Proof of Useful Work (PoUW) is fundamentally fairer than classical Proof of Work (PoW) because the computational effort is not spent on artificial, socially meaningless tasks, but on real, usable work. $ICP In PoW, “work” consists of solving cryptographic puzzles whose only purpose is to be difficult. These computations produce no external value. Those with the most hardware and the cheapest electricity systematically win. This leads to: •structural advantages for capital-rich actors •centralization in large mining farms •competition based solely on resource consumption •energy use with no societal impact PoUW replaces this artificial work with tasks that have real value within the consensus mechanism, such as: •training or inference of AI models •rendering, simulations, data processing •scientific or technical computing •general-purpose software workloads The same computation that secures the network simultaneously produces productive output. Fairness emerges on two levels: 1. Value Coupling Work is no longer an end in itself. It generates measurable utility. Participants are rewarded not for burning energy, but for providing real performance. 2. Efficiency Equality A participant with limited resources can compete meaningfully if their work is qualitatively or functionally needed. Competition shifts from “who has the most hardware” to “who delivers usable output.” The combination of incentivized usage + PoUW goes beyond PoUW alone: •Compute is demanded only when it is actually needed. •Rewards arise from real demand, not from protocol pressure. •Network security grows in proportion to actual usage. By contrast, PoW produces security regardless of whether the network delivers real utility. Costs are incurred even when almost no one uses the system. Incentivized usage + PoUW is therefore fairer because: •resources are consumed only where real demand exists •economic power is less tightly bound to pure capital strength •security emerges from productive activity, not idle work •the system delivers a direct societal return PoW distributes power based on access to energy and capital. PoUW with usage-based demand distributes power based on the real value provided.