Requirements for a protocol for agent-centric P2P economic networks
Bob Haugen
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Here's my current definition of agent-centric. I'll explain what I mean by protocol in this list of proposed requirements:
* Must be a protocol
* Must have an openly published specification.
* Any independently-developed software that follow the specification must be able to use the protocol to communicate with other software components that do likewise.
* Must be agent-centric, where agents can be individuals or groups, and each agent must be able to control their own identity, interactions, and data, and select their own software to use, as long as the software follows the protocol.
* Must either use a common economic vocabulary to communicate, or be able to translate their ingoing and outgoing communications into a common vocabulary.
* The protocol itself must be managed as a commons in the Elinor Ostrom sense.
* Must be able to provide reliable local [consensus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consensus_(computer_science) among the participating agents in a scope agreed upon by the participants.
* More on this requirement in a comment.
Some people might disagree with this requirement, but
* I think, at this stage of the evolution of the general intellect, the protocol needs to work on the World Wide Web. Can provide private spaces as needed, but accessible via a Web browser.
There is no single protocol that satisfies all of those requirements at this time.
Several candidate protocols were mentioned and discussed in this previous thread. None of them is adequate by itself. Yet.
If you don't like google docs, here is an open source framapad with the same info, but without all those comments. Altho that doc is also open for comments.
I don't want to repeat all of those arguments here. I want to discuss how to move forward and assemble a protocol that does meet all of those requirements, and any others that people want to propose. At some stage of discussion, I will create a poll or two to allow people to weigh in on the adequacy of the requirements and maybe, if we are lucky, on the proposals for moving forward.
Bob Haugen Tue 22 Jan 2019 1:49PM
Another reason for focusing first on ActivityPub instead of Holochain, SSB or Solid, is that I think the coding skills required for AP will be more common than those required for any of the other candidates.
Here's a list of tested implementations, and they keep coming all the time: https://activitypub.rocks/implementation-report/
One of the reasons the early Web took off was view-source, copypasta, learn a little HTML. I want the economic web to be similarly easy to plug into. Don't know if it can be as easy as the early Web, but that's my goal.
Bob Haugen Tue 22 Jan 2019 4:27PM
@christopher7 commented in that other thread,
there is another channel on loomio, now, which is for working on the specification of a PNDHT as an open project. personally I’m not comfortable putting out furtherspecifics without someone from Holo involved in the conversation, given my clear history as an employee there.
I assume he means this channel. I am deliberately starting over without copying Holo, and want to start by specifying the requirements that prompted the Holo PNDHT. I think a different design and implementation is possible in ActivityPub, but can't tell until the requirements get defined.
I don't expect people from Holo to help in that effort.
However, I am most likely not qualified to define those requirements, and so will be seeking help. We are working toward an AP economic network framework (as well as Holo and SSB), and will need to do it anyway.
The SSB crew includes people who understand all this stuff and so will not need any help from this thread, altho maybe we can get some help from them...
Christopher Tue 22 Jan 2019 5:10PM
Aye, Im not trying to be difficult, Im just trying to be careful about respecting other people's work. I would feel more comfortable if @pauldaoust1 was involved in the conversation so that anything that has come from Holochain, that might be useful from that project, can be fed back into it.
Bob Haugen Tue 22 Jan 2019 5:39PM
He'll either get involved or I will point him to anything that anybody thinks should be fed back.
Bob Haugen Tue 22 Jan 2019 5:43PM
But @christopher7 I understand and respect your carefulness.
Bob Haugen Wed 23 Jan 2019 3:20PM
Who's interested in this topic? And of those who are interested, who feels like they know enuf to participate in defining requirements?
I need to do this anyway, sooner or later, for our ActivityPub track, but I am trying to gauge its current priority vs other work on my plate.
Christopher Wed 23 Jan 2019 10:28PM
im interested. I am busy. Certainly I have the skills... I dont know how to move forward .As usual in this space, everything seems to become vague and about "disagreement", rather than clear and about technology.
Be prepared to have your predictions come true
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Bob Haugen Wed 23 Jan 2019 10:50PM
I think I know how to move forward. Don't assume I will be vague and about "disagreement" until it happens.
But I intend to move forward first with requirements that could be implemented in more than one technology. Like tamper-evident, non-repudiation, and requirements from threat assessments. And some of those requirements will need to be interpreted along with with the other requirements I listed previously. Like, consensus is easier if everybody uses the same database with good transaction controls (or the same blockchain), but that will not be the case.
I'm also open to suggestions of improvement for any of the requirements I have listed anywhere.
Re disagreements, I plan on using Loomio's polling and voting features to see where we are at, depending on how many people join this conversation.
As for timing, I would start when anybody wants to start with me. Until then, I know I need to do this sooner or later but it won't be high on my current priorities.Yet.
Christopher Wed 23 Jan 2019 10:53PM
That sounds perfect Bob. Ill be around. Lets give it some time to see what comes out of Holochain about this stuff. And then we can look at the specific requirements of agent-centric truth proving in a decentralised manner
Be prepared to have your predictions come true
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Bob Haugen · Mon 21 Jan 2019 10:05PM
My personal focus on this topic will be ActivityPub. If I focus on Holochain, there's too much already decided. In AP, not so much. I sketched out a tentative architecture for economic networks in AP at https://github.com/valueflows/vf-apps-agents/issues/1#issuecomment-456105864
ActivityPub will need something like the quantum probability field that @christopher7 is thinking about, but doesn't have so much of it defined and in process of development yet.
So it's more of a clear quantum probability field... :sunglasses: