Core Problem and Vision

• The current digital world is characterized by large corporations like Google and Facebook intermediating all relationships and data.
• The vision is to create a network with direct, unmediated connections between people, allowing for collective intelligence and action without relying on a third party.

The NAO Project by Alelo: A Proposed Solution

• A core project discussed, referred to as NAO, is being developed within the Alelo incubator to provide a foundational tech layer.
• This base layer includes self-sovereign identity, a peer-to-peer trust network, and multi-device local data storage with AI capabilities.
• The technology is built on NextGraph, a Rust-based storage and syncing solution that uses RDF and is eventually consistent (CRDT).
• A prototype featuring these core functionalities is expected to be completed by late October, with a stable, production-ready version anticipated in approximately six months.

Key Features & Use Cases

• Unified Identity: A primary use case is providing a single, self-sovereign identity that can be used to log into various applications, similar to “Login with Google” but without corporate control. Apps would connect to the user’s data source rather than the user logging into a server.
• Portable Social Graph: A key differentiator from existing SSO solutions is the ability for users to carry their social graph (their network of friends and connections) between different applications seamlessly.
• Personal Data Control & AI: Users would store their data locally in a “data vault” or “wallet,” allowing them to run AI models on their own information. This enables use cases like asking an AI about past conversations or analyzing personal habits without exposing the data to third parties.
• Collective Sense-Making: The trust network is designed to facilitate “collective truth finding”. This would allow communities to collaboratively build a shared understanding of the world, from restaurant reviews to scientific research, based on direct attestations from trusted sources.

The RegenOS Tech Stack

• The group aims to build a layered “RegenOS” (Regenerative Operating System) where different projects can interoperate.
• A proposed model for this stack consists of several layers built on top of each other:
  • Base Layer: The foundational infrastructure for identity, trust networks, and local data storage being built by NAO.
  • Community-Centric Layer: Enables the creation of “portable communities” and shared data spaces that different apps can interact with.
  • Coordination Layer: Contains applications for communication, decision-making, value flows, and matchmaking, where projects like Planeteer and Hypha would operate.
  • Design Layer: High-level tools that use the underlying infrastructure for collective action, such as designing and implementing regenerative projects on land.

Competing and Integrating Approaches

• Hypha’s Architecture: Hypha presents a similar layered model but with a different foundation. It is built on an open, transparent blockchain ledger (Ethereum) for identity and key transactions, believing this is essential for trust and permanence.
• NAO’s Architecture: NAO is built on a peer-to-peer, local-first model where data is stored on user devices and only shared with permission. This is seen as more resilient and private, as it doesn’t require global consensus for local community agreements.
• Integration: Despite the different foundations, it is believed the two systems can be integrated. NAO’s identity wallet could be used to sign transactions on Hypha’s blockchain, creating a bridge between the two ecosystems.