Supporting Cardano Ecosystem with an AI and Data Perspective (R&D effort)

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

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

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

Contribute directly to the knowledge and insights of the current system through data analysis, reports and discussions and developing modular solutions for others to use

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

All the data used and the reports will be open source, as well as any code developed during the project.

[SOLUTION] Please describe your proposed solution.

Improving a System that is constantly changing, requires active analysis. Multiple perspectives are needed for the community to inform themselves in a reliable manner. General and shared knowledge of the ecosystem is needed in order to make collective decisions. To ensure interoperability between different solutions and interfaces in the ecosystem architectures need to be designed keeping this in mind.

This proposal aims to contribute to the overall Caradano Ecosystem by providing research into possible solutions using Data and AI. This will be done backed by academic literature, data science and past active participation. The reports are intended to be used as source of insights and to highlight possible directions of improvement as well as potential use-cases.

The work will be organized in iterations of 2 months, each iteration will have it's own focus area or case study. This will include an analysis of the current system, performing a data analysis study, creating modular data pipeline designs and advice on integration and AI use. All of these will be combined in a report on the Proof of Concept.

The reports will combine a multitude of perspectives from potential use of AI, Computational Social Choice and Game Theory, Data Engineering and development of Interoperable Frameworks

By contributing in this manner as an individual the proposal aims to add to this area by adding an additional, independent perspective. The output of the work is intended to be usable by other projects in piecemeal snippets and are not intended as singular solutions.

target audience: active participants, developers of cardano & catalyst improvements, toolmakers

To ensure the proposal has an impact there will be focus on targeted and personal engagement with a selection of active willing participants.

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

To improve a system requires a holistic view which is difficult to achieve for any group without a central guiding authority. In order for us to move in that direction collectively and in a decentralized manner, requires a modular approach. By providing research and proof of concepts of possible data oriented solutions, keeping interoperability within the ecosystem in mind, this proposal adds to the general knowledge of those developing in the Ecosystem.

The focus will be on qualitative assessment of impact the output had on those within the community that were engaged actively. This will be in the form of a short interview and will be included in a deliverable in the final milestone.

Outputs of the work will be made publicly available through a public git repository. Progress of the work will be tracked and planned using a Miro board. The Miro board will function as a main hub and all links to other elements such as repositories, discord and such will be collected here as the proposal materializes over time. The board will therefor be a sort of living document that will grow during the course of execution.

[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?

Previous experience similar style projects in a professional setting for external clients (large educational institutions) on how to incorporate data driven design principles in their system design and architecture.

Previous engagement with Catalyst ensures sufficient knowledge of the domain and provides useful experiences in working effectively within this community.

Broad knowledge of software development from all perspectives with a strong emphasis on data and AI, combined with a lifetime experience of participation in open and collaborative initiatives. Knowledge on Computational Social Choice, bridging the gap between the collaborative experiment and digital side.

Feedback from community members who have been supported previously:

James Dunseith (Gimbalabs):

“In every experience I've had working with him over the last 12 months, Sosha brings an interdisciplinary approach based in his broad technical expertise and careful attention to all that is human in our work. He comes to conversations first as a listener, and because he is so consistently present, he is able to notice details that I overlook. Most important to me is - owing to Sosha's consistency and domain expertise - that he is able to say "hard things": giving constructive feedback and straightforward assessments, even when it's hard to hear. This is how Sosha helps people to grow.“

Roberto Morano (Dandelion, Cardano Foundation):

"Sosha's support has been of great help to identify what, when and even who (ie, which community groups/customers) would be better to focus on to accomplish different missions within Dandelion project.

He has vast knowledge on the technical side of things (AI, data management, SaaS development...) but where his experience shines the most is around teams' interactions. He has developed a framework inspired by traditional agile methodologies, but conceived to be in constant evolution and adaptation to boost people's/team's cooperation; helping them to find the highest potential of human collaboration."

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

Case study

month 1

   final choice of topic

   gather data and relevant information

   perform preliminary analysis

   create shareable artifact

   reach out to potential candidates for engagement

month 2

   define scope of final report

   perform in depth analysis

   develop proof of concept

   write case study

Case study

month 1

   final choice of topic

   gather data and relevant information

   perform preliminary analysis

   create shareable artifact

   reach out to potential candidates for engagement

month 2

   define scope of final report

   perform in depth analysis

   develop proof of concept

   write case study

Meta study

month 1

   release reusable artifacts, data & code

   draft final report

   assess impact of the proposal

month 2

   reflect on process

   write self assessment

   finalize proposal

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

Sosha (SofiH)

Main proposer and responsible for execution and delivery of the proposal.

Experience prior to Catalyst:

Basic academic background in the fields of Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence (Bsc. Artificial Intelligence, UvA). 7 years professional experience with software development and applied AI in the domains of Education (EdTech) & Health (e-Mental Health). https://www.linkedin.com/in/sosha-happel/)

Catalyst experience:

Joined during fund 3, active in fund 4 through 10. Participated and focused on system improvements through the Challenge Setting. Performed data analysis of previous fund rounds. Worked with and assisted with several ongoing projects (Gimbalabs, Dandelion)

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

The budget for the proposal is used as monthly payments to the proposer for the work that is being done. There are no external cost associated with this proposal that are outside the regular operational expenses of the proposer and therefor fall within this monthly budget.

indicative monthly hour budget

8h reporting & administration

44h research & development

12h outreach & engagement

64 in total (16h weekly, part time)

(The proposer will spend additional time engaged with the community outside the scope of this proposal, as reviewer and advisor on other projects)

Operational Cost

Current personal monthly operational costs:

• Miro: 20$
• ChatGPT:20$
• Server: ~80$
• Barbone hardware cost (energy & monthly writeoff): ~60$

total: 180$/m (1080$ for 6 months)

These costs are paid for regardless of the proposals acceptance.

Compensation for time:

As the value of ADA is volatile, a 200 day moving average is used for conversions to dollar value

200 day EMA: ~0.323 $

Target hour rate: 80$

At this rate the total dollar value would be ~8000$, minus operational cost this leaves 7000$. If we assume 1000$ per month this would leave an additional 1000$ for unforseen costs and contributions to other community members who end up helping out with the proposal.

With the indicated hours and this conversion rate the hourly wage would be ~15$, leaving 65$ to be added by the sponsor (see the note below). So even if the value of the ADA would rise significantly, the treasury would not be overpaying for this effort.

Important note:

The proposer is currently being sponsored by an individual investor with a vested interest in Cardano. They are ensuring to cover the costs and a monthly compensation for the proposers work in the Cardano Ecosystem, in case the dollar value of the proposal budget is not sufficient. The requested amount of ADA has been aligned with them to balance between their contribution and the contribution of the treasury. They do not want to burden the treasury extensively while also keeping their own cost reasonable, as they do not directly benefit form this engagement.

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

The hourly rate clients paid for such work in prior professional engagements ranged between 100 and 120$. Given the current hourly rate for this proposal, there is a very clear price reduction for the Cardano community.

The proposal would add value by contributing to the openly accessible knowledge in the ecosystem. The PoC's that would result from this proposal can be used by others to further develop into real use cases. This way the research being done can benefit the Ecosystem as a whole substantially.

The proposal as a whole is fairly open ended is executed by an individual proposer, this brings with it some risk for the community in terms of delivered value. For this reason the proposer has sought out a sponsor to minimize the risk and cost for the community to balance with the format. For this reason the budget has been kept at only a quarter of the maximum allowed in this Category, too leave ample space for the other ideas posted in it.

[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.