Thank you to the Bang Pateng Community for participating in the Ask Me Anything (AMA) with IDNI Tau-Chain & Agoras on October 13rd, 2020. The guest star is Mr. Ohad Asor – Founder & Head of Development of IDNI and Mr. Kilian Kunst – Community Manager . If you were unable to join the live AMA, no worries, here comes our 8th AMA recap!
We are glad to meet here:
Mr. Ohad Asor – Founder & Head of Development Mr. Kilian – Community Manager
Introduction Session
Before we start our first segment kindly introduce yourself to the community?
Sure! I am Kilian, the Community Manager of IDNI (Intelligent Decentralized Networks Initiatives). Our founder, Ohad Asor, is a Software Developer and Mathematician at top tech companies in Israel since 1995. He was the youngest university student in Israel, studying Mathematics and Computer Science. Over the years he has accumulated extensive knowledge and experience in programming and various areas of math, with recent focus on and logic, machine learning, complexity theory, philosophy of science, economics, social choice, and decentralized networks. He designed and implements Tau and Agoras. As the founder, he is currently leading the development of the project. In total, we are a team of 15 individuals working on the project.
Question Segment 1
Q1. Could you please describe what Tau-chain and Agoras is?
Both Tau and Agoras are still not ready, but I’ll describe what they’re going to be like. Tau is a system for large-scale collaboration about virtually anything, but especially, about itself. Tau is a software effectively defined by its users. Users say, using formal languages, what they want the system to be like, and the system auto-updates itself according to the users’ consensus.
For this to work, several fundamental problems have to be solved. For example: how can a large group of people (say millions) can have a meaningful discussion? How can a large group of people take a collaborative decision? Voting, for example, cannot scale and stay fair at the same time, because even if everyone got an equal right to vote, they still don’t have an equal right to propose what to vote over, because even if they had, who is going to even read a million proposals a day?
This all is solved under the assumption that users use formal languages, and, together with our large-scale communication paradigm which we call human-machina-human communication.
Tau is very deep and wide and I refer you to the whitepaper for more details.
Agoras is a cryptocurrency that is powered with the Tau technology, and by that it is controlled solely and effectively by its users. It also facilitates, for the first time, a knowledge market, featuring knowledge-cash transactions. It will also support a computational resources market and a derivatives market allowing advanced monetary features, for example: the ability to get risk-free interest without printing new coins.
Q2. I see that IDNI has its own token (Agoras). Could you please explain the token? What benefits can we get when we hold the token?
For now the token only marks holdings in the future Agoras coin, when it’ll be ready. The Agoras tokens and coins will be the currency of very new and very big economies, as big as the economical value of knowledge and of computational resources.
Q3. How are you different and unique from all other projects out there?
No project, inside or outside crypto space, ever solved the problem of large scale communication and decision making. Our solution is rooted in very deep insights coming from mathematical logic and human nature.
Q4. What are the main features of Agoras? What is different between Tau-Chain and Ethereum?
Ethereum is not a self-amending platform. Even existing platforms that claim to be self amending, like Tezos, don’t do it in the right way. In particular, they use votes, and by that they fall to the problem mentioned above, in which not everyone has an effective equal right to propose what to vote over. Tau can truly change and advance with time, and by that it can always incorporate the state-of-the-art technologies, and always lead.
Q5. Can you briefly describe the top milestones you have achieved and the future milestones you want to achieve going forward with timelines?
The hardest part was already achieved, and it is an implementation of a logical solver for a very certain kind of logic, that turns to be necessary for self-amending processes. We were the first in history to find the necessity of such a logic. This subject is explained in the whitepaper in the chapter about logics for law.
In terms of updates, the best is to join our Telegram channel via https://t.me/tauchain and subscribe to us on YouTube for our monthly video updates (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCixBquLFTBhLcUFVX0DDTpQ/featured). As we are planning the release of the first version of the Agoras knowledge market for the end of the year, there should be some exciting updates in the upcoming months.
Question from Twitter
Q1. IDNI has so many objectives, so can you tell what you are focusing on right now? What are your short term objectives?
The short term objective is the release of Agoras Live, which is a platform for trading knowledge in freestyle (non-formalized) way, using video conferences. Another short term objective is bringing the implementation of the language TML to its first release.
Q2. What is the vision behind IDNI and where do you see the project in the next 2 years in the crypto industry?
The vision is to allow a better large-group human communication with the aid of computers. This will accelerate knowledge creation and trading. Just imagine what will happen when thousands of experts are suddenly able to combine their brain power on certain topics.
Q3. As a trader like me, the security of my funds is my first priority before choosing any exchange for trading. How secure is IDNI?
What programmable technology & security developed by your team makes the platform very secure?
Tau is about correct-by-construction software development. It will allow synthesizing programs from requirements written in logical formulas. By that it’s also secure-by-construction: we only need to supply a definition (using logical formulas) of what “secure” means, and we’re then guaranteed that the program obtained is secure by those definitions.
Q4. There are some people thinking that TauChain has similar characteristics to Tezos. Both are self-amendment blockchains, and both smart contract languages have formal verification function. Can you explain the differences between TauChain and Tezos?
No sound self-amendment can soundly be done without the laws of laws described in the whitepaper (https://www.idni.org/whitepaper_community_draft.pdf) . We were the first to discover this point. Tezos’ logic does not admit the laws of laws. In addition, Tezos is all about voting, and as we explained above and in the whitepaper, voting cannot scale and stay fair at the same time.
Q5. What is the difference between Tauchain and Ethereum? Why do you think Turing completeness is inherently unsafe?
Turing completeness is inherently unsafe due to Rice’s theorem, showing that one cannot guarantee almost anything about Turing complete programs, e.g. whether they’re secure or not. Besides, Ethereum got nothing to do with collaboration, knowledge, and self amendment.
Q6. What is the most ambitious goal of the project?
The most ambitious goal is probably the goal of creating the first effective and meaningful 1-million-people discussion in history.
Q7. Can you list 1-3 great features of IDNI that make it stand out from everyone else for me to trust and invest in the project?
- Fair and effective self-amendment, using a methodology that was never considered before, and is the only existing solution for fair and effective self amendment.
- Economics of knowledge. Right now knowledge is being traded by very indirect means. Agoras brings knowledge trading to a new level.
- Agoras offers an economy much more advanced than existing or planned ones. Its derivatives market is even far beyond what DeFi is about. For example, allowing one to lock their tokens and get risk-free interest, that, without printing any new coins.
Q8. TauChain’s proposal as a decentralized blockchain is brilliant. But when using an interface with AI, how can you program consistent, human-like logic of what Tau users or customers really want without making any mistakes? How do you guarantee its effectiveness?
Tau is about logic-based AI, in contrast to machine learning which is probabilistic in nature. By that it makes no guesses, and we can be sure that it’ll never deviate from what it has been told.
Q9. What’s the main business model of IDNI? How does IDNI generate revenue for platform development?
IDNI does not and will not generate revenue from the decentralized network. It is funded from the token sale, and in the future will also be funded from licensing parts of its core technology to third parties. The decentralized network will of course be open for everyone.
Q10. One feature of Tauchain is formal verification, so the language design is non-Turing complete. What is the design difference between this formal verification and formal verification based on the coq class implementation?
Coq and any other existing logic solvers, do not satisfy the laws of laws, which are described in the whitepaper. The laws of laws are necessary for any paradox-free process of legislation. Laws on Tau’s scope are nothing but Tau’s code.
Segment Free Asking
Q1. What is the plan to ensure sufficient liquidity on exchanges to fill market orders, especially as adoption increases and clients begin multiplying year-over-year for your project?
The plan is to swap the current token, which is an Omni token, to an ERC-20 token. We also plan to start a marketing campaign.
Q2. Among the options that TAU offers is: That users can create their own teams, to discuss and collaborate on a project with their own private knowledge base. Should these projects be owned by the user or can they be owned by third parties?
Projects, or teams, can be created and managed either by individual users or by groups of users
Q3. Adoption & Awareness about the platform is very important for any creator as well as users! So, What are your plans to attract more users as well as creators who are non-crypto users?
Indeed Tau is relevant for all people even more than it is related specifically to the crypto community. Tau is a truly world saving project. We plan to have a marketing campaign in which we tell the world about it.
Q4. Lately Defi has become trending and has become a new breakthrough in the world of crypto. In your opinion, how can Tau-Chain take advantage of and develop the DeFi system over Tau?
Tau is self-amending and evolving with time, therefore any new idea that will come in the future, can be implemented over Tau, simply by Tau’s users stating what they want
Q5. Smart contracts are vulnerable to bugs, and even recently three big new DeFi projects were victims of this, costing users funds. How efficient and secure is your smart contract, and did you ever audit it via any external party?
As explained above, Tau is about correct-by-construction hence secure-by-construction code. This code can be contracts as well, as emphasized in the whitepaper under the subsection “contracts”.
Q6. Tau-Chain’s proposal as a decentralized blockchain is brilliant. But when using an interface with AI, how can you program consistent, human-like logic of what Tau users or customers really want without making any mistakes? How do you guarantee its effectiveness?
See Session 2
Q7. The implementation of Tau Meta Language (TML) is very useful. What are the main languages included in TML? How do you make this network truly effective and transmit information without errors of understanding?
For errors of understanding, see the whitepaper for the part titled “Understanding Each Other”. Basically the receiver of information can ask the machine all relevant questions, and by that we avoid errors of understanding. Another aspect is “contradiction detection and resolution”. TML is an implementation of the logical language FO[PFP] which is a variant of the language Datalog as well as of first order logic.
Q8. Does this effort require leadership and commitment to produce results?
Yes, very much.
Q9. If anybody thinks your project really is like a scam project, and they can’t trust this project, how do you make them believe in your project?
We never even did any marketing in the whole project’s lifetime. Our community is of authentic people who are truly interested in an open minded understanding of the project.
Q10. What do you think about the Asian market? Does your team have any plan to approach Indonesia, which is a potential market in crypto, having many great teams and investors who want work and earn money from crypto?
Asians form the largest group in our community. We appreciate the Indonesian community very much.
Q11. What are your plans in place for global expansion, is IDNI focusing only on the market at this time? Or focusing on building and developing or getting customers and users, or partnerships?
Our main current focus is development.
Q12. IDNI’s main mission is solve human communications on a large scale, so why do you need a token? Can you explain in which way AGRS supports this endeavor? The official website of IDNI supports so many Languages like English, German and Spanish so your
target market is Europe? What about Asia?
We will add Asian languages in the new website under construction. Tau solves the large scale human communication problem, but it is not the only thing it solves, and discussing over Tau
requires no coins at all. The coins come for additional, related and unrelated features, being economics of knowledge and more, as described in the Agoras chapter of the whitepaper.
Q13. Many investors hit and run in the sell and sell session after listing on the first exchange, How did TauChain prevent early investors from selling their tokens and what benefits would TauChain give them?
Our community is of long term holders that appreciate the project. We never did any marketing and by that our community consists only of serious holders.
Q14. What are the most important reasons why someone should invest in Tau-Chain?
Tau is by far the most valuable project in the world. It is self-evident once one understands what it is about.
Q15. How can developers and technical people contribute to Tau-Chain and what strategies and plans do you have to involve them?
Any developer is welcomed to contribute to our public GitHub repository via https://github.com/IDNI.
For the future, we still have to finalize our thoughts but are thinking about implementing certain
incentive structures into our network where developers would have a possibility to earn a royalty fee for whenever their code is being used. Besides that, developers are also more than happy to already apply for an IDNI Grant via https://forms.gle/bgXiW6JhKWJFgaEX8 plus we also are looking to
implement bounties for finding bugs.
Q16. What makes Tau-Chain different from other 200 DeFi projects in the blockchain industry?
Everything.
Q17. I think security is the most important thing of a project . So how is one secure on the Tau-Chain platform?
Answered above twice, “secure-by-construction”.
Q18. Too many projects disappear in these tough market conditions. How do you ensure the sustainability of AGRS? What is the receipt of success?
Truly groundbreaking and worldsaving technology.
Q19. When will Tauchain release a complete version of white paper. Many programs come
first with white papers, but Tau-Chain has not released a Systematic white paper. It might be difficult for others and people in the blockchain industry to assess and evaluate Tau-Chain?
The whitepaper was released two months ago.:
https://www.idni.org/whitepaper_community_draft.pdf
Q20. I care about incentivization, please how does Tau-Chain incentivize users, what’s the motivation for me 3 top reasons to invest and hold AGRS coins long term?
Agoras addresses one of the largest, if not the largest, economy in the world: the economy of knowledge.
Q21. I’ve been looking at your previous experience and am pretty impressed with the different projects you have been involved in. I am wondering if you are solely focusing on this project or will be working on multiple projects?
Ohad Asor is solely focused on Tau and Agoras.
Q22. What are the differences between TML and a typical Datalog? Also is it possible to
program directly with TML and then translate the code to any other language like Python or solidity? What does IDNI mean? Is an acronym? What made you choose that name?
For the difference between TML and Datalog please see the readme on tml’s github
(https://github.com/IDNI) . TML programs may be translated to other languages, yes. IDNI stands for Intelligent Decentralized Networks Initiatives.
Q23. From a startup project to a mainstream project, being a pioneer in the industry, does the team anticipate that many new startups will show up and compete?
No because the technical side of Tau is so difficult and requires a rare combination of fields of expertise.
Q24. Explain more about smart contracts over Tau and how it differs from Ethereum smart contracts.
Please see the contracts subsection in the whitepaper:
https://www.idni.org/whitepaper_community_draft.pdf
Q25. Can you share with us recent achievements of your team?
We have many achievements all the time in the development of TML (one recent example is the full support of first order logic), and also Agoras Live is going to be ready soon.
Q26. Tau-Chain has a lot of outstanding features. However, do you have users and partners who actually use your service? What marketing strategy to attract new users?
For now we have no release. Once TML and Agoras Live are released, we will inform the world about them in various ways. There are many market segments that actively look for solutions that
e.g. TML provides, and by that they will find us.
Q27. You organized an AMA session very rewarding and received a lot of questions related to utilities, technology and future vision. So now I want to ask what do you want to receive from the community?
To read the whitepaper and understand the vision.:
https://www.idni.org/whitepaper_community_draft.pdf
Q28. What is your roadmap for 2020? What are notable milestones we should look forward to in 2020?
Hopefully the release of Agoras Live and the first release of TML. If not 2020 then not too long afterwards.
Q29. I’m really confused about how this project is named. What is the actual name of this project? IDNI, TauChain, or Agoras?
IDNI is the company’s name. Tau is a self-amending discussion platform, to say in short. Agoras is an economy built upon the Tau technology.
Q30. As for the social choice mechanism, to express opinions, should users have a high knowledge of logical predicates? Or will anyone be able to do so?
At the beginning, yes. However Tau features the Internet of Languages allowing languages to evolve and become more and more approachable with time.
MORE INFO ABOUT IDNI TAUCHAIN AGORAS
Website : https://idni.org
Telegram : https://t.me/tauchain
Twitter : https://twitter.com/TauChainOrg
YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCixBquLFTBhLcUFVX0DDTpQ/featured
Whitepaper :https://www.idni.org/whitepaper_community_draft.pdf