Holochain and AI
Looking into the Future
Holochain has, as part of its core philosophy, ‘agent-centricity’ which places human needs and privacy within its framework. Artificial Intelligence brings up ethical and privacy concerns for a lot of people. There are projects within the Holochain community that include AI in their offerings, and this article is meant to share with you all that we have learned so far about them and how they’ve addressed these issues.
For those of you who are new to AI (Artificial Intelligence) and possibly have been avoiding it, here are some basics concepts for you. (And if you are already versed in AI, please skip ahead!)
AI or Artificial Intelligence is a buzzword in popular culture right now. With the release of several Large Language Model (LLM) conversational AIs, like OpenAI’s ChatGPT-4o, these remarkable chatbots appear to give human-like responses. What they’re actually doing is grouping words together based on how often they statistically appear together in their datasets. There’s no ‘intelligence’, these systems do not understand the context of what they’re generating, and they regurgitate words in commonly found groups. The apparent ‘magic’ is the speed at which they respond coherently. To achieve this they demand lots of processing power and need huge resources to analyse the data they’re fed.
Concerns around who controls AI models and systems don’t just cross geopolitical and commercial boundaries but also societal and ethical domains as people worry about its impact on work.
Despite this, AI has undeniable benefits when used to positively augment our capacities. Here’s the rub: AI systems, like all technology, are ethically agnostic; they respond to the choices and intentions of their creators and users. If we collectively choose to accentuate unsustainable patterns we’ll bring about a future we fear. However, if we use AI with discernment, we can improve our chances of creating systems that help us to thrive.
Skillful stewardship is needed to keep AI in service to humanity and prevent it from being capitalised into extractive economic patterns. Thankfully organisations like All Tech is Human, The Center for Humane Technology (CHT), and Women in AI Ethics are advocating for exactly this, and offering training opportunities as well.
So how do we maximise these potential benefits and use AI to accelerate our sociocultural evolution? By creating systems that are agent-centric and can act as membranes around the information we want to share with AI datasets.
There are a few projects in the Holochain ecosystem utilising AI to amplify the positive feedback loops they have mapped into their hApps. They include:
The Coasys team are building Synergy Engine, an augmented search engine rewarding human networking and knowledge. They are harnessing AI to assist users in making sense of the data made available by their ADAM interoperability layer. AI is used to translate the query inputs to the Prolog coding language, meaning users can ask questions in their natural language, not code. Since it’s being built from an agent-centric perspective, and the AI runs on your own computer not in the cloud, it ensures only data that’s shared explicitly by the user will be available to public datasets. Coasys is using AI to democratise the data on Holochain, blockchain and across the internet.
Not only are Coasys using local AI to supplement human enquiry, they are also developing a mutual credit currency, SynergyFuel, to reward and acknowledge user engagement. Created to operate as a sustainable economy for Synergy Engine, it retains the deep value committed to the shared wisdom of the users.
IOEN: Internet of Energy Network
IOEN is an open-source, community-driven network for global clean energy transactions. Its secret sauce is that it enables individuals to collaborate as an intelligent, cooperative electricity system. By connecting users in virtual energy microgrids they are accelerating the clean energy transition from the bottom up rather than waiting for the intransigent energy industry to change.
IOEN uses a type of AI called machine learning, which maximises efficiency by using predictive algorithms. It uses data inputs based on the energy data shared by IOEN's users. Using ‘smart’ community networks that share energy production and consumption data through IoT nodes IOEN uses dynamic algorithms to match, exchange and manage energy across these virtual grids. When considering how to retain value for the network’s users and incentivise sustainability they are also implementing a mutual credit currency. This allows IOENFuel holders to fully retain the value they generated together, optimised by AI, within the shared energy ecosystem they’re participating in.
Another Adjacent AI Resource: GlimeLab AI
Recently a member of GlimeLab shared on the Dev.hc Discord server their independent AI project using Holochain's documentation as a dataset to supplement ChatGPT. This project is not using any Holochain in its code, rather, it shows how one can learn about Holochain specifically with their AI.
Something I’ve not seen before with LLMs is how GlimeLab’s AI transparently credits sources. When asked about Holochain it appends a hyperlink to each response sharing where it sourced the information! The data sources shared with the GlimeLab AI are only used within the context of each instance and not shared with other AI datasets. They also offer discounts and support to open-source projects, so it appears their ethos aligns with the concepts of open knowledge held in common.
Responding to Glimelab’s chatbot Paul d’Aoust said:
“As someone who spends his daylight hours explaining what Holochain is about, I come across a lot of inaccurate information -- and the stuff that AI thinks it knows is no different. I gave this GlimeLab model a couple tests, and I was pleasantly surprised -- it was quite accurate and demonstrated a deep knowledge of a fairly obscure and complex topic. It struggled a bit with giving a usable code sample -- the code would've worked on Holochain a few years ago but not anymore. But the knowledge was in there somewhere, because with a bit of coaxing it was able to produce correct, up-to-date code. I'm really looking forward to seeing how this model develops as it feeds itself on new materials that we'll be writing in the coming months! There will always be gaps in our documentation's ability to meet everyone's needs, so I think the ability to ask questions and get tailor-made answers is very powerful.”
And core Holochain developer, ThetaSinner, stated:
"Really impressed, it gives much more specific and accurate answers than general AI tools. I like the code samples it can generate, they usually need some tweaking to drop into an app but they're a great starting point. I found that it struggles with giving more complex code examples though and that suggests to me that Holochain's HDI and HDK could use more code examples for people and AI tools to learn from"
GlimeLab AI have created and freely shared a useful tool for the Holochain community to use which can help write code and explain the framework. With the expanded documentation and resources currently being created by Holochain, it seems this resource could become even more useful. We’d like to hear what you think about it in the comments!
AI as humanity’s accelerator
Sam Altman of OpenAI recently proposed ‘Universal Basic Compute’ for access to GPT-7 rather than a paid-for service in the recent episode of the All-in podcast. Interestingly, he’s thinking of GPT7 as a common resource that should be shared globally.
"I am not like a super fan of how the government has handled most policies designed to help poor people, and I kind of believe that if you could just give people money they would make good decisions, and the market would do its thing. I wonder if the future looks something more like Universal Basic Compute than Universal Basic Income, and everybody gets like a slice of GPT-7 compute.”
Folks from OpenAI attended DWeb Camp, the decentralisation tech gathering, last year (2023) along with representatives from many other projects including CHT and Holochain. In their discussions around AI governance it appears sustainable, agent-centric, models designed to help humans flourish were discussed!
Useful Links:
We’d love to hear what you think! Please use the comments section to add your wisdom, and remember to be kind. And, we’d love to hear about other Holochain Projects using AI, if YOU know more!
🌟 Latest News from hAppenings.community
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🌟 Latest Official News and Events from Holochain and Holo
Event: Game Incubator - May 22, 9PM UTC on Dev.hc Discord
Hello Holochain community!
Are you keen to make and play games on Holochain? We're excited to invite you to our upcoming event, The Holochain Game Incubator! Our big vision is to create a thriving ecosystem of hApp games that attract new interest in Holochain from gamers and the games industry, while bringing us all together to play, learn, and collaborate.
How it works: To help get things started, we are hosting an “incubator” event, where community members can showcase games they are working on, and get feedback and support for the community. The event will open with 5-minute (or less) briefings by game designers, with the rest of the time in breakout groups so that you can actually try the games, give feedback, and dig into the technical aspects of making games on Holochain. The following games are already teed up: Realms of Ludos, by Zippy: a new spin on classic MUDs (multi-user dungeons) leveraging Syn Shiraz Card Game, by Hedayat: A head to head card battle using binary numbers. The incubator is open to anyone who wants to introduce their ideas or existing projects. Just let Lucas Tauil know on DEV.HC Discord or on the HoloForum (if you are a HoloHost).
Date & Time: Monday, May the 22nd, 9pm UTC
Length & Location: 90-minute session on the Dev.hc Discord voice channel Game Incubator (under Projects)
To join the event: Open the DEV.HC Discord server. RSVP in the #🎮・game-incubator channel by reacting with a 🎮 emoji. Mark your calendar and prepare to have a blast! We can't wait to see you there and explore the exciting world of hApp games together!
Blog: #HolochainChats: On Value Flows and Regeneration Reimagined
Professor William McCarthy teaches accounting and information systems at Michigan State University and is the innovator of a new way of accounting called Resources-Events-Agents (REA).
In this exclusive interview, Professor McCarthy talks about how traditional accounting systems have a hard time keeping track of value flows and supporting practices that help the environment.
Blog: Holochain 0.2.8 & The Weave, Dev Pulse 139
We’ve got a follow-up to Holochain 0.2.6, which was a big one (it was the first recommended release in the 0.2 line). I also want to mention The Weave, a project that my colleague Eric and a few close collaborators have been working on in various forms over the years. Originally demoed as a groupware container called We, the philosophy behind it has matured into a full vision for end-user-composable applications. What the heck does that mean?
Join Holochain.org’s Developer Portal: https://developer.holochain.org/
For a complete listing of all of the Holo Ltd and Holochain Foundation events go to their ‘Upcoming Events’ page!
🌟Latest News from the Holoverse:
Test: DCAN - Distributed Collective Action Network
New releases of "Who's In?" and "Converge" have been added to the app store in Moss which you can download here: https://theweave.social/moss/.
Both apps, as well as Moss itself, are in early stages of testing and will be subject to breaking changes. However, for anyone who is willing to experiment with them in your community or organization and provide feedback, your engagement will be very much appreciated.
Feedback for Converge: https://forms.gle/XPQ68BiMtnFJKaN26
Feedback for Who's In?: https://forms.gle/3j4kYDGf8pW3RxXJ9
🌟Other Related News & Events
Video: BlockFuel Podcast featuring Mary Camacho, Executive Director of the Holochain Foundation
Building a decentralized future: "Holochain starts with agents. Agents create data. And so the idea of coming at something that really puts people in control, it basically is the ultimate in the distributed design."
Newsletter: New_ Public - 📢 ⚙️ 💻 We're working with public broadcasters to reinvent public conversation online
Take a look at the state of public conversation on the internet, and it’s easy to feel defeated: overwhelming toxicity, chaos, a growing aversion to politics. We tend to think of this as an American problem, but this is true nearly everywhere.
Organization and Resources: Women in Ethical AI
It took us nearly a year to put together the 5-year impact report for Women in AI Ethics™ as we wanted to acknowledge 100s of speakers, volunteers, donors, supporters, advisors, and all the wonderful folks whose support kept WAIE going through the years. Given the recent anti-DEI backlash and as tech companies step back their commitments to diversity and ethics, our work remains more relevant than ever.
Check out their Directory of Women!
Course: Introduction to Agent-Based Modeling - SantaFe Institute, Online 10 June - 30 August
About the Course: This course will explore how to use agent-based modeling to understand and examine a widely diverse and disparate set of complex problems. During the course, we will explore why agent-based modeling is a powerful new way to understand complex systems, what kinds of systems are amenable to complex systems analysis, and how agent-based modeling has been used in the past to study everything from economics to biology to political science to business and management.
Video: Death of the Follower & the Future of Creativity on the Web with Jack Conte @ SXSW
Patreon CEO Jack Conte explains how the current internet algorithms are killing the traditional "follower" for creators, threatening their creative freedom and livelihoods.
Event: Governable Spaces: Democratic Design for Everyday Tech. Saturday June 8th Internet Archive, San Francisco, California
What would it look like if online platforms were designed with democracy in mind? This event presents projects that are doing just that—building values like transparency, collective decision-making, and accessibility for all into their designs. Learn about ambitious, Bay Area-based projects that enable ordinary users to co-govern their online lives.
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