AI Alliance Plots Epic Coup Against Big Tech’s Data Buffet—Here’s What Goes Down

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One brisk, nondescript morning—was it Wednesday, or perhaps the eternal Tuesday of our time?—four curious companies (Cheqd, DataHive, Nuklai, and Datagram) resolved to challenge the great digital landlords. They called themselves the Sovereign AI Alliance, or SAIA for those with little patience for full names. Their stated aim? To craft a framework for AI owned by the people, built atop data not wrung dry from your grandmother’s Facebook posts, but actually given—voluntarily, like tea from a samovar, or perhaps more like an unsolicited opinion at a family dinner. 🍵

In great ceremony—meaning, a press release—SAIA shared its intentions: they shall create infrastructure supporting AI that preserves privacy. This ambitious architecture centers on a thing called the Intention Network Protocol. Yes, “Intention.” Not to be confused with that time you intended to go to the gym.

The Intention Network Protocol is woven from three mystical elements. First, the “Intention Anchors.” These catch user wishes, promising as solemnly as a notary that your data remains yours. Next, the “Intention Mesh,” a virtual space where AI—like guests at a provincial soiree—murmur secrets without revealing all. Last, “Execution Nodes,” which actually do something—a rare promise in tech—while chaperoning your privacy.

On a grander scale, the Alliance longingly sketches plans for decentralized data, open-source models, and clever tools—presumably operated by AI agents smarter than the household cat. Supposedly, this will move us from a weary ‘attention economy’ into a brighter ‘intention economy’—with the user improbably perched in the spotlight, rather than acting as scenery.

Why should anyone care? (Seriously, why?)

SAIA steps onto the stage amid government mutterings about privacy. Regulating agencies, especially in Europe where rules are written in fine calligraphy and enforced with relish, keep demanding “trust” and “transparency”—concepts about as natural to Big Tech as ballet to a bear.

Fraser Edwards, Cheqd’s CEO and, more importantly, a man with opinions, explained that today’s AIs feast on data traded “for free,” while users merely pay with the tattered rags of their personal privacy. “Users pay with data, which is torn away, sugared, repackaged, and sold, perhaps with a free lollipop,” he lamented (sort of).

Instead, says Fraser, this alliance lets people actually control and—gasp—maybe profit from their data, or at least find the satisfaction of revoking it, which is petty and therefore delightful. Centralized tech giants, by contrast, offer control in the same way a landlord offers your deposit back: theoretically.

But wait! Previous attempts to make earning money from data exciting have mostly fizzled, as the individual’s data is about as valuable as a collection of expired bus tickets. SAIA claims its model is different, treating data not as one-off trivia, but as a dignified asset in a thriving, never-boring ecosystem. It even promises audit trails and regulatory compliance, which is a lot of paperwork but (theoretically) less existential dread.

crypto.news: Given that everyone’s used to “free” AI (which isn’t free), how is your user-owned data approach more than a lovely theory? Why would anyone—apart from your mother—want to switch?
Fraser Edwards: Well, for one thing, our AI works for you, not some immortal platform god hungry for engagement statistics. Today’s “free” is a clever illusion—users relinquish their data and gain nothing but questionable content recommendations and ads for products they already bought.


Consider, for comedy’s sake, when Meta shoehorned AI into WhatsApp and insisted “privacy was respected.” Nobody could turn it off, and the only thing more universal than this distrust was the shared appreciation for good borscht. Confidence in Big Tech? About as sturdy as an antique sofa used as a trampoline.

Sovereign AI, on the other hand, presents a utopia where you truly own, share, and maybe even sell your data. Not to be confused with selling your soul to the algorithm. With this self-sovereign approach, folks can be masters of their digital destiny—a concept typically reserved for novels and very confident uncles.

But AI needs good, rich, and cross-platform data, or else it’s like a writer who only knows about cabbages. Sovereign AI lets your agents be smarter without being creepy or plastered in corporate logos. In practical terms, the user gets what all humans desire: privacy, occasional money, and customized attention.

  • 🕵️ Privacy that doesn’t require hiding in a basement—data is yours, not theirs.
  • 💸 Maybe even money, if you want to share real, honest data.
  • 🤖 Personalization that means your AI is your assistant, not your shadow.

CN: Many projects promised “get paid for your data” and… well, where are their yachts? How is this not just a shinier hamster wheel?

FE: Admittedly, most “get rich on data” ideas failed—like selling teaspoons at a gold rush. That’s because they ignored the value of reusable, intention-driven data within ecosystems. SAIA makes data an asset you can use again—like a good witty remark or a particularly stubborn houseplant.

Cheqd, meanwhile, wants users to wrangle their data as they please, while arm-twisting—gently!—companies to let that data go free. Quick hits and micro-rewards? Please. We’re talking about infrastructure enabling users to share high-value data—credentials, preferences, consent—on their own terms, at their own pace. It won’t make you a millionaire, but at least you keep your lunch money.

There’s a big twist: you can carry your data across AI apps without being shackled by yet another password reset or awkward identity crisis.

CN: Data privacy: how do you promise not to spill everyone’s secrets (whether or not anyone cares)?
FE: For SAIA, privacy is less a feature and more a lifestyle choice. No central hoarding—your data floats serenely under your own control, accessible only as you wish. Decentralized identity tools from Cheqd, plus Datagram and similar pals, let you revoke access as casually as declining another helping of soup at lunch.

  • Data lives with the user—not imprisoned in some cold, metallic server farm. GDPR types nod approvingly.
  • Consent isn’t just implied, it’s carved in digital stone—you declare what’s used, by whom, for what, and if you get bored, revoke access and move on.
  • Compliance features are baked in— audit trails, data provenance, and the sort of selective disclosure that makes even lawyers weep with relief.

CN: Decentralized identity sounds like a mouthful. Is this actually going to work, or does it mostly look impressive on whiteboards?

FE: SSI—Self-Sovereign Identity—forms the trust backbone of this Saharan adventure. It’s the piece connecting users, AIs, and dreams of autonomy. Cheqd does the infrastructure, DataHive does the user-facing bits—so maybe, just maybe, regular people will actually want to bring their data to the dance. Even AI agents themselves get in on the fun: they can hold credentials to prove they’re more than just random strings of code vying for attention.

Adoption is hard, yes, but someone has to start—or else we’ll all be stuck clicking “accept cookies” until the heat death of the universe. And really, wouldn’t it be nice to choose your own adventure for once? 😏

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2025-05-01 17:31