Effect Force (Decentralised M-Turk): Harnessing Human Intelligence in Building a Decentralised AI Ecosystem
I used to work as a content writer and social networker for a growing technological company that built and maintained websites and mobile apps for individuals, small businesses and big corporate companies alike. But website building was only a frontal showoff for the company. What really operated at the backend of the tech firm in question was a service website cum app developed by the big boss himself and directed at being a quick and convenient bills payment solution for customers across the nation.
During a chatty rapport with my boss, I learnt that the website, www.vtpass.com (No worries about permission. Mr. Lanre will be all too happy for the publicity), had to be taken down for about five times before it finally went up, because every version released always came out with some undetected bug that caused the customers and developers a whole lot of heartaches so that the website had to be suspended for very long periods of time.
I was very much present during the development of the service app, and so I can very well assert that despite the myriads of in-house testing the app was rigorously subjected, customers still called the support centers to make several complaints about some largely ignored factor denying them the ease and speed the service company promised at the inception of the app launch.
Even as I remember the deep furrows that outlined my former employer's face anytime a complaint came in, I can't help but be assured that with EFFECT. AI setting in motion the phase 1 of their illustriously well-planned out project, The Effect Network, technical developers like my ex-boss will be saved the sheer waste of time, resource as well as the embarrassment that comes with perfecting AI algorithms. Indeed, Effect Force (Decentralised Mechanical Turk) will, alongside many other benefits, give "businesses and aspiring AI developers much needed access to a large workforce of human intelligence." (Effect.AI Light paper).
Given the fact that Effect Force is not a stand-alone, it is quite necessary to touch on the whole from whence it emerged (or 'will emerge').
The Effect Network
This video from the website surmises the Effect Network beautifully
The world, despite its placid surface, is very fluid. This has informed the rather dramatic upgrades to our technological creations so that, for the last five years, we have had an influx of artificially created algorithms and machines matching up to the intelligence of humans. And honestly, this has stirred up a bit of a scary sand-dust.
But you know, the real problem isn't that humans are scared that these evolving AI machines will turn their backs against us and make us exiles in our own world (Admitted, this is a lurking sci-fi instilled fear). However, the real problem lies in the fact that the companies, both the large juggernauts and newcomers, leading the fourth revolution are working behind the blinds, leaving the larger population of the world clueless and glued to news platforms like Flipboard, Reuter, or Futurism.com, just so they can catch a whiff of the goings-on in the technological world, whilst silently hoping that their jobs haven't been already usurped by a newly built set of sterling AI algorithms.
And truth be told, if AI is going to be anywhere as colossal as anticipated, then every human very well deserves to have an up-close and personal knowledge and interaction with their impending neighbours.
It is in ensuring a positively charged future relationship between humans and AI that Effectai set about the task of creating a solution centered around a decentralized ecosystem, privately but openly operated to ensure that AI development and AI related services are easily accessible and benefitted from by AI specialists as well as the general public. This proposed decentralised AI market, called the the Effect Network, which "runs seamlessly on the NEO blockchain and is fueled by a network NEP-5 token", requires no fee and puts very a low restriction on participation (Effect Website), will "directly connect supply and demand without the need for an intermediary party." hence ensuring the unbiased, speedy growth of its users (Effect Light Paper).
The very first phase of this proposed solution, the Effect Force, is very quintessential in ensuring the overall success of the project. It is the very greenhouse of the entire ecosystem. And believe me, for non-technical minds like mine, it is the fun part.
Effect Force: The making of a Decentralised Mechanical Turk
Effect Force is the tong of the Effect Network. This is the phase where AI developers and technological businesses (the Requesters) get to put their AI algorithms to the test through a decentralised body of workers who are all too happy to perform and scrutinise the functionality of the very minute, micro tasks needed to get the AI algorithms perfectly running. In this sense, human intelligence is harnessed to both carry out functions the AI algorithms cannot do, and then go on to empower the AI to perform these tasks. These micro tasks to be performed by humans in this regard will range from audio transcription, image classification, data labeling to a whole lot of other tasks. It all depends on what the AI algorithms are set out to achieve in the first place.
Right about now, you might echo the thought that this whole idea bears semblance to the operations of the Amazon Mechanical Turk, the many freelancing sites like Fiverr, Upwork, Guru.com, or better still, you are thinking of those replete audio transcription online marketplaces like Rev.com. Well, being an Effect Force Decentralised Mechanical Turk or worker isn't like any of these. While the likes of Amazon M-Turk are basically commercialized and aimed to enrich the companies, Effect Force reaches out more to the improvement of AI developments and the economic upturn of the users. The key word here is "Decentralised".
A key difference with these centralized models is that the Effect M-Turk is peer to peer, meaning supply and demand are connect directly and more efficiently... (Hence) This network will replace several existing services in the current AI market. It requires no commissions, has a low barrier to entry and provides fast growth to its users. (Effect AI. Light paper).
The fact that AI developers, businesses and aspiring AI technologists will benefit immensely from Effect Force and its adept solution of according micro tasks to a sprawling population is pretty much obvious. By loading up their tasks, minute as it is, or assigning to perfect worldview workers whatever raw data they want their AI algorithms to sufficiently grasp, technological industrialists, who form the future of AI developments, get to know and fill up on the lapses of their creations in the most affordable, conscientious, convenient and corrective way possible.
Again, rather than just earmark a firm division between what humans and AI can do, in their various rights as is common with centralised M-Turks like that of Amazon, the marketplace Effect Force Decentralised M-Turk proposes to offset will allow for a potent interaction between humans and AI, as humans don't just get to do the simple tasks Artificial Intelligence cannot do, they also get to teach them how to do these tasks in turn. Consequentially, a symmetric correalism will be achieved.
The EFX Token: Transforming M-Turks into Financially Independent Workers
Before anything else, it is important to note that being a Mechanical Turk does not have anything to do with being from Turkey or being a workaholic brute that can afford to do more work for less pay. Rather, the attributed nomenclature is a homage to "The Turk" itself, a mechanical chess that plays on its own..
And then, the Effect Force model is rightfully on the quest to expand and develop the network as well as user base, it has also made it obvious that it is all out to empower and economically enrich as many as come aboard. This will be made possible through the EFX token. For any task performed by a worker, a NEP-5 token will be rewarded to such worker, as determined by the Requester.
The crowd sourcing technology enables requesters to create tasks to be completed by workers in exchange for compensation... On The Effect M-Turk, when a user completes a task they are paid with the Effect.AI token called EFX. These tasks are described and compiled through smart contracts on the blockchain. Requesters. (Effect. AI Light Paper).
This is only a minute detail in the entire big picture of the Effect Network. Once the Effect Network is finally in full effect, "a decentralized exchange with a pool of tokens to provide liquidity, encourage adoption of The Effect Network and stabilize network fees... called the Galaxy Pool" (Effect. AI Website) will be maintained. With the G-Efx in place, the long time profitability of abiding workers will be ensured.
One can't begin to possibly imagine what this would do to reduce the rate of unemployment in the global space, especially in developing countries like where I come from (I am a Nigerian, and no, we are not underdeveloped. At least, not anymore). Now, while the bulk of youths in my vicinity have found their ways around fending for themselves, by resorting to menial hard labour; many are yet to break free from the binding shackles of poverty. Being integrated into the Effect M-Turk workforce will give them a chance to live fairly comfortable lives. And mind you, many of these youths have resorted to criminal activities to feed themselves and their starving families- internet scamming, courtesanship, modern slavery, illegal migration... It takes only an Effect Force M-Turk crusader (I intend to be one), to steer them off these damning paths they have chosen to thread.
I must not fail to mention the single and married women in several developing countries who have been confined to the enclose of their houses due to strongly held cultural and religious beliefs. The traditions rendering these women financially impotent might never change. But something can, with a smart phone or a laptop and a good internet connection, these women can become their own bosses, thus finding their way to financial independence. And you know how the saying goes- when the women of a nation, any nation grow economically, the GDP of that nation follows suit.
The fast and instant pay championed by the Effect M-Turk even makes for a better gospel. No more will people dread the idea of working online, because of the hypertensive delay in the payment of their reward. This makes the Effect M-Turk a viable, rapid solution to the ravaging impoverishment in developing countries.
A Practical Illustration: VTPASS
For all it's worth, I may have been speaking some foreign language that does not catch your fancy. Why not let's backtrack to my pithy talks about VTPASS.
So let's pretend I am my boss. And I just developed a website or app that can help people pay their electricity bills, cable TV subscriptions, data services and the likes without leaving the comfort of their homes. And yes, either manually or automatically, they can go on to pay for months and years on end. In order not to flop, I will need several hands to try on the various functions of the application. What do I do? I will go on the Effect Platform as a requester, load up the several micro functions and data I need my AI algorithm to be tested on; I will determine the categories of people I need to test or verify the data. In this case, since I am testing for functionality, that will involve virtually anybody within Nigeria. I will also determine the reward I intend to give the variegated workers in terms of EFX token and then, I will wait. The workers who have selected the Human Intelligence Task (HIT) I have put up will perform the task and submit them to the blockchain and also wait. When I am satisfied, I will retrieve the results, approve them and the rewards of the workers will be instantly sent to them!
That's a win-win situation. For me, I get to improve my algorithms and serve my customers better. And for the workers, oh well, they simply get richer.
Saying Howdy to the Team
There is every reason to acknowledge the team behind the proposed solution of the Effect Network (in which Effect Force is embedded), and this aptly includes Chris Dawes, Jesse Eisses and the rest of the numbers. Because, with the Effect Force in motion, not only will they redefine the erstwhile inaccessible and impenetrable market space of AI development and related services; they will also project the economic interests of several people in remote locations, even in places as far off as the third world countries.
You want to check up on the EFX token sale details or you simply want to hang around till Effect Force and the Decentralised M-Turk finally launches, then do well to visit the Effect. AI website and read up on their Whitepaper or Light paper. You can also join them on these platforms:
And yes, in this chatty rendezvous cum demo, you get to really understand how **Effect Force (Decentralised M-Turk) works,
I am not understanding.
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Hi
I just had a chance to read your post fully. little bit to late to be able to upvote. sorry
Really good piece of work. Im following all originalworks contenst and I know that this is second time they want people to write about effect.ai.
competition seem to be fierce and I must admit that your post is one of my fav so far.
You mind if i would ask you few questions?
cheers,
piotr
obviously followed :)