NEWM Community - Proof-of-Human (PoH) System – Enhance Security for Smart Contracts

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

[GENERAL] Email address of main applicant

Additional applicants

Andrew Westberg (CTO), Tiziana Pittini (CPO), Quinn Parkinson (Lead Smart Contracts)

[GENERAL] Please specify how many months you expect your project to last (from 2-12 months)

[GENERAL] Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated into English from another language.

[GENERAL] Does your project have any dependencies on other organizations, technical or otherwise?

[GENERAL] If YES, please describe what the dependency is and why you believe it is essential for your project’s delivery. If NO, please write “No dependencies.” .

No dependencies

[GENERAL] Will your project’s output/s be fully open source?

[GENERAL] If NO, please describe which outputs are not going to be open source. If YES, please write “Project will be fully open source.”

Project will be fully open source

[METADATA] Category of Proposal

[IMPACT] Please describe your proposed solution.

The security and integrity of smart contracts in a blockchain ecosystem is paramount. As such, a robust mechanism that ensures only verified human users are interacting with these contracts greatly minimizes the risks associated with bots and other malicious actors. This has given rise to the proposed solution of a Proof-of-Human (PoH) system, specifically designed for smart contracts.

The PoH system begins with a user verification process, aimed at confirming the humanity of a user wishing to interact with a smart contract. The methods employed for this process could range from biometrics, CAPTCHAs or behavioral analysis, depending on the level of security required and the trade-offs in terms of user privacy and system efficiency.

Once the system validates a user's humanity, a cryptographic proof is generated. This proof serves as a digital token of humanity, providing an assurance to the human origin of smart contract interactions. It is critical for this cryptographic proof generation to be secure, robust, and efficient to maintain the system's effectiveness even with high transaction volumes.

A user can demonstrate the humanity of a transaction with this cryptographic proof by attaching it to any transactions initiated by said user. Resulting in every transaction within the system carrying an indelible mark of human interaction, bolstering overall system integrity.

The final step of the PoH system is the validation of the cryptographic proof. Depending on the system's architecture, this validation could be performed either by other network participants or by the smart contract itself. This validation step acts as a necessary step to ensure authenticity and genuinity of the cryptographic proofs attached to transactions.

[IMPACT] How does your proposed solution address the challenge and what benefits will this bring to the Cardano ecosystem?

The proposed Proof-of-Human (PoH) system addresses the challenge by ensuring that only verified human users can interact with smart contracts on the Cardano blockchain. 

There are several benefits this solution can bring to the Cardano ecosystem:

Enhanced Security: By ensuring only verified humans can interact with smart contracts, the PoH system reduces the risk of fraudulent activities and manipulations that can be carried out by bots or malicious actors. It adds an additional layer of security that can maintain the trust of users in the Cardano network.

Increased Confidence: By implementing this mechanism, the Cardano ecosystem can provide additional reassurances to its users about the authenticity and security of their transactions, increasing user confidence and potentially driving broader adoption of the Cardano blockchain.

Scalability and Decentralization: The proposed solution does not contradict Cardano's principles of scalability and decentralization. While it adds a layer of security, it doesn't require central authorities to verify users, keeping in line with Cardano's commitment to decentralization.

Privacy Preservation: While the PoH system verifies users, it is designed to respect privacy rules and regulations. This is imperative to maintain user trust and uphold the privacy-centric ethos that is a hallmark of Cardano and blockchain technologies in general.

With this proposal, we present a solution for users and developers of smart contract projects, aiming to bolster the security of their contracts, cultivate trust among their user base and enhance business value by ensuring service reliability. This is achieved by providing methods for verifying humanity without compromising a user’s privacy. By implementing this proposal, the ecosystem stands to gain long-term benefits from the improved security, enhanced trustworthiness, and ultimately, sustainable growth from verifiably human-made transactions.

[IMPACT] How do you intend to measure the success of your project?

Measuring the success of the Proof-of-Human (PoH) system for smart contracts involves both quantitative and qualitative metrics. Here are some key indicators that we could use to assess the project's success:

1. Working Product Proof-of-Human: Above everything the project will be successful by delivering a working product.

The next two things should be by the community to measure to ensure that this system will be used.

1. System Efficiency: Efficiency can be measured in terms of the time it takes for the PoH system to verify a user and attach the cryptographic proof to a transaction. An efficient system would minimize delays, providing a frictionless experience.
2. Privacy Compliance: Ensuring the system respects privacy rules and regulations is critical. Success in this area could be assessed by periodic audits or assessments to ensure compliance with relevant privacy standards and regulations across different jurisdictions.

[IMPACT] Please describe your plans to share the outputs and results of your project?

Everything we are building is open source, and with transparency as one of our driving values, we consistently share our successes, failures, strengths and shortcomings publicly with our community. We will continue to share output on our overall product development, future funded proposals and previously funded Project Catalyst proposals (Fund9) the way we are sharing them now:

• Public Reporting of Milestone Statuses – Discord, Twitter, Telegram, Newsletter, Youtube 
• Nerd Out Youtube Channel – Andrew Westberg’s personal Youtube channel where he discusses Cardano in-depth
• Conferences and Events – Public speaking events or recorded interviews
• Community Lives and AMAs – Weekly Twitter Spaces and sporadic AMA events on specific topics in Discord
• Survey and Poll Reports from User Feedback – Public community votes and UX research
• Catalyst Landing Page – A dedicated Project Catalyst landing page on the newm.io website where users can review our funded proposals and track progress – newm.io/catalyst

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability?

Our team has consistently demonstrated a strong capacity to deliver complex projects with high levels of accountability, transparency and adaptability as evidenced by our track record of successfully managed and executed Catalyst proposals, as well as quarterly NEWM Community Governance votes that directly affect $NEWM token holders, and strategic partnerships driven by community needs. Our commitment to meeting project goals within defined timelines and budgets sets a precedent of dependability.

A noteworthy accomplishment from our Fund9 proposals was the completion and delivery of the Kogmios Library that allows Kotlin access to low-level Cardano blockchain data. That project was developed alongside our release of the tokenization and fractionalization contracts, allowing NEWM to tokenize music streaming royalty rights and fractionalize them for distribution and sales. NEWM is currently continuing development and enhancement of the original smart contracts using Aiken.

Accountability & Transparency

Our commitment to transparency has strengthened our standing as an accountable team. We maintain and nurture open lines of communication through all of our community channels, and support a culture of mindful listening where community members feel heard. 

We also consistently share our code and development progress with the wider ecosystem, underscoring our dedication to open source principles and community engagement. This level of openness encourages community feedback and critique, enabling continuous improvement and bolstering the reliability of our software. We invite you to review our work through our Github repository: https://github.com/projectNEWM

Adaptability

We are privileged to have a team of experts, contributing their unique skills to our projects and proposals. From seasoned developers to our exceptional content team, their combined capabilities allow us to tackle diverse challenges effectively.

Furthermore, we place a high emphasis on community engagement and project management. We consistently provide updates and respond to community feedback, adapting to roadmap changes where there are gaps in the community – e.g., delivering recorstore.newm.io project. Past adherence to defined timelines and budgets demonstrates our commitment to efficient resource management – e.g., Kogmios Library delivered from our Catalyst proposal in Fund9.

In summary, our past Fund9 proposal deliveries, research and development on tokenization and fractionalization, decentralized queues, and order-book marketplaces, our team expertise, combined with our proven track record of accountability, transparency and adaptability ensure our capability to successfully execute projects with high levels of trust.

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] What are the main goals for the project and how will you validate if your approach is feasible?

The main goals of the Proof-of-Human (PoH) system for smart contracts are:

1. Enhancing Security: The primary goal is to secure the Cardano ecosystem by ensuring that only verified human users can interact with smart contracts, thereby minimizing fraudulent activities and manipulations by bots or malicious actors.
2. Promoting User Confidence: By providing an additional layer of security, the PoH system aims to increase the confidence of users in the Cardano ecosystem, potentially driving broader adoption.
3. Preserving User Privacy: While implementing the PoH system, a key goal is to respect privacy rules and regulations to ensure users' rights are protected and trust in the system is maintained.

To validate the feasibility of this approach, the following steps will be taken:

Prototype Development: The first step is to develop a prototype of the PoH system. This involves designing and implementing the verification methods, cryptographic proof generation, and validation processes. This prototype serves as a proof-of-concept, demonstrating the system's functional feasibility.

Testing and Iteration: After the prototype is developed, it will undergo rigorous testing. This involves validating the system with different scenarios to ensure that it accurately verifies human users and successfully attaches cryptographic proofs to transactions. Feedback from these tests will be used to refine and improve the system.

Pilot Implementation: Before full-scale deployment, the PoH system will be implemented on a smaller scale or in a controlled environment. This allows for a real-world evaluation of the system's performance and the gathering of user feedback.

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] Please provide a detailed breakdown of your project’s milestones and each of the main tasks or activities to reach the milestone plus the expected timeline for the delivery.

1. Technology Feasibility Research (11h): This is the initial phase where we conduct a comprehensive review of the existing Proof-of-Human (PoH) solutions and the underlying technology. We'll further explore different methods of user verification (such as biometrics, CAPTCHAs, behavioral analysis) and study the feasibility of integrating them with the Cardano ecosystem. Additionally, we'll continue researching cryptographic proof generation and validation methods.
2. Back-End Implementation (128h): The PoH system is developed in this phase. It involves coding the user verification module, creating the cryptographic proof generation system, and implementing the proof validation system. The solution will then be integrated with Cardano's smart contract infrastructure. 
3. Quality-Control Stage (32h): This phase involves in-depth system testing to ensure it's working as expected. Security audits will be carried out to uncover any potential vulnerabilities. Performance evaluations under different scenarios will be conducted to ensure the system's robustness. There will be constant checks to ensure the system is compliant with privacy rules and regulations. 
4. User Product Testing (24h): The PoH system will be deployed in a controlled environment for real users to interact with it. Feedback will be collected regarding the system's usability, performance, and overall user experience. This feedback will be vital in making necessary adjustments to the system. 
5. Implement Improvements (17h): Based on the feedback from the User Product Testing phase, necessary improvements and adjustments will be implemented on both the front-end and back-end. This includes fixing any identified usability issues, making the system more intuitive, and fine-tuning performance. 
6. Bug Fixing (17h): This final stage is dedicated to finding and fixing any remaining bugs or issues in the system. It's the final step that ensures the system is fully functional, secure, and ready for deployment.

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] Please describe the deliverables, outputs and intended outcomes of each milestone.

1. Technology Feasibility Research – A detailed report will be produced outlining the findings, possible challenges, and the proposed design of the PoH system.
2. Back-End Implementation – This stage will see a lot of activities on GitHub, with regular updates and version control.
3. Quality-Control Stage – The findings, including any issues identified and recommendations, will be documented in a detailed report.
4. User Product Testing – The results of this testing phase, including user feedback and suggestions for improvements, will be compiled into a comprehensive report.
5. Implement Improvements – This stage involves another round of active development on GitHub.
6. Bug Fixing All the bug fixes and final version of the system will be documented and updated on GitHub.

[RESOURCES & VALUE FOR MONEY] Please provide a detailed budget breakdown of the proposed work and resources.

Please note that each line item includes overhead operational, product management & project management costs to coordinate the product development and for filling out forms and reporting milestones to the Project Catalyst F10 teams – due to the friction we experienced the last time we received funding. We used a conversion rate of 0.165 ADA per USD due to the high volatility, plus a detailed analysis of historical price movements show that the low might be in at around 0.20 cents, but there is no support line after that until around 0.13 cents, so we used the average of both.

[RESOURCES & VALUE FOR MONEY] How does the cost of the project represent value for money for the Cardano ecosystem?

Developing the tooling that helps eradicate malicious actors from manipulating systems on the Cardano blockchain will help bolster a narrative of high assurance and a safe place to “do business” in the Web 3.0 ecosystem. This can lead to further adoption and user acceptance.

[IMPORTANT NOTE] The Applicant agreed to Fund10 rules and also that data in the Submission Form and other data provided by the project team during the course of the project will be publicly available.