Mycelial Civic Knowledge Networks revolutionize grassroots civic participation by combining attestation networks and AI-powered community knowledge graphs. This cosmo-local approach enables communities to build and share knowledge commons, cultivate collective intelligence, and coordinate impactful ground activities. By providing tools for community mapping, onboarding, coordination, and innovation, we seek to create a decentralized infrastructure for multi-agent collaboration and deep social change.

In the face of interconnected global challenges, we find ourselves stuck between dystopian government control and markets blind to energy, resources, and pollution. We believe that a third way, centered around bottom-up civic participation in cultivating commons as an alternative institution, is crucial. A foundational component of such commons is shared knowledge. We aim to build tools to aid community knowledge building and sharing.

One piece of this is community knowledge graphs, which are living, AI-infused databases designed to:

• Foster collective intelligence
• Propagate regenerative culture and insights
• Coordinate impactful ground activities
• Educate and integrate local communities globally

The combination of AI tools with community knowledge graphs will democratize access to an evolving knowledge ecosystem.

https://arxiv.org/abs/2306.08302

Work Done So Far:

1. Knowledge Networks We have been working on tools for building decentralized knowledge graphs (using OriginTrail) with AI integrations. For example, we built a chatbot for ReFi (https://twitter.com/refichat) that allows users to ask questions informed by the knowledge graph, with answers that can be explained using data and knowledge sources. Our goal is to enable any community (local on-the-ground or global virtual) to easily cultivate their own knowledge graphs with fully integrated AI features.
2. Attestations Our team worked on an attestation network at the ETH Denver hackathon. We built a p2p network for ecological impact by combining attestations with the Ecological Benefits Framework (https://github.com/bhargavkakadiya/eth-denver-ebf). This allows people to attest to the reputation of projects, their impact, and the credibility of those attesting, creating a web of attestations that can be used to assess impact and contributions. We plan to continue building for the Ecological Benefits Framework and explore other applications such as local community trust networks, reputation systems, skill attestations, funding, and evaluations. Our top 15 finish at the hackathon demonstrates our ability to deliver useful applications.

Project Components:

1. Civic Attestation Network Expanding on our hackathon work, we plan to explore applications such as local community trust networks, reputation systems, skill attestations, funding, and evaluations. Attestation networks have the potential to revolutionize grassroots civic participation, and we are equipped to deliver useful applications.
2. Community Knowledge Networks Building on our proof of concept, we want to offer tools for communities to build their own sovereign knowledge networks, fostering collective intelligence. Additional features beyond chatbots, such as recommendations, community collaboration, analytics, and insights, will be explored. A specific domain of interest is local community knowledge networks that map resources and cultivate practical knowledge.

Project Goals

• Build tools for mapping: Help communities map resources, people, organizations, goals, needs, etc.
• Onboard: Assist individuals in finding their niche within their community.
• Facilitate Coordination: Enable bottom-up collaboration through a standardized global system interoperable with local bioregional economies.
• Innovate: Harness AI to optimize the Knowledge Graph's functionality and user experience.

Outcome of Grant

The Mycelial Civic Knowledge Network will provide communities with the tools to build and share knowledge commons, cultivate collective intelligence, and coordinate impactful ground activities. By combining attestation networks and AI-powered community knowledge graphs, we aim to create a decentralized infrastructure for multi-agent collaboration and deep social change.

Budget Allocation

• 50% for the development of the Civic Attestation Network, including research, protocol development, and implementation of attestation-based solutions for various civic engagement use cases.
• 50% for the development of Community Knowledge Networks, including the enhancement of the knowledge graph database, AI-driven interfaces, and additional features to support community collaboration and collective intelligence.

Contributors

Darren Zal Shawn Anderson BK Dharmik Dholariya Monty Merlin Scott Morris

Conclusion

The Mycelial Civic Knowledge Network represents a significant step towards empowering grassroots civic participation and cultivating knowledge commons. By leveraging attestation networks and AI-powered community knowledge graphs, we aim to create a cosmo-local infrastructure that enables communities to build and share knowledge, coordinate action, and foster deep social change. This project aligns with the OpenCivics Consortium's goal of funding critical collaborative protocols, prototypes, and infrastructures that enable civic engagement and interoperable civic utilities for direct governance and stewardship of our communities and commons.