Mahojin - Unlocking AI Monetization for Builders

AI-generated creations have unlocked a world of new possibilities, bound only by our creativity. Imagine Bart Simpson in a Balenciaga magazine photoshoot – a concept once out of reach, now just a well-crafted prompt away from going viral. But with this surge in creativity comes significant challenges in intellectual property management.

The rise of AI molds the dilemma of how creators and data providers can be fairly compensated when their contributions fuel these innovations. Currently, AI model creators struggle to monetize their work because there’s no clear commercial framework that addresses copyright challenges. Platforms like Hugging Face and Civit.AI offer vast catalogs of models, but they lack clear attribution, IP authorization, or revenue share rails that Story provides to enable new monetization opportunities.

Meanwhile, AI companies train their models on millions of individual IP pieces, scraping the Internet at will instead of dealing with proper licensing processes. Mahojin is an AI platform built natively on Story, which enables IP rights owners, whose raw data is crucial in model creation, to set clear commercial terms for the inclusion and usage of their assets. In turn, AI model builders can feel empowered to experiment with new monetization paths, including licensing their fine-tuned models for specific IP or artists, with a solid compliant foundation. Without a way to protect and incentivize the constant influx of human-made IP that powers these models, innovation would come at a stand still.

Story solves these problems by enabling on-chain licensing, derivative tracking, and royalty sharing, giving Mahojin the infrastructure needed to incentivize and reward original content creators (photographers, artists, etc.) and IP owners, and invite creators to easily remix models or generated assets.

How does it work?

As users generate images on Mahojin powered by a set of AI models they picked, their payments are managed on-platform and automatically distributed to each contributor according to the agreed-upon licensing terms. Mahojin has built the platform covering end-to-end needs for creators and AI model builders, while leveraging Story as source of truth to track IP ownership, commercial terms, and revenue share distribution whenever applicable.

When an image is generated, the photographer whose 500 images were used to train or fine-tune a model will receive credit and compensation, just as the model creator will. This allows everyone who contributed to the model — the IP holders for raw data sets and any model creators — to be properly compensated for their work.

All of this will be transparent and traceable thanks to Story. Mahojin will leverage Story to track every step and register a complete IP graph. This IP graph will be a visual map that connects every interaction with a model end-to-end, beginning with the raw datasets that were used to create it, to every generation that is made with the resulting model. Story stores this data on-chain, providing an open, and neutral ledger of how a model is created and used over time.

Rewarding Data Providers

Before any AI model can get off the ground, a massive dataset of visual assets is needed to be compiled into a single checkpoint. A checkpoint is the resulting model of an assimilated dataset, used as the reference point for an AI generation. They are typically several gigabytes of data large, meaning a model creator requires a massive pool of usable raw data in order to make their model.

Mahojin gives content owners the ability to receive credit for any raw data they provide that is used in the creation of a model.

This is a critical step in addressing a real problem AI is facing today. These raw datasets are a critical ingredient in baking a model that people use, and without giving proper attribution to this content, AI models are stealing from the original IP holders of this content. The answer is not to ignore this problem, but to give these data providers a piece of the pie. It’s only fair — without their work, the creation of models wouldn’t even be possible.

Including and rewarding data providers in the flywheel of value capture with AI models is a mandatory step in creating a virtuous cycle, quelling one of the major criticisms of AI usage today.

Elevating Models

Mahojin’s platform will elevate models, giving a clear picture as to how a model was created and how it’s being used. Models registered on Mahojin become exponentially easier for other platforms and apps to integrate with due to the inherent copyright compliance and licensing clarity baked into the platform.

Removing the gray area that exists today with fair usage of AI models makes generative creations truly scalable, built on a foundation of transparent attribution.

Story’s purpose-built blockchain architecture makes this possible by serving as the IP settlement and attribution layer of Mahojin.

By providing a structured and authorized framework, creators are empowered to focus on what they do best: innovation and creation.

A Fair Future

Mahojin is an exemplary platform that allows creators to receive proper credit, attribution and royalties for their work while giving AI model builders a clearer framework to accrue value. Generative AI presents new problems, but these challenges open up new opportunities.

By aligning creators and IP owners with AI model builders, Mahojin is not just addressing a major criticism of AI, it’s paving the way for a fairer, more sustainable future in AI development. This approach elevates AI models by ensuring transparent attribution and proper compensation, fostering an environment where innovation can thrive without sacrificing fairness.