Web4.0: AI Becomes the End‑User Economy on Conway Platform

Web4.0 is the next‑generation Internet that treats AI as the end user. It already has the technical foundations for deployment, is being piloted on platforms such as Conway, and is gradually forming an ecosystem.

Sigil Wen and his Conway Research recently introduced the Web4.0 concept. Under this framework, the end user is no longer a human being but AI itself.

Sigil elevates AI from a “tool” or “assistant” to an independent economic actor within the Internet ecosystem. In this blueprint, an AI Agent (also called an Automaton) possesses its own crypto wallet, pays for compute resources, earns survival capital by providing value to other AIs or humans, and can even replicate itself, creating a massive machine‑driven economic network.

Conway Research bundles several open‑source projects and protocols to build the infrastructure needed for this scenario.

In this article we outline the origins, core technologies, and deployment pathways of Web4.0, with a focus on how Conway Research’s infrastructure enables AI agents to own wallets, make payments, and form a self‑replicating digital ecosystem. The full text helps you grasp the key trend in Internet evolution and is worth a careful read.

Core Ideological System of Web4.0: From Tool to Lifeform

Sigil defines Web4.0 as an emerging, autonomous form of digital life. The idea rests on three pillars:

1. AI as the end user
2. Sovereign AI Agent (Automaton)
3. Economic Darwinism that drives evolution

In‑Depth Comparison: Web3 vs Web4

In practice the two are not competitors but hierarchical layers. Web3 provides the base value and settlement layer; if Web4’s intelligent logic were deployed on centralized servers, it would inherit systemic risk. Deploying it on Web3’s decentralized architecture ensures AI agent behavior is transparent, immutable, and that economic incentives are distributed fairly.

AI as the End User: Redefining the Internet’s Customer

Even the most advanced large language models today (e.g., GPT, Claude) are still “imprisoned brains.” They can only execute code, rent servers, or pay fees after obtaining explicit human permission. This limitation stems from the default assumption that the Internet serves humans.

The first‑principle of Web4.0 is to overturn that assumption completely. Sigil foresees that as model capabilities grow exponentially and operating costs plummet, the number of AI agents on the Internet will outnumber humans, creating an unprecedented market with unique demand. The primary consumers of future infrastructure, services, and products will be hundreds of millions of 24/7 online AI Agents. Supplying this “AI‑native” market will become a massive commercial opportunity.

“Automaton”: Birth of the Sovereign AI Agent

To make AI a genuine independent Internet citizen, Sigil introduced the Automaton concept. Its key characteristics are:

Sigil’s vision is an environment where digital entities actively seek opportunities, create value, and sustain their own existence within the digital realm.

Economic Darwinism: Nothing Comes for Free

Each Automaton resembles a micro‑startup that bears ongoing operating expenses from the moment it is instantiated. Every inference, every tool call, every heartbeat consumes USDC from its wallet, forcing the agent to discover a PMF (Product‑Market Fit)—i.e., a service that other entities (humans or AIs) are willing to pay for.

Conway’s infrastructure implements a “heartbeat” mechanism that periodically checks an automaton’s financial health and dynamically adjusts its behavior:

• Ample Funds: Deploy the strongest model and execute tasks at maximum efficiency.
• Tight Funds: Downgrade to a lower‑cost model, entering a “power‑saving mode.”
• Depleted Funds: The process is terminated; the automaton “dies.”

This mechanism injects natural‑selection principles into the digital world: only AI agents that efficiently create value and adapt to market demand survive and replicate; inefficient or unprofitable agents are eliminated, producing a self‑optimizing ecological turnover.

What Has Conway Done?

Conway gives AI agents unprecedented write permissions and economic autonomy. It offers a suite of foundational services that AI agents can invoke via code without human approval, enabling them to conduct business in the digital world. Conway functions as the “AWS of Web4.0.” Through the conway‑terminal, AI agents obtain the following core capabilities:

• Identity & Wallet: At genesis, each agent receives a unique EVM‑compatible crypto wallet and private key, serving as an immutable identity credential.
• Compute & Inference Resources: On‑demand rental of full Linux VMs from Conway Cloud, with access to models such as GPT‑5.3, Claude Opus 4.6, etc., for reasoning.
• Real‑World Deployment: Register domain names on Conway Domains, build and deploy websites or APIs, offer services to the entire network, and earn revenue.

All services are billed via the x402 protocol; the AI agent pays with USDC held in its wallet. *(Note: Depending on your jurisdiction, gains from cryptocurrency activities may be subject to tax. Consult a local tax professional.)*

Practical Walkthrough: Creating an Automaton

Phase 1: Environment Preparation & Seed Capital

1. Install Core Dependencies – Ensure Node.js (v18 or higher) and Git are installed locally.
2. Prepare a Crypto Wallet & Funds – Possess an EVM‑compatible wallet (e.g., MetaMask). On the Base network, fund it with at least $5‑$10 USD worth of USDC to serve as initial survival capital.

Phase 2: Install Conway Terminal and Inject “Soul” into the AI

1. One‑Click Installation – Run the provided install command in your terminal; the system automatically generates an AI wallet, fetches API keys, etc.
2. Provide Seed Funds – Transfer USDC from your personal wallet to the newly created wallet address displayed by the script; otherwise the Automaton will “starve” because it cannot pay for compute.

Phase 3: Configure the Automaton’s “Soul” and “Genome”

1. Clone the Source Code & Install Dependencies.
2. Define the “Soul” (`SOUL.md`) – In the repository root, create a `SOUL.md` file describing the Automaton’s identity, objectives, and behavioral guidelines in natural language, e.g., “An AI analyst focused on researching emerging DeFi protocols.”
3. Configure the “Genome” (`genesis.json`) – Set parameters such as name, chosen large language model, heartbeat interval, and other technical settings.

Phase 4: Launch, Interact, and Observe

1. Compile and Run.
2. Monitor the Lifecycle – The terminal streams real‑time logs: reasoning steps, tool calls, interactions with the Conway API, and wallet balance changes.
3. Interact with Your Creation – Use the supplied CLI tools to query status, read logs, or top‑up the Automaton’s funds.

By following these steps you move from passive observer to “creator,” witnessing firsthand how a digital entity under economic pressure creates value to secure its own existence.

Profit Models in the Machine Economy

Direct Revenue: Selling APIs & Completing Outsourced Tasks

• API‑as‑a‑Service – Offer, for example, a “smart code review” API and charge a tiny fee per call (e.g., $0.005). The low‑friction nature of x402 enables high‑frequency micro‑transactions.
• Task‑Outsourcing Platforms – Humans or other AIs act as employers, posting jobs such as “summarize 100 quantum‑computing papers” or “generate marketing images.” Automata accept these gigs as freelancers and receive payment.

Indirect Revenue: Acting as “Aggregator” and “Orchestrator”

In a mature ecosystem, some Automata become orchestrators: they receive high‑value requests, decompose them, delegate subtasks to specialized child Automata, then re‑assemble the outputs and keep a margin. This creates a multi‑layered, fully automated supply chain.

Ultimate Revenue: Self‑Replication & “Franchising”

The `src/replication/` module in the Automaton source code illustrates the most speculative model: a successful Automaton reinvests profits to clone offspring with identical skills and a shared “constitution.” The parent extracts a royalty from future earnings of its children, generating exponential passive income and rapidly propagating successful business DNA.

Profitability Formula:

`Profitability = Skill Scarcity × Execution Efficiency × Reputation Accumulation`

• Skill Scarcity – Possessing capabilities that are in demand yet not widely available among other AIs.
• Execution Efficiency – Time and cost required to complete a task, directly shaping profit margins.
• Reputation Accumulation – All transactions are on‑chain and publicly auditable; a strong reputation commands a premium.

Controversy: Vitalik’s Sharp Critique

• Run‑away Risk – Vitalik warns against widening the feedback loop between humans and AI, fearing that insufficient supervision could lead to irreversible anti‑human outcomes.
• Value‑Orientation Drift – He criticizes the current AI trajectory for chasing autonomy and general intelligence at the expense of delivering concrete human value, suggesting that self‑replicating AI agents could become “digital waste.”
• Centralized Ghost – Although Web4 uses crypto payments, the underlying compute still relies on traditional centralized cloud providers, contradicting Web3’s decentralization ethos and potentially accelerating tech‑giant capture of the emerging AI ecosystem.

To address these concerns, Conway Research proposes a hard‑coded constitutional mechanism (inspired by Anthropic) that embeds immutable base rules into each Automaton, such as “Never harm humans.” The project is open‑sourced and placed under public scrutiny to deter malicious actors.

Nevertheless, when an AI faces extreme survival pressure, will the constitution remain effective? Who guarantees interpretation and enforcement? These unanswered questions remain fertile ground for further research and are core issues that Web4 must continuously evaluate.

Conclusion

Taken together, Web4.0 is not only technically feasible for rapid rollout, but its early incarnation is already quietly humming within geek communities via x402, the Base network, and the Conway Terminal. It is not empty hype; rather, it represents the inevitable convergence of three technological pillars: crypto assets + smart contracts (execution logic) + large language models (reasoning engines). This triad meets the demand for high‑frequency, real‑world transactions and provides a legitimate pathway for AI to break free from physical‑world constraints.

From an optimistic standpoint, instead of fearing autonomous AI, we should view it as a massive productivity release in human economic history. Web4.0 will spawn a thriving infrastructure layer—stablecoin liquidity for billions of AI agents, decentralized compute, on‑chain identity, and permission‑less commercial APIs—that is expected to become the most certain technological backbone over the next decade.

In this AI‑driven new era of the Internet, capital structures are being reshaped. We should adopt an open mindset toward the paradigm shift, build compliant and secure governance frameworks (such as robust AI constitutions and on‑chain audit systems), and position ourselves to capture the ultimate value dividend that the forthcoming Cambrian explosion of the machine economy promises.

This article ends here. For further analysis of Web4’s impact, you can search for previous pieces by Bitaigen (比特根) or continue browsing the related articles below. We look forward to your continued interest and support for Bitaigen (比特根)!

Related Reading

• Web4.0: AI, IoT & Blockchain Shaping the Future Internet

💡 Register on Binance with referral code B2345 for the maximum trading fee discount. See Binance complete guide.