Why data is the new oil — and how Sapien AI is turning every student, driver, and note-taker into a data supplier for AI’s future.

In this episode of the Web3 with Sam Kamani podcast, I sat down with Ben Noble, Marketing Director at Sapien AI, to explore the intersection of AI, Web3, and the emerging data gig economy. Ben’s background spans AI, blockchain, and communications—he's one of the first publicists in Web3, with past clients including Solana, Synthetix, and Binance. Today, he’s helping Sapien reshape how the AI ecosystem sources high-quality, human-verified data.

What is Sapien?

Sapien AI is building the first decentralized data foundry—a permissionless protocol that connects enterprise AI models with real human expertise for training and fine-tuning. Think of it as a gamified network where contributors perform small tasks like data labeling, image annotation, and diagnostics in exchange for rewards (points, USDC, and eventually crypto). This isn't your average survey site. Sapien is already working with organizations as large as Alibaba, the United Nations, and unnamed autonomous vehicle companies.

By leveraging blockchain, Sapien adds transparency and reputation-building to the data sourcing process—something Ben argues is missing in the current centralized AI training model. Already, the platform has over 500,000 contributors, with plans to double that number soon.

Why This Matters

AI is improving rapidly, but it’s bottlenecked by the same three limitations: data, compute, and energy. Sapien is solving for data.

Most large language models have already scraped the public internet. What’s left is the vast, untapped ocean of private and domain-specific data: handwritten notes, diagnostics, regional insights, real-world imagery, and niche tasks that AIs still struggle with (e.g. interpreting messy handwriting or detecting obstructions in car brake pads). Sapien provides a marketplace for that exact kind of data.

This approach doesn’t just help AI models perform better—it also decentralizes the opportunity. As Ben put it, “If you have a phone and an internet connection, you can become a data contributor.”

Why Web3?

Sapien isn’t just Web3-flavored AI—it’s a thoughtful integration. Using blockchain infrastructure, they:

• Track contributions and reputation transparently
• Incentivize participation with crypto rewards
• Protect data provenance and ensure ethical sourcing

The Web3 layer provides a programmable and auditable way to reward contributors. It also lays the groundwork for resolving issues of ownership and compensation in a world where AI is being trained on your data, often without your knowledge or consent.

Ben compared Sapien's vision to the transition from Napster to Spotify—moving from chaotic, uncontrolled data scraping to a model where creators and contributors are properly rewarded.

Marketing in Web3 vs Web2

One of the most insightful segments of the conversation was Ben’s take on the unique challenges of marketing in Web3 and AI. According to him, traditional marketers struggle because:

• The Web3 audience sees through corporate polish—authenticity wins.
• Speed matters more than perfection. “Move fast and break things” still applies.
• Storytelling must be simplified and emotionally resonant—“If you can’t explain it to a 5-year-old, you don’t understand it well enough.”

Ben also shared a fun anecdote: he was in the room when the term Web3 was coined during a brainstorming session for Solana. While the phrase didn’t make the press release at the time, it stuck—and the rest is history.

The Road Ahead

Sapien is preparing for major growth:

• They're on track to onboard over 1 million contributors
• They’re actively closing new enterprise contracts across industries
• And yes, they’re nearing the end of their Series A raise

For users, it’s as simple as visiting game.sapien.io, logging in with your email, and completing your first task. Whether you’re uploading handwritten notes, identifying objects in images, or offering domain-specific insights, you’re helping train the next generation of AI—and getting paid to do it.

Final Takeaway

The AI boom is just beginning. But the true differentiator won’t be who has the biggest model—it’ll be who has the best data. Sapien is betting that by giving individuals the power to contribute directly to that data layer (and rewarding them for it), they can build a fairer, faster, and more decentralized path to AGI.

Whether you're a founder, marketer, or someone looking to understand the AI-Web3 nexus, this episode is packed with actionable insights—and a vision of the future you won’t want to miss.

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