At the heart of the Autonomi's philosophy is the conviction that computers, and the networks that connect them, exist to serve human needs. The value of software should be based on its usefulness to people, not on its ability to harvest personal data.
The Internet revolutionised software distribution and gifted us global hyper-connectivity, but the data mining ad-based business models that underpin today's web have warped our interactions with technology and distorted our relationships with one another. Tracking, surveillance, and behaviour manipulation, all in the name of ROI. A compromised and very different vision from the one that birthed the web.
It's time for a fresh blueprint for funding apps, building networks, and sustainably financing open software development. A blueprint that emphasises real-world utility, respects privacy and advocates for interoperability, autonomy, and open standards. One where apps, services, and protocols are collectively funded and rewarded by the network itself. An approach which asserts that invaluable software ought to be backed and consistently funded by the Network's inherent resources, rather than relying on fleeting benevolence, predatory capital or a privacy bait-and-switch.
Network Royalties are a mechanism through which software development, services, and data which provide value to people who use the Network, benefit wider society, and meet the objectives of the project, can be meaningfully rewarded and sustainably funded.