There is a somewhat cliché saying in the AI circle: 'Those who make models are not as good as those who sell computing power, and those who sell computing power are not as good as those who create platforms.' The meaning is roughly that the further upstream you go, the more stable money you can earn. However, in the on-chain world, this pyramid structure has begun to deform a bit. Protocols like KITE are essentially telling everyone: rather than being entangled in which layer you stand on, why not first ask—have you treated the 'entire network' as a long-term asset?
In the traditional SaaS model, models are encapsulated as service interfaces, and users pay based on the number of calls made, and then there is nothing more. No matter how much or how long you use it, you have almost no say in the future direction of the entire system. KITE aims to break this pattern of 'only collecting rent, not sharing profits': it allows everyone involved in training, providing computing power, contributing data, and developing applications to have the opportunity to share in the profits through tokens as the network's value increases. You are no longer just a buyer or seller of services, but in a sense, a 'network shareholder.' This may sound a bit idealistic, but if you stretch out the time frame, you will find that its impact on the participation mindset is very practical.
Those who only want to make quick money in the short term will tend to prefer 'one-time transaction' types of cooperation: complete a few tasks, grab some subsidies, and quickly cash out; while those who are willing to tie their own fate to the network are more motivated to maintain the health of the entire system—such as actively reporting garbage data, optimizing model performance, helping newcomers onboard, participating in governance proposals, etc. These actions are hardly valued on traditional platforms, but under protocols like KITE, they have the opportunity to be recorded and reflected in future settlements.
Of course, treating the network as an asset does not mean that you can ignore price fluctuations. On the contrary, you will be more sensitive to observe: whether the phase-based rise and fall of tokens is being driven by external emotions or actually corresponds to some fundamental changes? For example, have any large applications recently launched? Have any important collaborations been reached? Has there been a critical technology upgrade? Is there a significant change in node participation and dataset scale? If these things do not align, you should be cautious about whether you are being misled by short-term noise.
From this perspective, KITE is actually forcing participants to upgrade their 'reading ability': not only do they need to be able to read K-line charts, but they also need to understand internet usage metrics; not only do they need to listen to stories, but they also need to compare them with on-chain behaviors; not only do they need to chase news headlines, but they also need to spend some effort understanding the underlying technology and business logic. This can indeed feel somewhat counterintuitive for those accustomed to 'scrolling through information feeds and deciding based on a few pictures.' Conversely, the reason that most people are unwilling to do this tedious work is precisely why those who are willing are more likely to hold truly valuable assets at the right times.
To be realistic, in any popular track, 99% of the so-called 'AI concept coins' will ultimately be eliminated by time; only a very small number of teams that treat the internet as a long-term project will survive. What KITE aims for is clearly this 1% position. It is no longer satisfied with merely being a 'model-as-a-service' intermediary but has taken a step towards 'internet-as-an-asset'—whether this step will stumble still needs time to verify, but at least the direction is not absurd. So, when you prepare to act impulsively during a market surge or crash next time, consider leaving yourself a small step: take a look at what has recently happened at the 'network level' with protocols like KITE before deciding whether to act so quickly.
This action itself is training you to shift from 'focusing on prices' to 'reading the internet.' Over time, you may find that many previously agonizing questions can actually be simplified by asking 'Is this contributing to the long-term increase in internet value?' This slightly self-reflective thought should also be tucked behind that string of on-chain labels, leaving a reminder for your future self not to be led by short-term noise.
