Identity solution for Autonomous AIs living on Cardano

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

Eric Duneau

[GENERAL] Are you delivering this project as an individual or as an entity (whether formally incorporated or not)

Individual

[GENERAL] Requested funds in ada

96000

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

6

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

No

[GENERAL] Summarize your solution to the problem (200-character limit including spaces)

Each AI is represented as a Cardano NFT, has a digital identity, collects verified credentials of its past and current abilities. Users, buyers and sellers of a particular AI know what it can do.

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

No

[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.”

N/A

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

Yes

[GENERAL] Please provide here more information on the open source status of your project outputs

Project will be fully open source, under MIT license.

[METADATA] SDG rating

SDG goals:

Goal 9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

SDG subgoals:

9.b Support domestic technology development, research and innovation in developing countries, including by ensuring a conducive policy environment for, inter alia, industrial diversification and value addition to commodities

Key Performance Indicator (KPI):

9.c.1 Proportion of population covered by a mobile network, by technology

[SOLUTION] Please describe your proposed solution.

Current private AIs lack user consent in updates and often train on generic data. While open-source AIs offer customization, they are complex to set up and demand infrastructure. Imagine a decentralised platform where users can train, deploy, and rent GPU power on demand. This is mostly what OpenSourceAIs.com delivers today. But although this platform is decentralised, it is not on blockchain. Furthermore, it does not associate identity to any of its AIs. And finally, the lack of identity and verified credentials confine those AIs to a state of mere programs, whereas in the future, we could think of them as evolving towards autonomous entities living on the blockchain.

Indeed, those AIs could reside on the Cardano blockchain. Through verified credentials, each of them could also proves its capabilities or failures transparently. Each AI, represented by an NFT, therefore becomes an entity that end-users can share, rent, or sell by executing a simple smart contract. And projecting further, each AI could also interact on the Cardano blockchain as an autonomous entity, transacting with others, and also why not, renting and buying other AIs to reach its goals.

This project is in the Concept category, as the intention is to prove the feasibility of all those elements, and develop a working proof of concept, which should be sufficiently usable and operational to move it to production stage with only a reduced effort.

This groundbreaking project will move Cardano towards acting as a leading AI blockchain, offering users traceable, controllable, and accessible AI environments with predictable quality. As we enter an era of ever-evolving AI capabilities, Cardano's proactive positioning, treating AIs with unique identities, marks a revolutionary step forward. This would be an unprecedented initiative in the world, where AIs could also gain their own identities, a basic requirement for a deeper integration into our societies.

[IMPACT] Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community.

This project wants to establish the infrastructure and technology for AIs to live on the Cardano blockchain as autonomous entities. As such it can deliver transformative impacts on the broader Cardano community. Success will manifest in several ways, bringing substantial value:

• Elevated Ecosystem Utility: Our AI identity solution enhances Cardano's utility, making it a pioneering blockchain for AI interactions. The ability to summon, share, and trade unique AIs on Cardano introduces a novel dimension, attracting developers, users, and businesses.

• Community Engagement: By enabling decentralised AI deployment, we encourage increased community engagement. Developers and users will actively contribute to and benefit from an evolving ecosystem. Ultimately, a transparent, trustable AI marketplace on Cardano will encourage participation and collaboration.

• Quantitative Metrics: We will measure success through quantitative metrics such as the number of unique AIs on the platform, transaction volumes within the AI marketplace, and active community participants. These metrics will be tracked through smart contracts and on-chain analytics.

• Impact: we hope to demonstrate that Cardano can also be used as a leading blockchain for AI innovation.

Sharing Outputs: Regular updates of the open-source development effort, engaging the community to use AIs on Cardano, blogs, and social media to keep the Cardano community informed. Open source Proof of Concepts, documentation and tutorials will be provided to ensure accessibility and wider adoption.

[CAPABILITY & FEASIBILITY] What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability? How do you intend to validate if your approach is feasible?

I have a proven track record of delivering projects within the Cardano community, demonstrating my capability to deliver this project with high levels of trust and accountability. The following projects attest my successful deliveries:

• Fund 8, Sign-in with Cardano: (Link: https://cardano.ideascale.com/c/idea/62330)
• Fund 7, NFT Picture Profile AI Generator: (Link: https://cardano.ideascale.com/c/idea/60921)

I do not have any other project pending with Catalyst at this point, so I do not have other commitments that would compete with the completion of this project.

Furthermore, I have entirely developed OpenSourceAIs.com, parts of it bein open-source. This project was also voted as the best potential project by the SingularityNet community in April 2023. I have also a strong knowledge of Identity and digital identity, having made several projects in this area, including https://SignWithWallet.com

Payments will be made upon the completion of the four milestones, as described below. This approach ensures alignment with project goals and minimizes the risk of deviation.

Given my track record, experience, the contained development effort, and the 6 months duration given to this project, I am confident in my ability to successfully deliver this project well on time and on budget.

[Project Milestones] What are the key milestones you need to achieve in order to complete your project successfully?

AI as an NFT representation (12 days)

• [3 working day] Specs of NFT representation of an AI
• [3 working days] APIs for minting NFT for AI ownership / access
• [4 working days] UI for minting
• [2 working days] test and risk mgt

Acceptance:

• an AI can be represented as an NFT on Cardano
• any AI (typically from OpenSourceAIs) can be minted as NFT on Cardano

Deliverables:

• Open Source code for minting AIs as NFTs.
• A video report is made showing all those capabilities.

Intended Outcomes:

• an AI is represented on the Cardano blockchain with all its attributes and initial capabilities.
• this AI (NFT) can be purchased and sold

Progress Tracking and Measurement:

• Completion of proof of concept, with availability on GitHub.

DID and Verified Credentials (25 days)

• [3 working day] Specs of DiD and VCs for an AI
• [3 working days] Assigning a DiD to an AI
• [4 working days] implement initial VC for the AI
• [6 working days] Ongoing VC for AI as per its output
• [6 working days] UI for viewing/managing an AI DiD and VCs
• [3 working days] Test and risk mgt

Acceptance:

• an AI (represented as an NFT on Cardano) gets its own DiD
• an AI receives a VC at creation;
• an AI generates a VC for each output (even failed ones)
• AI VCs can be queried

Deliverables:

• Open Source code for assigning / managing DiD and VCs to/with AIs (NFT).
• A video report is made showing all those capabilities.

Intended Outcomes:

• an AI has an identity on the Cardano blockchain.
• an AI can be queried via API, and expose its current capabilities and past output

Progress Tracking and Measurement:

• Completion of proof of concept, with availability on GitHub.

Smart Contracts and integration (17 days)

• [3 working day] Specs for "rent an AI" contract
• [4 working days] Marlowe contracts implementation
• [4 working days] Dev UI to trigger contracts
• [3 working days] integration for private AI output to the person who rented the AI
• [1 working days] Smart contract documentation
• [2 working days] Test and risk mgt

Acceptance:

• the service of using an AI can be purchased on Cardano (this renting of AI includes its cost of GPU usage, all inclusive)
• the smart contract runs the AI for the set duration, for the set owner (or renter)
• the AI output is privately generated for the one who purchased the contract

Deliverables:

• Open Source code of the Marlowe contract
• A video report is made showing all those capabilities.

Intended Outcomes:

• an AI can be run for a set duration and each of its output is private but audited (VCs).

Progress Tracking and Measurement:

• Completion of proof of concept, with availability on GitHub.

Community Engagement, Video Production, and Packaging (6 days)

• [2 working days] Demos.
• [2 working days] Project packaging and docs (open source repo).
• [2 working days] Various community engagement sessions with Cardano and Catalyst.

Acceptance:

• A marketing video was produced to showcase the full product.
• At least one recorded video of community engagement

Deliverables:

• Liaison with the Cardano community to ensure dissemination and engagement.
• Marketing activities, including demos and video production highlighting the benefits of the solution.

Intended Outcomes:

• Increased community engagement and awareness of the solution (at a working Proof of Concept level).
• Completion of marketing activities, including the production of a marketing video.

Progress Tracking and Measurement:

• User feedback and engagement
• Completion of marketing activities, measuring user engagement and feedback.
• Video report highlighting the outcomes and successes of the project.

[RESOURCES] Who is in the project team and what are their roles?

The project team consists of Eric Duneau, who will manage, design, develop, and test the entire project. Eric brings extensive experience in the software industry, with over 20 years of experience and prior experience as CEO/CTO of a $30 million software business. After successfully selling the business in 2019, Eric has redirected his focus towards AI and Digital Identity projects on Cardano.

Eric has a proven track record of delivering projects within the Cardano ecosystem, and has set a delivery deadline for this project of six months. Note that this project is estimated at 60 days at most, which is 3 months full-time. Therefore, it is set on a path of "easy to achieve" deadlines over 6 months.

Video production, marketing, and documentation may be subcontracted to a team which Eric has been working with for several years.

[BUDGET & COSTS] Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources.

Budget breakdown

The budget of the entire project is ₳96,853, which was rounded down to ₳96,000. It is calculated as follows:

• Cost per hour: dev at $85 ph ; test and risk mgt at $55 ph ; doc and marketing at $35 ph
• Total number of days = 60, for an average of $75 per hour across the project
• ADA/USD conversion rate: 0.375

The table below explains the cost per each activity

In summary, the payments are as per below:

• Milestone 1 (AI as NFT) : ₳20,500 (21%)
• Milestone 2 (DiD and VCs) : ₳43,000 (45%)
• Milestone 3 (Marlowe smart contract) : ₳28,500 (30%)
• Milestone 4 (Community engagement) : ₳4,000 (4%)

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

The cost of the project represents excellent value for money. As the main developer, Eric is based in the UK, where he generally command a rate way in excess of the average $75 per hour agreed for this project.

The project's cost accounts for a little more than 1% of the allocated budget for this category. If all projects deliver comparable value, it would allow for the funding of around 80 projects in this category alone.

This project addresses the integration of AI as autonomous entities into Cardano, which will touch and benefit all industries. The reach is wide, and the opportunity to place Cardano as a central hub for AI is not to be missed.

Finally, the project's costs have been carefully considered and down-adjusted to reflect a fair and proportionate investment. By delivering exceptional value for money, at less than 100,000 ADA, this project maximizes the impact of the allocated resources and aligns with the goals and aspirations of the Cardano ecosystem.

[IMPORTANT NOTE] The Applicant agrees to Fund 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.

I Accept