# Towards Symbiocracy

TL;DR: The broader project's goal is to enable natural entities to autonomously engage with their surrounding communities, supported by AI and blockchain technology. The Rio Sagrado AI-vatar, an AI/remote sensing infused ecological guardian within Brazil's Atlantic forest, embodies this approach. We seek funds to bring such AI-vatar on chain.

## Context

From the 2022 ["Articulating Symbiocracy"](https://hackmd.io/KRr8PzKBSFO4K7TXOrn-PA?view) research proposal:

> "Symbiocracy is a concept aiming to create habitable multispecies landscapes, (re)imagining the coordination of human governance with sovereignty exercised by an intimate, organismal life-togetherness across and among different species, symbiotically relating to each other and to the environment they share."

(DALL-E creation)

Since then we at [Sympoiesis](https://sympoiesis.xyz) have been hard at work researching and prototyping interfaces that would make it possible for the symbiocracy concept to be materialized. Emerging technologies, like AI and remote sensing have been useful tools in that direction, yielding **proofs of concept** like the Rio Sagrado ("Sacred River") AI-vatar

### Rio Sagrado AI-vatar

The Rio Sagrado AI-vatar is a hybrid AI and physical representation designed to voice and protect the interests of the Rio Sagrado, at the heart of the largest continuum of Atlantic forest in the world (Morrestes, PR, Brazil). It thus serves as a guardian by integrating scientific data with cultural history, highlighting the river's ecological and cultural significance.

(Rio Sagrado AI-vatar's physical sculpture beside its creator, Genadir. Picture taken at the ["Salto do Sagrado" Waterfall Visiting Center](https://www.google.com/maps/@-25.6025857,-48.8058959,3a,75y,197.68h,62.91t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipOCHWOPYR-5fuCj-k4FPl49QMw86bJ-AfhB8dU!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipOCHWOPYR-5fuCj-k4FPl49QMw86bJ-AfhB8dU%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi0-ya47.72028-ro0-fo100!7i4096!8i2048?entry=ttu))

(Rio Sagrado AI-vatar's alpha [chat based LLM interface](http://sympoiesis.xyz/rio-sagrado/), trained with 20+ scientific papers on the river's watershed)

([Rio Sagrado AI-vatar's Metaverse Experience](https://www.roblox.com/games/16982802810/Rio-Sagrado-AI-vatar-Metaverse-Experience), developed to illustrate the concept of an AI avatar for the river.)

As an instance of the broader [SymbioTotem concept](https://checker.gitcoin.co/public/project/show/symbiototem-by-sympoiesis), the Rio Sagrado AI-vatar is composed of a physical sculpture by a native artisan emphasizing local wildlife, and a voice-based LLM interface we are developing for human interaction, alongside dedicated water sensors to monitor the river's environmental conditions.

Most importantly, The Rio Sagrado AI-vatar is becoming a key piece in the community movement seeking the recognition of Rio Sagrado as a living entity worthy of legal and civic rights. This pioneering move aims to secure environmental protections using a technologically-enhanced implementation of the Rights of Nature legal framework, recognizing the river as a stakeholder within human-centric institutions. Such status would allow the river to stand in opposition to a railroad development project that threatens the entire bioregion and its unmatched biodiversity. As a legal person, the river may be able to influence environmental policy and actions affecting its ecosystem, via their AI-vatar, thereby reinforcing its ecological and cultural significance through legal and communicative capacities.

# The Quantum Leap

With the beta deployment of the Rio Sagrado AI-vatar/SymbioTotem planned for Q2 2024, we started to imagine how this effort could be integrated with identification processes that would grant the AI-vatar a kind of "community perceived" personhood, enabling it to "enter into contracts" with the community (both local and global). After all, the proceedings for the river's official legal recognition as an entity of rights will take time. And this is where blockchain technologies can make a difference. Thus, enters the
.

## Objective

In a nutshell, we want to develop a protocol for enabling on chain AI-vatars/SymbioTotems to perform autonomous ***information request<>action<>assessment event cycles on land,*** (or “autonomous action-inquiry”) as representations of watersheds, forests, beaches etc (now referred to as bioziones). The action inquiry will be performed by verified on-chain observers (in exchange for crypto compensation), enabling the latter to “evidence” itself and its goals throughout time, creating a persistent identity.

[This document](https://www.notion.so/derrickyoder/Sensor-Network-Eco-Cyber-Personhood-Prototype-A-Symbiocracy-Project-9693523bcb884b0fa29e62ee6e5cb79f) outlines a more detailed sketch for how this could work at the protocol level. But in essence a rough route (taking the Rio Sagrado as a prototype) would involve:

1. Create Ethereum Wallet for the AI-vatar: Set up a wallet specifically for the Rio Sagrado AI-vatar, using Account Abstraction for enhanced capabilities.
2. Register an Ethereum Name Service (ENS) Domain: Acquire an ENS name (e.g., riosagrado.eth) to simplify the wallet address for public recognition and interaction purposes.
3. Implement Smart Contract for AI-vatar Interaction: Develop smart contracts that allows the AI-vatar to process input from the sensor network and make requests (e.g., clean-up operations).
4. Onboard verified observes: Create wallets and mechanisms for locals to become verified observers of the AI-vatar, allowing them to take actions (and get compensated) when requests are made.
5. Run focused experiments to get feedback on the mechanism and the community reaction.

The idea is that the proccedings from this grant could fund the work hours to set up the above, as well as seed fund the Rio Sagrado's wallet for initial interactions with the community. These experimentations will be critial for a near-future design and implementation of a dedicated token system (the SymbioToken) for identity verification, action compensation, and governance process participation.

## Net-weaving

The Rio Sagrado AI-vatar as well as the Symbiocracy concept are intertwined with the emerging [ReRe (Regenerative Resources) web3 cultural regenerative protocol](https://github.com/ReRe-Recursos-Regenerativos), materialized via the creation of a Common Pool of Shareable Resources (CPoRS) for the Rio Sagrado AI-vatar, which could be used towards the catalyzing of the aforementioned self-inference event cycle.


## Climate Solutions Round Application

**Payout Wallet Address**
0x435CD42591cC503a909085c3d3d2899d17032F77

**Email Address**
[e-mail]

**Total prior funding for the project in USD**
1817.94+6042.36+200=8060

**Please expand on how much funding you’ve received from each funding source and when? (VC, grants by foundation, token sales, etc)**

Sympoiesis as an organization has received approximately 1100 DAI from the "Gitcoin Program Beta Round Climate Round" on April 2023, which has been used towards its operational expenses (including the setting up of the website sympoiesis.xyz and associated database capacity). Now, funding related to this specific proposal has come from gitcoin grants by the Zuzalu community for previous iterations/foundational aspects of the idea presented here. That's so because Zuzalu Montenegro (2023) represented a landmark for the project via the participation of Sympoiesis' members in the "Zuzalu Nature Hackathon", with the use of LLMs to serve as a voice for nonhuman entities, like rivers and other ecosystems. Since then, the "Zuzalu Continuous Innovation" round financed 1.819,13 DAI for the [SymbioDome concept](https://builder.gitcoin.co/#/chains/42161/registry/0x/projects/0xdd599364a88630e2982a7c6f56756095b168a6ac044160fca49705d9ebc46082) in Aug 2023, and the "Zuzalu Q1-Tech Round" round financed 1,9592 ETH for the [SymbioTotem concept](https://builder.gitcoin.co/#/chains/42161/registry/0x/projects/0x6c2901a11eb503c25a734451adf51e2e02d95a14d8a0d76070975409a9867d56) in Jan 2024. The procceding from these grants have been used towards the continuous acquisition of hardware and software for the development of the Rio Sagrado AI-vatar (including water sensors and compute units), as well as the work hours put into this work - including those of Genadir, the native artist who has crafted the physical sculpture to represent the river's avatar. As part of GG20, the project has raised approximately $200, counting the direct support to the "[Towards Symbiocracy](https://builder.gitcoin.co/#/chains/42161/registry/0x/projects/0x1ef5300b7aa9bf02701085ad325d697208d8a6e35b7ede2a02f6b709f8e8f666)", the round's match and a Celo retroactive bonus. These have been used towards finalizing the voice module of the Rio Sagrado AI-vatar (paying the developer), as well as the seed-funding of a dedicated web3 wallet for the avatar. These steps have been registered in the Karma Gap page of the project. Total funding received so far for this project: 1817.94+6042.36+200=8060

[](https://vimeo.com/826388549?share=copy)

**Please explain how your project meets the Climate Solutions Round eligibility criteria.**

One of the core design principles for the Rio Sagrado AI-vatar is the ability to educate humans (especially visitors who come to bath in the river's waters) on the unmatched biodiversity of the Rio Sagrado's watershed bioregion, including its importance (as part of the largest continuum of Atlantic forest in the world) to the mitigation of extreme climate events in the south of Brazil - based on actual remote sensing data. Another design principle is the capacity to speak up against challenges imposed by unplanned urbanization in the region, such as inappropriate waste disposal and the looming threat of a devastating rainroal project that is planned to cut through over 100 water springs in the region. Therefore, the Rio Sagrado AI-vatar is already born as a powerful tool around Climate Activism/Education for the region, which will only improve with the symbiocratic capacity to incentivize community actions on chain, as described in this proposal. For instance, one of the actions the Rio Sagrado AI-vatar could request to its community is the planting of native tree species who have long been taken from the region during wood extraction colonial periods.

The Rio Sagrado AI-vatar is designed as a multifaceted tool that directly contributes to mitigating the climate crisis through education, advocacy, and community engagement. One of its core design principles is to educate visitors and the local community about the unmatched biodiversity of the Rio Sagrado watershed bioregion. This area is part of the largest remaining continuum of Atlantic Forest in the world, a critical ecosystem for absorbing carbon dioxide and mitigating extreme climate events in southern Brazil. The AI-vatar utilizes actual remote sensing data to inform users about the ecological importance of this region and its role in climate resilience.

Additionally, the AI-vatar serves as a vocal advocate against the environmental challenges posed by unplanned urbanization, such as the looming threat of a destructive railroad project that could disrupt over 100 water springs in the area. By raising awareness of these issues, the AI-vatar empowers the community to take informed actions to protect their environment. Not only that, the AI-vatar is also catalyzing action towards the recognition of the Rio Sagrado as an entity with personhood rights in Brazil, as well as inspiring the creation of other similar avatars for other more-than-human entities abroad.

Beyond education and advocacy, based on the steps outlined in this project, the AI-vatar will be capable of incentiving community actions through symbiocratic principles, leveraging on-chain technologies to promote sustainable practices. For instance, the AI-vatar can engage its community in reforestation efforts by encouraging the planting of native tree species that were once abundant in the region before colonial deforestation. These actions contribute to restoring the natural carbon sequestration capacity of the forest, thereby directly addressing the causes and impacts of climate change.

In summary, the Rio Sagrado AI-vatar is not just an educational tool but a proactive agent in the fight against the climate crisis, fostering environmental stewardship and sustainable practices within the community.

**If you've received funding in past grant rounds, please share any new updates or milestones from the prior months. You can also include the challenges you've faced.**

The biggest update from the previous months is that the physical sculpture that represents the Rio Sagrado's AI-vatar (and that will host its associated hardware) is finalized at the ["Salto do Sagrado"](https://www.facebook.com/Cachoeirasaltodosagrado/) visiting center! Genadir has worked on it for a period of two months, creating multiples animal sculptures to highlight the local fauna, as well as indigenous figures to showcase the local culture.



And some of these wooden figures have been digitalized to be part of the Rio Sagrado AI-vatar Metaverse Experience, which has also been very recently released as a platform to illustrate the use of such AI-vatars.

On the sensors front, the [sensing module of the avatar has been connected to its dedicated database with the first 5 sensors working](https://youtu.be/CcM0LKK8BUk) (atmospherical temperature, humidity, pressure and air quality, and water TDS levels). The [voice recognition](https://youtu.be/08UxVlWB4ds) and the text-to-audio modules for the avatar has also been finalized.

The main challenge at the moment is the wiring up of these modules to a custom LLM setup, alongside its capacity to access text data around the river's cultural/geological histories.

**How do you measure the impact of your project? Please provide examples and/or standard metrics. This might be used in future impact reports**

So far the impact has been measured by the untracked but reportedly expressive number of visitors at the Salto do Sagrado visiting center who stop to contemplate the physical sculpture. But as soon as the currently-under-development AI interface is integrated into the sculpture we will have an easy way to track and measure engagement with the avatar, including the use of its sensing data. And as its symbiocratic requests are put in place it will be even easier to track its impact. For instance, by counting how many trees have been planted via its requests, or how many kilograms of trash have been picked up from the region, etc.

**Anything else you'd like to share about your project, previous work, or other project affiliations? Anything you'd like to add that may help in determining project eligibility?**

The main seed which originated this project was a deep will to find ways for humans to shift how they engage with that which we call nature. So this project is one gesture in that direction, always revering the indigenous peoples (like Genadir) who actually can talk and engage in dialogue with the more-than-human world! May a fraction of their light be accessible to the rest of us via the tools we're mostly familiar with, towards a climate resilient future - with the rivers and forests healthy and safeguarded with the help of human-made mechanisms that can stop the advancing destruction in the form of railroads, dams, mining and so forth!

## Please provide 2-3 top impacts your project had in the past 12 months. You can use the CCN Metrics Garden (https://climatecoordination.org/climate-solutions-metrics-garden-1) or use your project-specific metrics. Examples: Number of Trees planted, Total forest area protected, Amount of Carbon sequestered, Carbon sequestration from regenerated soil, Etc

1. Catalyzing a Community Movement for Legal and Cultural Recognition: The most significant impact of the Rio Sagrado AI-vatar in the past year has been its role in catalyzing a community-driven movement aimed at culturally and legally recognizing the Rio Sagrado as an entity with inherent rights. A notable milestone in this movement is the drafting of a Bill that seeks to embed the Rights of Nature into the municipality's constitution, starting with the Rio Sagrado. This Bill was authored by an activist whose Master's dissertation focused on the legal recognition of the Sacred River, underscoring the AI-vatar's influence in shaping tangible legislative initiatives.

2. International Recognition and Inspiration: Over the past year, the Rio Sagrado AI-vatar has garnered increasing attention, even being featured in internation outlets. This exposure has sparked discussions about the innovative use of AI technologies in environmental advocacy and has inspired other communities to explore similar approaches in their own climate justice efforts. For example, Maori researchers in Aotearoa New Zealand have been inspired by this project and are considering how similar AI-driven approaches could be applied in their work on environmental protection and cultural heritage (https://lorax.consider.it/).

These impacts reflect the Rio Sagrado AI-vatar's growing influence not only within its local community but also on a global scale, as it continues to inspire and shape the discourse around AI and environmental stewardship.

## Token Engineering Round

**Individual or team summary**

Danilo Oliveira Vaz, 28.11.1994, Brazilian: Researcher and maker, creating custom technology and experiences for people to reconnect with nature. He studied Mechanical Engineering at São Paulo State University and Computer Sciences at Minerva University. Currently operating as an independent researcher at Sympoiesis.xyz, his research focuses on hardware and ML models. He is in charge of building the AI powered digital avatar for the Rio Sagrado. He is also a top-ranking project instructor at Coursera. His responsibility in the project is the programing of AI implementation of the interactive platform, contact with local researchers and communities and on site implementation of equipment.

Derrick Yoder, 10.09.1988, American. Editor and Writer at the Center for World Philosophy and Religion. Independent Researcher focused on existential risk modeling and governance design. Studied Economics at Wabash College.

**What specific problem(s) do you seek to solve with this grant, and how will you know whether you have accomplished your goal(s)?**

This project seeks to address a perceived gap in token engineering where tokens serve not just as currency but as models of identity. Particularly for non-human entities, promoting ecological stewardship. Success will be measured by establishing AI-vatars for ecosystems, with tokens reflecting their health and status, leading to real-world conservation actions incentivized through our token model. Accomplishment will be evaluated by the uptake of SymbioTokens and positive ecological outcomes they facilitate.

**Describe how your project contributes to token engineering and why it is a valuable public good.**

Our project contributes to token engineering by innovatively applying it to environmental governance, gesturing towards the design of a token system (SymbioToken) that incentivizes sustainable behaviors and ecological monitoring. This system demonstrates a public good by facilitating communal stewardship of natural resources, using tokens to foster actions that have a positive impact on the climate. It serves as an educational model for integrating token economics with conservation efforts, offering a replicable framework for global communities.

**Please share any new updates or milestones from the prior months.**

The biggest update from the previous months is that the physical sculpture that represents the Rio Sagrado's AI-vatar (and that will host its associated hardware) is finalized at the ["Salto do Sagrado"](https://www.facebook.com/Cachoeirasaltodosagrado/) visiting center! Genadir has worked on it for a period of two months, creating multiples animal sculptures to highlight the local fauna, as well as indigenous figures to showcase the local culture.










And some of these wooden figures have been digitalized to be part of the Rio Sagrado AI-vatar Metaverse Experience, which has also been very recently released as a platform to illustrate the use of such AI-vatars.

On the sensors front, the [sensing module of the avatar has been connected to its dedicated database with the first 5 sensors working](https://youtu.be/CcM0LKK8BUk) (atmospherical temperature, humidity, pressure and air quality, and water TDS levels). The [voice recognition](https://youtu.be/08UxVlWB4ds) and the text-to-audio modules for the avatar has also been finalized.

The main challenge at the moment is the wiring up of these modules to a custom LLM setup, alongside its capacity to access text data around the river's cultural/geological histories.

**How did you hear about the Token Engineering Grants Program?**
Via Livia Deschermayer and Nathalia Scherer who have helped with insights around this project

**Anything else you'd like to share about your project, previous work, or other project affiliations? Anything you'd like to add that has not been covered?**

The project as outlined in this proposal encapsulates the essence of the larger vision for the symbiocracy endeavor, which sees great potential in the idea of dedicated design of token system for interspecies governance - something we can start building based on the blueprints outlined here. More specifically, we envision the design of a "Symbiocracy Cell" that can be made available to any LLM application (using the Langchain framework). Such a cell would contain guidance/instructions for a large language model to learn about symbiocracy (with multiple references - found in the Articulating Symbiocracy outline), as well as modeling feature so the models could simulate the bioeconomy in which they would be inserted/part of. Eventually, this cell would be integrated into the training of a dedicated non-human first large language model.

# CELO

Celo leverage - how does your project contributed to the Celo ecosystem?

Over the past two months, we have been thoroughly researching the best approach to expand the AI Avatar's tech stack into the web3 space. From the outset, Celo emerged as a standout option, not only because of its pioneering role in the ReFi movement but also due to its strong commitment to accessibility and inclusivity. These qualities align perfectly with the needs of the local communities we engage with, beginning with Rio Sagrado.

Our plan is to deploy both the smart contracts for the SymbioToken and the accompanying dApp on the Celo blockchain. This dApp will allow users to interact with the SymbioToken contracts, manage their wallets, and participate in various activities supported by the AI Avatars. By using Celo’s MiniPay app, we aim to make these interactions as seamless and accessible as possible, especially for non-technical users in the communities we serve.

The integration of Celo's MiniPay into our platform is a strategic first step towards the broader web3 expansion of the AI Avatars. It provides a user-friendly gateway for individuals to engage with blockchain technology, even if they are unfamiliar with the complexities of web3. By choosing Celo, we not only tap into an ecosystem designed for global accessibility but also contribute to the expansion of its use cases within real-world environmental and community-driven projects.

Through this integration, we hope to contribute to the growing adoption of Celo, bringing novel application scenarios to its community. Our ultimate goal is to increase real-world usage of Celo, reaching beyond tech-savvy users to engage everyday people who can benefit from a more inclusive and sustainable financial ecosystem.