Opportunity
Sentient machines present the greatest investment opportunity the world has ever seen. The long predicted and much overdue Technological Singularity, the exponential explosion of productivity, is based on the concept of autonomous machines making autonomous machines, of ever greater capability. The Attentron project is a research prototype in this direction, programmed in Python.
The functionality of an Attentron will have two main components: the core application supporting the emergent mind, and expert modules that will give the Attentron expertise in specific areas. The idea is that expert modules will be developed as knowledge data, either with teaching materials similar to how humans are taught, or with more direct programmatic development. Anyone could create an expert module, but will have to comply with Attentron licensing terms for its use.
The core Attentron component must be GPL licensed, to be open to scrutiny and allow broad development input. This will include a basic expert module, the equivalent of a small child. Other expert modules will be permissively licensed, with proprietary modules possible.
The package will be released on GitHub as soon as completed (at its most basic), but will also be GPL licensed for expert modules. Investors in the project, however, will be offered exclusive proprietary licensing, affording them a “first-to-market” opportunity to profit from expert modules in their areas of activity.
The project is estimated to require between $6,000 and $30,000 for completion, depending on desired quality. A partly functioning native Python prototype at the lower bound, production-ready C-optimized package at the higher.
Before investment deals can be made, there must be something to show, at least a proof of concept. To get to that stage, donations are needed to afford the time required for development. The more is donated, the more time can be spent on Attentron.
Once a proof of concept has been reached, investment deals will be negotiated with supporters. Donors are welcome to communicate their own thoughts on the matter, on the understanding that donations are made unconditionally.
If you’re not in a position to donate and invest, another way to support the project is by hiring me for Attentron applications. You would not own the code, as that must be GPL licensed, but you would be one of the first to benefit from Attentron deployment. This has already happened with the paper corner recognition project, a task that would usually be implemented with an OpenCV solution. Moving forward, the next step is to create a generic solution, learning and recognizing anything, with no hardcoded control. It will take longer to implement and will cost more, but the advantage is that we then have a technology that may be deployed in any recognition task.