From ‘Snow Crash’ To Media 3.0 At Hack Seasons Singapore: How Web3, Decentralization, And AI Are Shaping The Next Era Of Creativity
In Brief
At the Hack Seasons Conference in Singapore, Joe Lubin and Neal Stephenson explored how blockchain, Web3, and AI are transforming media, creativity, and user-driven content while unveiling Lamina1’s new interactive IP, “Artefact,” on Linea.
At the beginning of October, the Hack Seasons Conference in Singapore served as an international gathering for technologists, investors, and innovators to discuss the future of blockchain and Web3. A highlight of the event was the fireside chat titled “Joe Lubin and Neal Stephenson Present Media 3.0: Storytelling On-Chain.”
Moderated by Rebecca Barkin, Co-Founder and CEO of Lamina1, the session featured Joseph Lubin, Co-Founder of Ethereum and Founder and CEO of ConsenSys and author and Co-Founder of Lamina1 Neal Stephenson. The discussion focused on how blockchain technology is transforming media, creative expression, and the narratives that shape contemporary culture.
The discussion began with an overview of recent developments at Lamina1, an interactive media platform owned by both storytellers and fans. Lamina1 recently announced a partnership with ConsenSys’s Linea blockchain and plans to launch a new intellectual property (IP) project, “Artefact,” on the Linea network.
As IP increasingly spans multiple formats and is accelerated by AI, questions around ownership, control, and validation have become central. Neal Stephenson, whose writing has long explored the social and cultural implications of emerging technologies, highlighted current trends in AI as they relate to content creation. He noted that the AI industry is highly centralized, dominated by a few companies with the resources to train large models. This centralization creates a dependency on opaque systems, limiting transparency and accessibility. In the context of content production, some advocates of AI have suggested reducing the influence or compensation of creators, yet the author emphasized the potential for AI to be leveraged to benefit creators rather than diminish them.
Joe Lubin echoed concerns about the centralization of big tech and framed the development of the Web3 ecosystem as a response to these structures. He explained that for millennia, societies have operated under top-down command and control, where authorities and intermediaries manage ownership and privileges. While effective for building civilizations, such structures can disadvantage the majority of participants. In the realm of user-generated content, the existing model can be described as authority-generated. Joe Lubin highlighted that the advent of decentralized trust, first operationalized through blockchain by Satoshi Nakamoto, has created a foundation for a new model: a decentralized, user-driven civilization. This approach does not seek to dismantle existing companies but to enable a more distributed, community-oriented system. Lamina1’s integration with networks like Linea is intended to empower users, fostering a golden age of user-generated and community-valued content.
Joe Lubin further expressed a deep commitment to supporting the arts, music, and the broader creator economy through decentralization. He emphasized the importance of IP in enabling artists to sustain themselves independently. Traditional systems have often favored organizations with legal resources over creators themselves. By leveraging technology, IP constructs can become more granular, composable, and immediate, particularly in terms of copyright and licensing. This shift moves beyond scarcity-driven models and toward an era of abundance facilitated by automation, AI, and robotics. In such a system, creators can focus more on creativity and content generation, while community mechanisms can reward participation and contribution.
Exploring The Metaverse: Neal Stephenson And Joe Lubin Reflect On Digital Evolution
The discussion then turned to the origins of the term “metaverse,” often traced back to Neal Stephenson’s novel “Snow Crash,” and his reflections on how digital developments have unfolded since its publication. The author explained that the book was written in the late 1980s and early 1990s, a time when the internet existed but was largely unknown to the general public. When the novel was published, two major technological events occurred in the same year: the creation of the World Wide Web and the release of the game “Doom.” Both events played transformative roles in making computer graphics widely accessible. The web provided a platform for exchanging images, while “Doom” pushed the demand for more capable computers, expanding access to immersive digital experiences.
Neil Stephenson noted that the early era of the internet had a “hippie grad student” phase, marked by idealistic visions of universal access to information. This period was eventually followed by centralization and consolidation, exemplified by Web2 platforms. In his novel, parts of the metaverse are controlled by centralized companies, while others remain open and freely accessible. One of the most important, yet unforeseen, consequences has been the rise of social media algorithms that monitor user behavior and manipulate content to maximize engagement, with far-reaching societal effects that Neil Stephenson did not anticipate in the 1990s.
Joe Lubin observed that the dystopian elements described in the novel were never the primary focus for those developing new technologies or seeking venture capital. What stood out instead was the author’s vivid depiction of cyberspace, which provided a compelling vision for the capabilities of computing technologies as they began to mature.
The speakers shared perspectives on the potential of emerging technologies. Both emphasized the importance of harnessing the best aspects of these tools to benefit humanity and create positive social impact as digital innovation continues to advance.
Lamina1 Unveils ‘Artefact’ On Linea, Blending Storytelling And Fan Participation
The conversation shifted to Lamina1’s upcoming plans as the platform prepares to roll out its first original IP, “Artefact,” directly on the Linea blockchain. The project combines a story world with a system designed to encourage fan participation and engagement.
Neal Stephenson shared that the new IP evolved based on ideas he had previously explored during a talk in New Zealand. He noted the unusual situation in which large numbers of people are developing AI while others warning of its potential dangers. In nature, evolution occurs through competition, with no entity receiving special privilege without facing challenges. Neil Stephenson suggested that a similar competitive framework could be applied to AI, allowing systems to evolve by testing their capabilities against one another. He further considered a scenario in which a centralized, impersonal AI would exist in contrast with AI deployed in a distributed manner by communities of humans, who use the technology to benefit themselves and their communities. This concept served as the foundation for a collaborative world-building project – Lamina1 – enabling artists and game designers to begin constructing a game universe.
The panel concluded by providing attendees with a preview of the new IP, offering an early glimpse into the story world and its interactive features.
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About The Author
Alisa, a dedicated journalist at the MPost, specializes in cryptocurrency, zero-knowledge proofs, investments, and the expansive realm of Web3. With a keen eye for emerging trends and technologies, she delivers comprehensive coverage to inform and engage readers in the ever-evolving landscape of digital finance.
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Alisa, a dedicated journalist at the MPost, specializes in cryptocurrency, zero-knowledge proofs, investments, and the expansive realm of Web3. With a keen eye for emerging trends and technologies, she delivers comprehensive coverage to inform and engage readers in the ever-evolving landscape of digital finance.
