Meet Ross, Across' new AI Assistant

Title: Across AI Assistant Author(s): pennypanda., neondaemon Status: Proposal

Summary

Introducing Ross, a cutting-edge AI-powered assistant, designed for the Across Protocol community. Appy serves as a versatile Chat-based Assistant, streamlining the experience for both newcomers and seasoned experts in the Across community, trained on Across Documentation and live chats. From development support to general web3 inquiries, Appy is poised to become the go-to support system for all Across users.

Motivation

Ross is tailored to offer intuitive assistance to community members, developers, investors, partner projects and traders. By simply engaging in a chat, users can get precise answers to their queries.

Accessible as a Discord bot, Ross stands out for its ease of use in various settings. In Discord communities, particularly within DAOs, the bot integrates seamlessly, transforming into a dynamic knowledge base about Across. This integration enhances community engagement by streamlining access to DAO documentation and promptly addressing common questions.

Specification & Implementation:

This proposal aims to develop Ross into a robust Discord bot, customizable to meet the specific information needs of the Across Discord Server. The goal is to scale Ross to cater to a wide range of Across users, making information readily accessible.

Objectives

Ross, as a sophisticated Chatbot, aims to support the following user groups and objectives:

• Community members: Guiding those curious about Across and the broader web3 world.
• Developers & Partner projects: Assisting both novice and advanced devs and potential partner projects in navigating the Across Protocol ecosystem.
• Investors and Traders: Offering insights into trading and investments, portfolio management, and related token data analytics.

Primary objectives include:

• Accessibility: Seamless platform integration through wallet connectivity.
• Personalization: Customized assistance and services based on user expertise and preferences.
• Information Hub: Comprehensive insights about Across Protocol, and other DAOs and Communities in the Web3 space.
• Data Analytics: Access to pertinent blockchain data

Credit System

A credit-based system will enable access to Ross. Users start with an initial credit pool that replenishes every 24 hours. Additional credits can be gained through community engagement and tasks. This system is being implemented as a rate-limit to protect the cost and ease of operations for the bot, and can be updated/changed.

Across-Special Features in Ross

1. Learning and Knowledge Management

• Daily Learning Cycles: Ross will be able to analyze and learn from messages within defined channels every 24 hours, especially focusing on those written by members with reputable roles, such as Risk Labs and CEC Committee members.
• Selective Memory: By focusing on communications from specified roles like Admin, RL, CEC, Dev Support, and Bridge Guardians, Ross will be able to ensure it bases its knowledge on the most relevant and accurate information.
• Bridge Transaction Updates: Members can ask about their bridge transactions and receive status updates and provide information about busy routes and possible delays, see LP positions.

2. Feedback and Continuous Improvement

• Interactive Feedback System: The CEC committee will have the authority to control Ross' responses. A dedicated channel for bot response logs will be created, where CEC and Admin members can review Ross' responses. These role holding members can then cast vote with thumbs up or down reactions and provide specific feedback on improvements or corrections, ensuring Ross' continuous learning and adaptation, while also allowing for human moderation on the bot’s actions.
• Integration with Notion: To centralize access to frequently asked questions and their answers, Ross will store summarized interactions and learnings on a Notion page. This feature will serve as a living document, evolving with the community's needs and Ross' growing knowledge base.

Some More Enhanced Features Specific to Across Protocol

• Docs Explainer: A starter pack offering a simplified breakdown of Across documentation.
• Migration Help: Help for migrating from Across v2 to v3.
• Across Relay Assistance for devs: Guidance in writing, deploying, and understanding how to become a Relayer and other related coding assistance.
• Transaction Decoding: Detailed breakdown of transaction data, explaining each component of an on-chain transaction.
• On-Chain Interactions: Guidance on where to find data about transactions, LP positions, fees etc.

Team & Budget

Ishan Pandey aka PennyPanda - Product Lead & Manager representing Ownos Studios, an anon product studio (being the reason why other builders’ names are not revealed here)

Milestones

1. Scoping and Technical Design - 1 Week - $1000
2. Initial Development of Discord Bot MVP - 2 Weeks - $4000
3. Final Iteration of the Discord Bot - 3 Weeks - $2000

Fund Request

Total Grant Request: 7000 USD in ACX tokens

Development and Testing: $5000

1 year operating + support: $2000

Payment Details

Payment in two equal tranches. The first $3500 will be part of this snapshot proposal. The ACX amount will be the 30 day average at the time of the proposal. It's calculated using the closing price according to Coingecko.

For the first tranche it was between Feb 18 to March 19 inclusive 1 ACX = $0.25

$3500 = 14,000 ACX

The second $3500 will be on the successful delivery (assessed by RL/Across team) and be made from the Across DAO multi-sig. A 30-day average will be calculated at that time.

Team Wallet: 0x5568416Fc7E9D575277c78a4f8272e873839f001

The budget will be allocated towards development, design, infrastructure costs (including OpenAI APIs, hosting, etc.), with any savings directed towards post-development and marketing efforts.

We are also open to letting the Across team have access to the complete source code once development is completed. This will allow them to review and test it for security purposes before the bot is made live on the server.

After a 1 year period, the Across team can exercise their option to purchase the entire product from the Ownos team and continue running it as per their wishes without our involvement and retainer.

Ross' value to Across DAO

It would be highly improbable to set up an equivalent human run support system that works 24/7 and keeps up-to-date on a daily basis as well as Ross.

Let’s assume and hourly rate of $7.25 per person. $7.25 times 24 = $174 per day

Developing and maintaining Ross in the first year equates to $583 for a month. In effect Ross will work for around $0.70 an hour.

Rationale

The goal for developing Ross is to create a comprehensive, user-friendly, and adaptive AI assistant for the Across community. It aims to raise the standard of user support and serve as an ever-growing knowledge base for the community.

Building Ross as the “home-bot” for our Across server in such a manner will ensure that members are able to receive quick support and answers. It will significantly reduce the time and effort required from dev support in answering questions, many of which are very simple and often repeated.

It will also be continuously self-updating, incorporating all new information and developments without manual intervention, and still leave room for the admins to be able to regulate it.

We believe that it serves as a good-to-have automation within the Across Community, which will definitely save time and energy and increase the quality of experience for our members, in particular:

1. Focused Learning from Authoritative Sources: Prioritizing learning from reputable role members and specific channels ensures that Appy bases its knowledge on the most accurate and reliable information available. This method is preferred over a broader, less selective learning approach because it minimizes the risk of disseminating incorrect or outdated information, which is crucial in the rapidly evolving blockchain and web3 sectors.

2. Daily Learning Cycles and Selective Memory: Implementing daily updates rather than real-time learning balances the need for up-to-date information with the practical considerations of processing time and computational resources. This strategy ensures Ross' responses are both current and reflective of the latest community insights without overwhelming the system or causing unnecessary delays in response times.

3. Interactive Feedback System: Providing a mechanism for continuous feedback from the community, especially from those in authoritative positions, allows for real-time quality control and adaptability of Ross' responses. This feature is essential for maintaining trust and accuracy in the assistant's interactions, offering a significant improvement over static AI models that cannot evolve with their user base's needs.

4. Integration with Notion and Transition Plan for Future Operations: These elements of the proposal are designed to ensure sustainability and adaptability of the assistant over time. By creating a centralized knowledge base and planning for future operational transitions, the proposal ensures that Appy can continue to serve the community effectively, even as the underlying technology and ecosystem evolve.

For possible downsides and scenarios please check the related forum discussion: https://forum.across.to/t/across-ai-assistant/1842

Voting

A Yes vote will mean that 14,000 ACX will paid into Ownos Studio's multi-sig and work on Ross will begin in earnest.

A No vote will not move any funds