IPv8 was one man, an AI chatbot, and a GoFundMe

In April 2026, a proposal called IPv8 appeared, formatted like an official standard and promising to fix internet addressing. The proposal turned out to be the work of one man using an AI chatbot and a GoFundMe page. The internet still runs on IPv4 and IPv6, which do not interoperate smoothly after nearly three decades of IPv6 deployment. IPv8 joins a history of failed alternative proposals like China's IPv9.