity.

Moreover, with the arrival of the superintelligence era, some have proposed the concept of Universal High Income (UHI). In this era, AI will create greater economic value, and this value needs to be distributed to humanity.

Among the representatives of the AI era, Sam Altman from Open AI and Elon Musk from Tesla have deep connections with Token. Sam Altman not only launched the Worldcoin project but also commissioned Stanford University to conduct a three-year UBI experiment. Musk may use Token for value exchange in interstellar travel or on Mars.

Value Laws in the Digital Age

In the context of the digital age, the value laws of the digital economy and digital business have undergone tremendous changes. The digital economy is characterized by high fixed costs, low marginal costs, and even zero marginal costs. This allows valuable products, goods, and services to achieve exponential growth, following a power law distribution rather than a normal distribution.

The digital economy transcends time, space, subjects, and organizations. Therefore, we need blockchain and Token to ensure that payment settlement and asset marking in the digital world can proceed smoothly. In the digital world, classical physics may largely no longer exist, and production factors have transformed into algorithms, computing power, and data (also known as the "three calculations").

In the agricultural civilization period, wealth accumulation relied on land; in the industrial civilization period, it relied on factories and machinery; while in the digital economy era, these are still part of wealth, but newly created wealth is increasingly measured in digital forms. Therefore, Token has become the measure of value in the digital economy era.

Three Elements of Traditional Financial Markets and Crypto Financial Markets

With the fundamental transformation of value creation methods in the digital age, we are gradually building a crypto financial market that is distinctly different from traditional financial markets. Regardless of the type of financial market, its basic components include three major elements: accounting methods, accounting accounts, and accounting units, which exhibit significant differences between the two.

In traditional financial markets, the accounting method generally adopts double-entry bookkeeping, which is the accounting principle followed by all organizations today. Its accounting accounts are mainly bank accounts, while the accounting unit is legal currency, such as the Renminbi. In contrast, the accounting method in the crypto financial market adopts a distributed accounting method (i.e., blockchain technology). Here, the accounting accounts do not specifically refer to a certain currency type (although it may involve USD, EUR, etc.), but more importantly, its accounting units and methods present a completely new form, which is fundamentally different from Tokens (tokens) or legal currencies in traditional financial markets.

The crypto financial market we are building, as another important field outside traditional financial markets, has undergone fundamental changes in its basic elements. Among them, the accounting method adopts a distributed accounting method, namely blockchain technology. The essence of blockchain lies in its decentralized and distributed ledger characteristics, providing a globally open and transparent accounting platform.

In contrast, double-entry bookkeeping relies on privately maintained ledgers that are notarized by third parties. Since private ledgers may be questioned for their authenticity, they need to be regulated by laws such as the "Accounting Law" and audited by accountants according to regulations. Additionally, to ensure the authenticity of the ledger, the judicial system's protection is also required. These measures are all aimed at ensuring the authenticity of private ledgers as much as possible and reducing the possibility of false records.

However, the distributed accounting method does not require these cumbersome protective measures. Due to its inherent immutability, all records are true and reliable, and cannot be forged or altered. Therefore, from a cost perspective, distributed accounting methods undoubtedly have lower cost efficiency. For society as a whole, the costs incurred by this accounting method will also be lower.

Millennia of Change in Human Society's Accounting Methods

The accounting methods of human society have undergone three iterations to date:

(1) As early as 3500 BC, single-entry bookkeeping was born. This method was discovered in the Sumer region, which is now part of Iraq, in the cradle of human civilization between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. Archaeologists unearthed a clay tablet from 3500 BC, which has been confirmed through research to be the earliest ledger in human history, using single-entry bookkeeping to simply record income and expenses.

(2) Fast forward to 1300 AD, double-entry bookkeeping emerged in the Mediterranean region of Italy. At that time, city-states in northern Italy, such as Florence and Venice, engaged in trade activities through the Mediterranean, and these maritime trades were extremely complex, making single-entry bookkeeping insufficient to accurately and comprehensively record economic activities. Since maritime trade involved borrowing, chartering ships, partnerships, and taxation, double-entry bookkeeping gradually arose to clearly record each transaction.

It is noteworthy that the emergence of double-entry bookkeeping in 1300 AD not only marked a significant advancement in accounting methods but was also a direct response to the complex maritime trade needs of the Mediterranean region in Italy.

(3) Then in 2009, distributed accounting methods burst onto the scene, thanks to the introduction of Bitcoin blockchain technology. The value of distributed accounting methods is self-evident; their transformative impact is unprecedented, far surpassing the iterative technological products of each year. The profound influence and value brought by this accounting method are currently difficult to estimate. I believe that no one can definitively tell us how distributed ledgers will reshape human society and what unprecedented benefits they will bring us.

Definition and Classification of Token

Tokens existed before blockchain. From a value perspective, the earliest Tokens were coins and change. In computer systems, Tokens are tokens, which are permissions for using computer systems. In the AGI era, Tokens have become units of data used to measure costs when using large models.

In the digital economy era, Tokens, as value markers, are divided into the following categories:

• Payment Tokens: Countries are legislating to issue compliant stablecoins.
• Functional Tokens: Extended from tokens in computer systems, referring to network usage rights.
• Security Tokens: Involving areas such as STO, RWA, and DeFi.
• Reserve Tokens: Such as Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, serving as the underlying assets of crypto finance.

Two Financial Markets Coexisting Harmoniously

The financial market system based on bank accounts and the financial market system based on crypto accounts will develop in parallel. The interconnectivity between the two is expected to be realized by 2025. Through stablecoins, ETFs, RWAs, STOs, and licensed institutions, the two markets will achieve mutual connectivity and integration.

I will stop sharing here today. Thank you all!

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