2024 Recalibrating Two Month Check-In ✅
My weekly writing has been getting longer and longer as I touch on more technical topics.
My goal has always been to provide people with the bigger picture of what is happening in the world. Sometimes that requires a lot of words to understand the true value of what is being built. Some puzzles have a lot of pieces.
To help address the length of these entries, I have launched my medium-form writing on Paragraph.
My goal is to have the long-form on Substack complement the medium-form on Paragraph and vice versa. Hopefully, this format helps make these technical topics more digestible.
I am still working on finding a balance between Substack and Paragraph, so please bear with me as I set up an organizational workflow between them. At the moment, I have not integrated Substack emails to Paragraph, though it is still my plan ✨
In the meantime, I wanted to check in to make sure that everyone has a rough understanding on what I’ve been writing about lately, as I know it has been quite technical and paradigm-shifting.
With an average email open rate of just over 50% (🫡 thank you!), I know that not everyone has had a chance to catch up on the entries this year.
To that end, I thought it might be helpful to check-in with the entries published in 2024 so far and provide a bit more context on how they all piece together. A glimpse of the full puzzle 🖼️.
The first 28 entries were very much Recalibrating-focused.
Entries 29-36 have been geared more towards the free Worldbuilding side of things.
Let’s put it together 🧩✨
Recalibrating Recap
Welcome to Recalibrating! My name is Callum (@_wanderloots)
Join me each week as I learn to better life in every way possible, reflecting and recalibrating along the way to keep from getting too lost.
Thanks for sharing the journey with me ✨
Last week, we touched on how web3 is updating the social fabric of the creator economy. Web3, aka blockchain-based Internet, provides unique opportunities for creators and knowledge workers to build and monetize. Current social media cannot do this.
To help people understand why they should care about web3 and blockchain, I provided some examples from my own life and how they relate to problems in current social media (web2).
I also launched my Recalibrating Podcast 🧭✨
I know not everyone has the time or attention to read all of my newsletters, so I thought I would help you out by providing a podcast version so you can listen instead of read.
There are currently 2 episodes out, with episodes 3 and 4 almost done. Stay tuned ✨
This week, I put together the entries of 2024 by noting the main concepts of each entry and how they relate to the current changes we are seeing in the creator economy and Internet as a whole.
The Internet, Social Media, Creator Economy, Web3, Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, and Digital Identity. How do they all relate?
Let’s dive in ✨
The Bigger Picture 🧩🌍✨
Entry #28 was the last of 2023, which was a 6 month review of Recalibrating. There have been 8 entries released so far this year.
My goal with this entry is to help with any confusion related to any number of technical topics I’ve discussed this year.
If you’ve already read an entry I’m summarizing, feel free to skip to the next one, or read my overview as a refresher. Up to you 😊
If you have any questions, PLEASE comment them on this post or reply by email.
I’m trying to help as many people understand these emerging technologies as possible, so that you can recalibrate your perception of current reality and be better prepared for the unknown future that awaits ✨
The best way I can do this is by receiving feedback on what works and what doesn’t, so I can recalibrate my own publications along the way 🧭
Now, let’s start putting the pieces of the bigger picture together so you can see more of the puzzle that is being built 🧩
#29: 🧠The Battle for Generative AI Has Begun⚔️
A Glimpse Into The Future Of Your Personalized AI
(January 6, 2024)
Every company in the world will have a customized AI model tailored to their business.
Every human will have an AI personal assistant that does the same, but tailored to their life.
All of these systems are trained on massive amounts of data.
You generate data every day, constantly. Lots of this data is fed to megacorporations that use it to mine your attention and the attention of others.
But data is not reserved for the megacorps. You can intentionally build your own custom dataset that can be used to power your AI assistant in the future.
Which company will produce the AI assistant that you use? Well… tbh, who cares? If you have your own Intellectual Property-based private dataset (aka second brain or digital mind), you can flip between different companies as they all fight with one another.
However, if you build inside the walled gardens of the megacorporations, there is no guarantee you will be able to move fluidly between AI models or platforms.
You might get stuck behind a wall, without being able to leave.
Plan accordingly. Future-proof yourself, starting now.
Concepts:
- New York Times lawsuit vs OpenAI regarding generative AI
- Learning how to train your own AI safely
- Understanding custom datasets and intellectual property
- Predicting how the Apple Vision Pro will change the world (note, it is released now, but was not at the time of writing)
#30 “Impossible” AI Training 🤔
Why the future of Data & AI is more complicated than you think
(January 13, 2024)
OpenAI made the claim that it is “impossible to train AI without copyrighted materials”.
This issue is far more complicated than it seems. I understand both sides of the argument.
As a creator and IP lawyer, I very much value the right of individuals to own their creations. As someone who believes that technology can change the world for the better, I value the progression of innovation without overly-limiting regulation.
AI exists in a complicated middle ground that has the power to change how we think about ideas and ownership as a whole.
Our understanding of value is shifting.
Web2 (current social media) has trained us to think that we deserve free content online, so are we surprised that AI companies feel they have the right to take it?
We need a way to be able to trace data, information, knowledge, and creation (aka value blocks) across the Internet that allows for proper attribution to the original creators and knowledge workers. These traced value blocks could enable not only attribution, but value transfer back to the original creator.
Welcome to web3.
Concepts:
- Theft of online content, creation, and knowledge
- Devaluation of content via web2
- AI training methods and intro to GPTs
- Opt-out vs opt-in AI training
- Data-tracing & monetization via blockchain
#31: ⌛️ Long-Term Value Creation ⏳
Shifting Societal Sentiment Of Data
(January 20, 2024)
If the product is free, you are the product.
Much of recent human history (the last ~20 years) has revolved around this concept.
However, just because we’ve given up value (data, knowledge, creation) for free over the last two decades does not mean that this trend must continue.
As AI training becomes even more pervasive online, we need to start thinking more carefully about how we are transferring value, and how we can hold onto it in the long-run.
Holding onto value as a creator is already extremely difficult, but I am not only referring to creators.
Knowledge workers have been giving their value away in transactions via employment contracts. While this relationship may have been mutually-beneficial, we are going to see the rise of corporate-trained AI models.
Where do you think they are getting the data to train these models?
Did you agree to give away all of your knowledge, style, and value to an AI system that is effectively being built to replace you?
To be honest, you probably did. That’s usually how employment contracts work.
However, our understanding of employment is going to shift drastically in the Age of AI.
How can you hold onto your own custom value?
It starts by building your own dataset that is solely owned by you.
Tying this value to your identity & digital identity produces a personal brand that can be leveraged for the rest of your life.
No matter where you are at in your career, it’s worth considering your personal brand, ASAP.
Concepts:
- web2 expectations of free content is devaluing creation & knowledge work
- AI training (both creative and corporate) is going to change how we think of “work” in the future
- Future of value in employment and self-employment
- The value of custom AI training models
- Why you should build a personal brand
#32: 🧑💻Digital Identity & Intangible Value 🌐
Your Character In The Game Of Life 🎲
(January 28, 2024)
This entry was a fun one. I created a newsletter counterpart to my long-form YouTube video on Digital Identity.
The goal was to help people see how intangible things (aka not physical) are extremely highly valued by society.
Most people think about the Internet as a game. That is true, it is kind of like a game.
But, and this is a big but: so is life.
The reason people love games so much is that life is like a game, and we’re each the main player of our own game. The hero of our own story.
Or at least, we like to think so… If you’re not the hero of your own story, who is? 👀
The Internet is multi-player mode, enabling global interactivity between players.
Part of the reason people are hesitant about connecting with people online is because they can’t trust that who they are interacting with is who they say they are.
Trust is a huge part of transferring value and building a community.
That’s where blockchain comes in 🟦 🔗 🟪
Concepts:
- Digital identities and blockchain
- “Metaverse” valued at $5 trillion by 2030
- Building trust online
- The hero’s journey, story, myth, and value
#33: 🥽 Spatial Computing Is Here And You’re Not Ready For It 👀
The Future Of Computing & The Skill Needed To Control It 👀
(February 3, 2024)
When the product is free, you are the product.
I keep repeating this statement because I want it to sink in. In web2 (current social media run by algorithms and megacorporations), your attention is the fuel that keeps the system going.
Your attention is literally mined in exchange for advertising revenue.
As we move into a spatial computing world (eye-controlled computing), having the ability to control your attention is going to be the most valuable skill you can have.
I see two ways of maintaining control of our computing use in the future:
- practicing mindfulness
- using web3 instead of web2
Web3 is a blockchain-based layer that is added to the current Internet as you know it.
Blockchain enables verified identities online and the ability to inter-operably move between platforms.
This flexibility to move from one platform to the other, while retaining your identity, means that you are no longer held by the whims of whatever algorithm you happen to be using in web2.
If an algorithm is manipulative or generally has bad vibes, you can just up and move to another platform. It’s that easy.
That means if your attention is being mined and you’re tired of it, you can go to a different platform that doesn’t prey on your attention. If the owner of the company makes racist remarks or treats marginalized communities badly, you can leave.
You can’t do this in web2.
This entry explains web3 in-depth, so if you are at all confused by any of this, I highly recommend reading this entry. It will help you understand so much more of the future of the world.
Concepts:
- Spatial computing and eye-control
- Algorithms and attention problems
- History of the web
- Introduction to web3 & blockchain
- Mindful attention building
#34: A Change In The Paradigm Of Social Media 🖼️
💸 $50 Billion 1-Click Formerly-Patented Technology Added To Farcaster 🤯
(February 11, 2024)
One of the biggest responses I get when asking people if they’ve thought of building an online presence (digital identity) is “it’s too much work”.
People don’t leverage their digital identities properly because to do so requires them to fracture their self across 10+ social media platforms.
People are already overwhelmed with life as a whole, let alone trying to build a social media presence at the same time.
Social media burns people out (both as a creator and as a consumer).
It’s important to recognize that this is web2 social media; a system that was built by free content, for free content, so that megacorporations can monetize attention via advertising revenue.
No wonder people burn out.
Enter web3: decentralized social media (DeSo).
Web3 fixes all of the issues with web2 social media (though responsible use is of course still required).
Farcaster is the latest and, in my opinion, best decentralized social media I’ve seen so far. Think of it like the email equivalent of social media.
It’s incredibly satisfying to feel that what I am building here on Farcaster is perhaps the last time I will ever need to build on a social network
Think about that. A single social media identity for all platforms. All of my posts, followers, and following come with me from platform to platform.
Even better, Farcaster has enabled Frames, a feature that lets uses share outbound links and monetize in-app on warpcast (the main platform built on Farcaster so far).
Amazon leveraged its 1-click checkout patent to earn $50+ billion over the years. This feature is now built into the farcaster protocol as a basic primitive (core building block).
If any of this sounds interesting, I recommend reading the full entry; this one’s a bit hard for me to try and shorten given all of the new concepts.
Concepts:
- Problems with web2 centralized social media
- Solutions of web3 decentralized social media
- Introduction to Farcaster (a protocol, like e-mail)
- Introduction to Frames (outbound link posts)
#35: Why We Need A Cryptographic Internet 🔐🌐
Crypto Biden 🤖 & Sora OpenAI Video Generator 🍿
(February 18, 2024)
OpenAI announced their generative video platform Sora at almost the same time that the White House announced they are looking to “cryptographically verify communications from the White House”.
It makes sense. Generative AI has introduced deepfakes into the world at a scale we’ve never seen before. Sora is going to take that to an entirely new level.
The way we have been operating online is about to break. The Internet itself is about to break.
That is, unless we can find a way to introduce proper verification of identity and content online.
There is a way. It’s blockchain.
People often say that “blockchain is a solution in search of a problem”.
Those people are wrong.
There are many problems with the way we deal with data right now, they just haven’t done their research.
If we can’t trust whether what we are seeing online is actually coming from the government, how are we to maintain peace in society?
If anyone can steal anything digital at any time, how are we to maintain property rights?
Deepfakes are what got me interested in blockchain in 2018 when I was studying solutions to fake news in law school.
I recommend doing your own research here, it’s about to become far more important that you know how to.
Concepts:
- Deepfakes and generative AI
- Bombing of the Pentagon
- Introduction to cryptography
- Cryptographic identity verification via web3
#36: Building The Social Fabric Of The Creator Economy 🟣
Cal’s Creator Economy Check-In
(February 25, 2024)
I realize that a lot of these topics are a bit abstract. AI, blockchain, social media, web3, digital identity, creator economy, etc.
There are a lot of shifting pieces of this puzzle, making it hard to see what the bigger picture is.
To help, I thought it would be useful for you to step into my shoes for a bit and see what the creator economy looks like for a creator/knowledge worker in February 2024.
I hope that my story helps you understand more of the practical benefits of levelling up your understanding of the Internet as we move towards a web3 world.
I hope that seeing the web3 solutions to web2 problems helps you to see blockchain in a different light.
It’s not something abstract that only technical people should care about.
It’s something that makes the Internet more concrete and helps fix a lot of the problems the megacorporations have created.
To understand this system, I go into the history of Farcaster and why it was originally called RSS+.
Concepts:
- Creator burnout
- Low/no feedback online
- No payment rails in centralized social media
- Low network effects for smaller creators
- RSS + decentralized social graphs
- Blockchain and instantaneous revenue sharing
Future-Proofing & Looking Ahead (predictions)
I think we are, for the first time, seeing a true shift in the way people perceive value online.
This shift is essential in a world that is moving ever-closer to a true Age of AI.
I recognize that this shift will take time. It’s hard to move the masses into action.
But, and this is huge, by starting now, you will be 5-10 years ahead of other people.
We do not need to operate on the Internet we inherited from the megacorporations who put walls around freedom.
We can work to build something better.
Together 🤝
Are you ready?
Next week
I have been recalibrating quite a lot lately. Farcaster introduced a paradigm shift that I had theorized about for years, but never before had a chance to implement.
It’s incredibly exciting to me to be building there.
I will keep you posted as I sort out my full system more 🫡
In the meantime, feel free to leave any questions here or in the /cal channel on farcaster.
I think that this system offers the potential for any person to monetize whatever skillset they have, in a sustainable way that augments their lives, rather than burns them out.
I also think that this system will pair quite nicely with personal AI assistants as generative AI models improve more and more over the coming months.
I hope to help you prepare for these shifts, to recalibrate your perception of reality, so that you can face the unknown with confidence ⛰️
Stay tuned ✨
P.S. If you are interested in learning how I build my digital mind (second brain) to help me process information and identify patterns to solve my problems, please consider upgrading your subscription to paid. Your support means more than you know 😌 ✨
Paid subscribers get full access to Worldbuilding, a practical counterpoint to the theories described in Recalibrating. You also get access to a private chat and bonus explanations exclusive to paying members 👀
If you are not interested in a paid subscription but would like to show your support, please consider buying me a coffee to help keep my energy levels up as I write more ☕️ 📝
Book of the week: Read Write Own by Chris Dixon
I’m about 1/2 done this book and have to say that it is one of the best books I have ever read on the topic of emerging technologies and the attention economy. If you’re interested in any aspect of today’s newsletter, I highly recommend checking out this book.
Photo of the week: Camp 335
