Gonka AI: Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Gonka AI?

Gonka AI is a decentralized AI infrastructure designed to address the escalating computational demands of artificial intelligence. Unlike traditional centralized cloud providers or existing decentralized networks that waste energy on non-productive consensus tasks, Gonka aims to direct almost 100% of its computational resources toward meaningful tasks, such as AI model training and inference.

What problem is Gonka solving?

The project addresses two main issues in the current AI landscape:

1. Centralization: Centralized cloud providers (like AWS or Azure) charge monopolistic prices and pose censorship risks, stifling innovation for smaller developers.
2. Inefficiency in Decentralization: Existing blockchain networks often misallocate resources. For example, Bitcoin directs 0% of incentives to productive tasks, and systems like Bittensor allocate substantial rewards (up to 60%) to staking rather than actual computation. Gonka aligns hardware resources strictly with productive outputs.

Who are the key participants in the Gonka ecosystem?

• Hosts: Providers who contribute hardware (GPUs/TPUs) to the network and earn rewards.
• Developers: Builders who deploy AI applications on the network, benefiting from lower costs and open-source models.

Users: End-users who interact with the AI applications, generating the demand (inferences) that drives the ecosystem.

What is GNK coin?

GNK is the cryptocurrency used inside the Gonka network. It has two main uses:

1. Payment: Developers buy GNK to pay for the computer power needed to run their AI apps.
2. Reward: People who provide computer power (Hosts) represent the "workers" and are paid in GNK.

How many GNK tokens are there in total?

The Gonka network follows a Bitcoin-style model. This means:

• Fixed Supply: There is a maximum limit of tokens that will ever exist (scarcity).
• No Inflation: The system will not print endless money.
• Predictability: The number of new tokens created decreases over time (similar to Bitcoin "halving").
  Note: The exact total number (e.g., 21 million or 1 billion) is defined in the "Genesis Code" and separate Tokenomics documentation, but the principle is strict scarcity and diminishing emissions.

How are new tokens created?

New tokens are "minted" (created) every few minutes (per epoch). These new tokens are given to the Hosts (computer providers). However, unlike other systems, you only get the full reward if you do useful work (running AI) and prove your computer is honest.

What causes the token price to go up?

The system is designed for scarcity:

• As more people join to provide computer power, the amount of GNK earned per computer goes down (difficulty increases).
• As more developers use the network for AI, they must buy GNK to pay for it, creating demand.
• Hosts must also lock up (stake) their GNK tokens to get full voting rights, which removes those tokens from being sold on the market.
  

What is the "Sprint" mechanism?

"Sprint" is Gonka's unique way of keeping the network safe. It is a short, 10-minute competition.

• The Race: All computers rush to solve a complex AI task.
• The Result: PROOVES how powerful your computer really is.
• The Benefit: Once the 10 minutes are up, the system knows your power ("voting weight"). For the rest of the day, your computer is free to do real work (like running chatbots) instead of solving useless puzzles.

What is DiLoCo?

DiLoCo is a smart technology Gonka uses to train massive AI brains across the internet. Usually, training AI requires super-fast cables connecting computers in the same room. DiLoCo allows computers all over the world to work together on one AI model by syncing up only once in a while (e.g., every 1000 steps) rather than constantly. This makes decentralized training actually possible.

How do we know the computers aren't cheating?

If a computer tries to be lazy and gives a wrong answer to save electricity, it gets caught by the Verification System:

1. Majority Rule: If 50% of the network says the answer is "Blue" and you say "Red," you are marked as wrong.
2. Random Checks: The system randomly double-checks tasks. It's like a ticket inspector on a train—you never know when they will check, so you have to be honest all the time.
3. Penalty: If you are caught cheating, you lose your accumulated rewards and your reputation score drops to zero.

What happens if I make a request and the computer fails?

Gonka uses a Dynamic Transaction Cost system (similar to Ethereum's EIP-1559). You set a maximum price you are willing to pay. If the computer fails to finish the job or runs out of resources, the transaction is canceled. However, to be fair, the small fee collected goes to the validators who checked the work.

What is the "Reputation Score"?

New computers on the network are checked very frequently (almost every task). As a computer proves it is honest over time, its Reputation Score goes up. High-reputation computers are checked less often, which saves the network energy and allows them to process tasks faster.