The volunteer worker process for AuspexAI — runs on volunteer machines, executes work units dispatched by the coordinator, donates compute to AI safety research.
Phase 0 — Foundation. Code begins in Phase 1.
The Worker:
- Runs on volunteer machines (macOS Intel/ARM, Linux x86_64/ARM64; Windows under consideration)
- Generates an Ed25519 keypair on first run, stored in OS-native keystore (Keychain / DPAPI / libsecret) — volunteers never paste keys into web forms
- Enrolls anonymously (T0) or upgrades to verified identity via OAuth 2.0 Device Authorization Flow (T1+)
- Executes work units within sandboxed limits (CPU, GPU, RAM, network caps; idle-only mode by default)
- Submits signed results
- Maintains a local audit log of what it ran, when, and for which job
Worker trust tiers (T0 anonymous → T4 maintainer) govern work eligibility and quorum weight; see the AuspexAI Principles & Scope §6 for the trust model.
Worker conduct on the AuspexAI network is governed by the Volunteer Terms of Participation (forthcoming, Phase 2). Network-level abuse — running malicious workers, abusing reputation systems, attempting to influence quorum — is handled through technical enforcement (revocation, ban, trust-tier demotion), not Code-of-Conduct enforcement.
AGPL-3.0 — workers are network-served clients of the AuspexAI coordinator and inherit the platform's copyleft posture.
- Governance — roles, decision rules, recruitment, conflict of interest
- Code of Conduct — community standards, reporting, escalation pathway
- Contributing — DCO sign-off, PR workflow, RFC requirement for substantial architectural changes
- Research Ethics Policy — what AI safety research can run on the network and how it's reviewed
Activity will begin as Phase 1 ramps up.