According to Joe Lubin, the future of AI is about building a User-Owned Human-AI Collective in which people and machines work together as a single system. Lubin explained that this User-Owned Human-AI Collective should give individuals more power, not less.
Humans and AI
Joe Lubin anticipates the emergence of a hybrid relationship between machine and human intelligence. According to Lubin, humans and AI will create a hybrid organism. In this future, powerful AI systems, known as foundational models, will help people make sense of the world in real time. These systems could track trends, explain events, and provide insights. However, Lubin says technology only works when companies treat humans as partners, not free data sources.
Joe Lubin: AI Should Not Devour Human Data for Free
In an interview on the Green Pill Podcast, Consensys founder Joe Lubin envisions a future where humans and machine intelligence merge into a “collective hybrid organism.” He argues against Big Tech owning our user interfaces,… pic.twitter.com/gS0KShqe1I
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) January 15, 2026
Why AI Should Pay for Human Data
Lubin believes AI systems should not use human data for free. Today, big tech companies collect user data without compensating users, then monetize it. With a user-owned human-AI collective, humans would share real-time information with AI systems. This could include social feeds, conversations, and sensor data. Users would receive tokens or other rewards in return.
Owning Your Digital Twin
Personal control of user interfaces is one of Lubin’s most important ideas. In his opinion, big techs have no right to have the means by which people connect to AI. Instead, each person would own their own digital twin. This digital twin would act as a personal controller, filtering data, protecting privacy, and deciding what gets shared. Users could buy, customize, and control the technology. This setup helps prevent misuse and protects people from mass manipulation.
Joe Lubin just dropped a massive prediction for 2026. 🤯
He believes Ethereum and MetaMask technology are about to rewire the global payment system through a major partnership with Swift.
He also predicts equities will make a full transition to blockchain which changes the… pic.twitter.com/h2jKYE247O
— Jungle Inc Crypto News (@jungleincxrp) January 4, 2026
Lubin further describes how user-run systems could clean and anonymize high-quality data, then send it to AI models. It keeps people safe while still providing useful information. The outcome is a user-owned human-AI collective that enables cooperation and compensates users. It also prevents AI from becoming a tool of control.
Conclusion
Joe Lubin’s vision of a user-owned human-AI collective challenges how AI works today. AI can ensure that people retain control over their digital twins by compensating users with data and protecting their privacy. This enables AI to become common intelligence for everyone, rather than the big tech corporations.