DFINITY Foundation, the creator and major contributor to the Internet Computer Protocol (ICP), has announced the opening of the hotly anticipated waitlist for alpha access to Caffeine.ai (Caffeine), a tool for building sophisticated production apps on the Internet Computer using only conversation – with sign-ups now accessible via the dedicated microsite join.caffeine.ai. Caffeine is the world’s first self-writing apps platform and represents a milestone development for DFINITY Foundation.
Caffeine is set to revolutionize the integration of AI’s natural language capabilities with the security of ICP’s powerful smart canister contracts. It leverages a novel Internet Computer tech stack, including the first programming language designed specifically for AI to use. Caffeine will enable anyone who can communicate in natural language – including 5 billion internet-connected smart phone owners – to build internet apps and services on the Internet Computer.
The landmark announcement by DFINITY Foundation’s Founder and Chief Scientist, Dominic Williams, came at the close of a live and multifaceted demonstration of Caffeine’s capabilities, with multiple app-project builds showcased at once. This took place on the main stage of DFINITY Foundation’s second World Computer Summit (WCS) in Zurich. The packed-out venue, which welcomed 1,000 attendees, saw a market-leading selection of international technologists, developers, policy makers, community members, builders, and pioneers in Zürich for a one-day event dedicated to the future of the open internet. The alpha version of Caffeine will move to public release with the transition to beta in one month.
As the event programming came to a close, at 6pm CEST, Williams unveiled a new paradigm he refers to as the “self-writing internet”. The captivated audience, which included live-stream social media viewership, got to see how authoring apps has become a chat conversation, which can be directed without technical skills, and how sophisticated apps can be quickly created on a network where they become tamperproof – immune to traditional cyberattacks – and so resilient that they are virtually unstoppable. They saw how these apps can be updated and evolved simply through a conversational dialog with AI.
Commenting on the milestone, Dominic Williams said, “We are proud to announce the advent of Internet Computer 2.0. The network now provides a unique cloud computing environment that enables AI to build solo. Today we demonstrated an incredible alpha version of the platform, which will be followed by a beta in about a month that will be released to the public. We are targeting a future where everyone in the world can create online functionality just by talking.”
Caffeine is the first platform leveraging self-writing internet technology, which makes it possible for AI to build and deploy solo – such that creating and updating apps becomes purely conversational. This contrasts with vibe coding, where craft developers, with some degree of technical skills, must work in partnership with AI.