I. Introduction
The permaweb is made up of interconnected protocols, data streams, and user bases that all leverage Arweave for permanent data storage. The Arweave protocol was invented with a clear utility in mind: to store the world’s digital information for as long as possible. The layers that have emerged on top of Arweave, including AO , AR.IO and more, expand that vision of permanence into a new type of web.
With Arweave proven, AR.IO on mainnet, and AO’s HyperBEAM reaching full release, the permaweb is reaching a stage of maturity. An ecosystem originally built around pure utilitarianism is now on the brink of a new era, one marked by disruption, innovation, and creative experimentation.
I argue we are entering the era of Permaweb Romanticism.
This began as a stream-of-consciousness journal entry, and the views are entirely my own.
II. What is the Permaweb?
The permaweb is not a website, an app, or even a single platform. It is a permanent and decentralized web, built on top of Arweave. The original vision for the web was to create a universal, accessible repository of human knowledge. But it has a fatal flaw: it lacks permanence. When someone deletes a post, takes down a site, or abandons a project, it disappears from the collective memory. The web, for all its reach, forgets.
Arweave addresses this with built-in permanence. AO adds scalable compute, enabling not just documents but full web applications to run forever. Once deployed, a permaweb application is immutable and permissionless. It continues to exist whether anyone is watching or not. AR.IO builds on this stack, creating cloud-like systems for indexing and delivering data through readable formats, gateways, and decentralized domain systems.
The foundation has been laid for a composable, permanent web.
III. Objectivism vs. Romanticism
When working in tech, most people are not thinking in sociological or philosophical terms. We just build. But underneath every ecosystem are cultural forces and mental models, whether we recognize them or not. This is my attempt to explore two of them.
Arweave and the protocols that make up the permaweb were built with clear, rational purposes. Arweave, in particular, was designed to store humanity’s digital knowledge permanently, an elegant and utilitarian goal.
Objectivism as a driving force for protocol design
Objectivism is a philosophical system centered on the belief that objective reality exists independent of consciousness, and that human beings can access truth through reason. Objectivists hold that the highest moral purpose is to pursue one’s own happiness through productive achievement.
Objectivism values clarity, purpose, and truth through logic. Its principles manifest in systems designed to be resilient and efficient. Arweave fits this mold. Its architecture, including the sustainable storage endowment and proof of random access consensus, is designed to persist data for at least 200 years, even under conservative estimates. The Principles of the Arweave network reinforce this clarity of purpose:
- Permanently secure the world’s knowledge.
- Ensure the right to speech in cyberspace.
- Guarantee the right to listen.
These principles support individual rights while minimizing emotional or arbitrary constraints. But systems alone do not necessarily create culture. Or if they do, the messaging can come across a bit pedantic.
The permaweb needs more romantics
I argue that the killer app of the permaweb will not emerge purely from logic. It will likely come from someone who builds with an emotional driving force, someone who moves beyond the expected rational path.
Romanticism, as a cultural and philosophical movement, emerged in the 18th and 19th centuries in reaction to Enlightenment rationalism and the Industrial Revolution. It championed the individual experience and emotional truth, something that often transcends reason.
In tech, Romanticism reminds us that some things are worth building not because they are scalable or efficient, but because they move us. This view contradicts the Objectivist perspective. Of course, we want scalable and efficient infrastructure, but on the application layer, we must not forget the human element that brings people together and forms culture.
The technologist and writer Kevin Kelly comes to mind as a true tech romantic. He writes with optimism and wonder about the information age and the emerging future. Permaweb Romanticism draws from this tradition, not to reject rationalism, but to restore emotional depth, creativity, and meaning to the tools we have built.
In a world where technologists are trying their hardest to optimize, monetize, and minimize the human experience, let us not forget the human spirit.
“Beauty will save the world.” -Fyodor Dostoevsky
IV. Why now?
The protocols are here. Arweave is proven. AR.IO is on mainnet. HyperBEAM is entering a stable phase. The stack is maturing.
Infrastructure alone doesn’t bring end users. HTTP doesn’t excite the masses. Culture, narrative, and expression define what becomes possible on top of protocols. I understand this might contradict the notion “build protocols, not platforms,” but someone has to build something beautiful that actually uses the protocols. Otherwise, what’s the point?
And the next use case for the permaweb will not look like what came before. Early TV copied radio. Early websites mimicked newspapers. But over time, new formats emerged. We are in the age of AI and increasingly integrated wearable tech. The mediums are changing. The use cases will evolve far beyond our imaginations.
It will take someone who thinks differently. Someone with a wild idea and a deep instinct, someone willing to brush aside preconceived notions of what works to create something truly new.
A Permaweb Romantic.
V. Pillars of Permaweb Romanticism
Permaweb Romanticism is rooted in a few guiding ideas that reframe how we might think about building and publishing on decentralized infrastructure:
- Human-centered technology: Build systems that do not just optimize for optimization’s sake, but prioritize memory, emotion, and creative freedom. Modularity and composability invite unbounded experimentation.
- The right to remember and create: Once published, no one can erase your work. This permanence empowers individuals, not just developers, but artists, writers, and everyday people, to leave lasting digital traces without needing permission.
- Expression over optimization: The early internet was chaotic, weird, and expressive. Today’s digital monoculture favors minimalism and productivity. The permaweb invites a return to color, contradiction, and individuality.
- Support tools for the individual: Provide mechanisms like fair launch tokens, transparent transactions, and decentralized finance primitives that allow creators to monetize their work without relying on centralized gatekeepers.
Together, these ideas point toward a more emotionally honest, culturally rich, and personally empowering internet.
VI. Conclusion
This essay began as a stream-of-consciousness reflection on how I see tech and the permaweb evolving. It’s not a rulebook. It is just one perspective from someone building in the ecosystem. There will be many others, and they are just as necessary.
It is easy to get lost in the code, caught in echo chambers, or overwhelmed by market cycles. Sometimes you need to pause and ask: Why am I building this? Who am I building it for?
If you made it this far, thank you. I hope something here resonated.
We need more romantics in tech.
Original post: https://x.com/afmedia_/status/1926052684378906748