even if the currency is computing resources that you have put into the network before (same is true for bittorrent at scale, but most usage of bittorrent is medium/high latency - which makes the market for low-latency responses not critical in that case)
This already exists, it’s corporations. BitTorrent is free, while AWS S3 - or Netflix ;) - is paid.
OpenAI has a pay to use API while this petals.ml “service” is free.
Corporate interests and capitalism fill the paid-for resource opportunities well. I want individuals on the internet to be altruistic and share things because it’s cool not because they’re getting paid.
I don't see the Netflix model working here, unless they can't somehow own the content rights at least partially. Or, as it happens right now with the likes of OpenAI and Midjourney, they sustain a very obvious long term technical advantage. But long term, it's not clear to me it will be sustainable. Time will tell.
I love this "bittorent" style swarms compared to the crypto-phase where everything was pay-to-play. People just sharing resources for the community is what the Internet needs more of.