---- On Thu, 12 Sep 2024 12:23:45 -0700 Daveed Benjamin wrote ----

Thank you for your thoughts. We did deliberate quite a bit on what to call the meeting, as we're addressing abstract concepts that don’t yet exist in practice. I’ll share my perspective, and perhaps the group can refine the terminology.

We refer to the Metaweb as the decentralized space above the webpage. Since 2019, I’ve been working on what I call the Overweb—a potential meta-environment within this space. The Overweb aims to be a safe, decentralized environment where communities can meet, interact, and collaborate above webpages. In this space, individuals would own their data, have only one primary account, and receive fair value for their contributions.

With the Overweb, developers can create applications that operate above webpages. Participants can attach smart tags to content on any page, enriching the web experience.

What excites me most is that this layer feels like the current web but with added functionality. Today’s web already has multiple layers; however, they are controlled by the website owner. This centralization wasn’t the original intent—digital annotation predates the web, and Mosaic (the first widely distributed browser) supported web annotation.

What’s even better is that we don’t need a major technological breakthrough. Current internet protocols, browser technologies, cryptography, and AI are sufficient. The real breakthrough required is in people’s understanding, which is why this dialogue is so important.

At DWeb Camp, I introduced the idea as a meta-layer over the web to keep things simple and neutral. Feedback has been positive on the terms Metaweb and Overweb, and people also responded well to meta-layer, as reflected in the interest in this meeting. After further brainstorming (with help from CyberSavant, our GPT-based AI), we decided to call the kickoff meeting: "The Meta-Layer Initiative: Laying the Foundation." I’d love to hear any alternative ideas for this or future meetings.

I fully agree with your point that design work shouldn’t be underestimated, and thankfully, we have some brilliant minds involved. I hope this meeting will align us around a shared purpose and vision and lead to a collaborative design plan. For now, our focus is on the application substrate, and I think it’s key that we don’t rely on governments for this. Some may even feel threatened by the idea of a decentralized meta-layer—unlike Facebook, which seemed like a private entity building something DARPA had once explored, and has literally been a source for the U.S. government to gather information and censor people and narratives.

That said, I’m not ruling out government involvement. In fact, applying a meta-layer to government sites could be transformative.

Your story on Korean TV leaves me wondering about potential synergies between what you discussed and our vision for the Overweb. I see a meta-layer as instrumental, if not essential, to your MegaChallenge for the 21st Century: What is Mind? — particularly for building and understanding intelligence, both symbolic and subsymbolic.

Looking forward to hearing more of your thoughts!