AI Proof-of-Useful-Work readiness
Mining work becomes verifiable matrix multiplication that can subsidize AI inference/training, merge-mined alongside the existing zkPoW — an additional mineable track, not a replacement. The wire artifact is a compact recursive STARK certificate.
Preview — this is an open PR, not merged protocol.
PR #124 merging to master is the real flip. Until then this is preview-only; re-pin the roadmap baseline on merge. Merge state: CONFLICTING (needs rebase on master); review: REVIEW_REQUIRED — not merged. No AI-PoW certificate is an “app works on Nockchain” claim.
New crates
ai-pow-minerNockApp-compatible miner binary + 'pearl' ticket search; builds the recursive certificate after a target hit and submits the canonical %ai-pow command. The bare crate (no `node` feature) keeps the Pearl ticket loop buildable without the gRPC tree — for benchmarks and library use.
- src/bin/ai_pow_mine.rs
- src/pearl_mining.rs
- src/pearl_plain_proof.rs
- src/certificate_noun.rs
- src/run.rs
ai-pow-zkPlonky3 proof stack for the compact final-layer batch-STARK certificate.
- src/recursion.rs
- src/composite_proof.rs
- src/circuit.rs
- src/chips/matmul/
- src/chips/blake3/
Compact recursive certificate
The wire artifact is the jammed %ai-pow artifact carrying a compact recursive certificate + explicit verifier-key/setup digest. Three layers, then compacted:
| Layer | Role | Hash | FRI shape |
|---|---|---|---|
| L0 Useful-work AI-PoW batch STARK | Proves the useful-work (matmul) statement. | Tip5 MMCS / transcript | lb=4,nq=15,pow=0 |
| L1 Recursive verifier circuit | Recursively verifies Layer 0; exposes a statement digest as public values. | Tip5 MMCS / transcript | lb=3,nq=20,cap=4,pow=0 |
| L2 Final compact STARK | Native BLAKE3 STARK over Layer 1; binds the L1 digest, then compacted to a verifier-key digest + compact proof body. | BLAKE3 MMCS / transcript | lb=5,nq=12,lfp=2,mla=3,cap=4,pow=0 |
Production API (callers should use the compact bridge path):
- ai-pow::zk_bridge::prove_pearl_merge_compact_recursive_certificate
- ai-pow::zk_bridge::prove_pearl_merge_compact_recursive_certificate_with_prover_cache
- ai-pow::zk_bridge::prove_ai_pow_compact_recursive_certificate
- ai-pow::zk_bridge::prove_ai_pow_compact_recursive_certificate_with_prover_cache
Authoritative doc: crates/ai-pow-zk/docs/2026-06-07_COMPACT_RECURSIVE_PRODUCTION_PIPELINE.md
Proving-demand evidence — measured locally (preview)
We reproduced the compact-certificate prove→verify→tamper-reject test in an isolated worktree against the unmerged PR head (d5fc82f4 (PR #124 head)), TEST_PEARL (release) on 16-core x86_64. This is attested compute cost, not a live runtime claim and is not minted as a trust cert — it promotes into the compute-benchmark system only on merge.
$ cargo test -p ai-pow-zk --release --features recursion compact_batch_recursive_certificate_round_trip_for_test_pearl -- --ignored --nocapture
Why we care (consensus tie-in)
- Completion of the next PoUW puzzle triggers the 80%/20% coinbase reversion to 100% miner (watch board consensus snapshot).
- Fork A is merge-mined matmul PoUW alongside zkPoW; difficulty check moves inside formula execution.
- Tip5 is the recursive/circuit-friendly hash; BLAKE3 is used only for the native final Layer-2 STARK.
nocksperimental readiness plan (scaffold now, flip on merge)
/nockchain/ai-pow
This page. Monitoring framing of Fork A, the merge-mined model, the compact certificate, and the coinbase-reversion consequence.
computeBenchmarkProfiles
A compute-benchmark profile citing certificate byte size + cold-build time + verifier-key digest as attested compute cost. Gated preview until merge; never ingests solver keys.
x402MeteredTrustApi
A metered endpoint that sells verification of a submitted AI-PoW certificate — a concrete revenue lane. Design only until merge.
nockchainRustAtlas / computeBenchmarkProfiles
Build ai-pow-miner (bare crate) and benchmark the compact-certificate prove path; capture artifacts as evidence. Bring-up runs against the unmerged branch in an isolated worktree.
Evidence-field discipline. When this merges, mirror compactCertificateBytescertificateVerifierKeyDigestcoldBuildSecondsas attested compute cost only. Never ingest privateSolverKey, rawProverCache, rawMatmulWitness.