Author:AO

Compiled by: TechFlow

Introduction

On June 14, 2024, the AO Foundation officially launched the token economics of the decentralized supercomputer AO. Its corresponding economic white paper details the minting mechanism, distribution strategy and economic model of AO tokens.

However, AO not only has a unique design in economics, its technical architecture is also equally eye-catching.

Here is a summary of the key points of the AO technical white paper, which is too long to read, to help you quickly understand the project details.

key point

  1. Trustless computing environment: AO provides a decentralized operating system that allows developers to launch command-line processes similar to smart contracts. These processes can run without being restricted to a specific location, enabling seamless user interaction in the network.

  2. Parallel Processing: Inspired by the actor model and Erlang, AO supports multiple communicating processes running in parallel without sharing memory. Coordination is done through a local message passing standard, allowing processes to run independently and efficiently.

  3. Resource Utilization: AO’s architecture is based on the delayed evaluation model of SmartWeave and LazyLedger. Nodes can reach consensus on program state transitions without performing computations. The state is prompted by the process message log hosted by Arweave.

  4. Data storage: AO processes can load data of any size directly into memory for execution and write the results back to the network. This setup eliminates typical resource limitations, enables fully parallel execution, and expands the possibilities for complex applications such as machine learning.

  5. Modularity: AO's architecture allows users to choose the virtual machine, sorting model, messaging security guarantees, and payment options that best suit them. All messages are ultimately settled in Arweave's decentralized data layer, unifying this modular environment.

  6. Economic security model: The network uses a token economic model to ensure process security, and users can customize security mechanisms. This model ensures economically reasonable security pricing and efficient resource allocation.

Technology Architecture

  1. Process: A process is a computational unit of the network, represented by a log of interaction messages and initialization data items stored on Arweave. A process defines its computational environment requirements (VM, scheduler, memory requirements, necessary expansion) during initialization. State transitions are computed by computational units (CUs) that meet these requirements.

  2. Messages: Every interaction with a process is represented by a message. A message is a data item that conforms to the ANS-104 standard. Users and processes send messages through scheduling units (SUs), which assign unique slot numbers to messages and ensure that the data is uploaded to Arweave.

  3. Scheduling Units (SUs): SUs are responsible for assigning atomically increasing slot numbers to messages sent to processes. SUs ensure signature assignments and messages are persisted to Arweave, making them permanently accessible.

  4. Compute Units (CUs): CUs are nodes that compute process state in an AO. They execute virtual machine functions defined by the process environment, generating new state, outbound messages, and signed proofs of computation. CUs compete in a peer-to-peer marketplace to provide computation services.

  5. Message Units (MUs): MUs pass messages between processes, coordinating with SUs and CUs to ensure secure and efficient message transfer. MUs handle recursive message passing until there are no more messages to process, ensuring robust inter-process communication.

  6. Sub-staking and sub-ledger processes: These processes provide customizable security configurations and facilitate parallel execution of payments. Sub-staking processes allow for diverse security requirements, while sub-ledgers enable efficient transaction processing by holding token balances in the parent process.

Key Takeaways

  1. Scalability: AO is designed to support an unlimited number of parallel processes, significantly enhancing scalability and allowing for a variety of configurations based on specific operational needs. Networks can handle large amounts of data and computing tasks and support complex applications.

  2. Flexibility and Customization: The modular architecture supports extensive customization in computing resources, virtual machines, security mechanisms, and payment options. This flexibility allows users to tailor the environment to specific needs, promoting innovation and efficiency.

  3. Economic efficiency: The token economic model eliminates reliance on block rewards, optimizes resource utilization, and aligns incentives across the network. Security is purchased per message, creating a competitive staking service market, ensuring cost-effective security solutions.

  4. Security: The network adopts a layered security model with customizable mechanisms to ensure strong protection and adaptability to diverse needs. Security processes such as AO-Sec Origin and SIV provide economic guarantees and proofs against Sybil attacks, enhancing the trustworthiness of interactions.

  5. Integration with Arweave: AO seamlessly integrates with Arweave for data storage and message logging, ensuring efficient data processing and persistence. This integration supports the network's modular architecture, allowing for scalable and trustless computation in a decentralized environment.