Dear Dominic Williams and the DFINITY Team,
I’d like to share my thoughts on the proposed $CAFF token launch for the Caffeine AI project.
In principle, I am against the idea of diminishing the value or potential benefits for ICP holders and stakers with what appears to be another brilliant project idea marred by poor planning, execution, and management. The experience with Utopia serves as a precedent, highlighting issues that could be repeated. Leaving Utopia aside …
While I understand the vision behind creating Caffeine AI as a stand alone project and integrating it with the broader DFINITY ecosystem, the approach to date has raised concerns:
Management and Execution: The current management of Caffeine AI has been, in my view, less than satisfactory. There have been missed deadlines and a lack of clear communication, which has led to skepticism among the community about the project’s direction and capability to deliver on its promises.
How many people are currently working on it ? Who takes responsibility for the programming financial forecasting etc? Why on earth are you looking into GPUs when they clearly are to be superseded by TPUs and are not deterministic due to thermal throttling.
Impact on ICP Holders: Introducing a new token like $CAFF should not come at the expense of existing ICP stakers. If this project is to proceed, a fair mechanism for compensating ICP stakers must be in place. Even if it’s a nominal amount, an airdrop of $CAFF tokens to ICP holders could be a gesture of good faith, acknowledging their support and investment in the DFINITY ecosystem.
Independence and Integration: While I support the idea of Caffeine AI having its own token for governance and to incentivize development within its specific domain, it’s crucial that this new token operates independently of DFINITY in terms of management but cooperatively for technical integration. This would ensure that Caffeine AI does not drain resources or focus from DFINITY’s core objectives.
To move forward, I would recommend:
A Change in Management: A fresh team with a proven track record in project management and AI development might bring the necessary momentum and credibility to Caffeine AI. (Yes outspoken I know but I’m South African we don’t pussy foot around issues.)
Clear Roadmap and Communication: Publish a detailed roadmap with realistic timelines and maintain transparent communication to rebuild trust.
Stakeholder Compensation: Ensure that existing ICP stakers are not overlooked. Their contributions to the ecosystem should be recognized with some form of compensation in the new token structure.
I believe these steps could salvage what has the potential to be a game-changing project, ensuring it benefits all parties involved rather than becoming another example of mismanagement.
I realise that my views are possibly misjudged and incorrect but I’d rather get them out there and heard with the possibility of crafting something better.
Thank you for considering my feedback. I am eager to see how this evolves and am hopeful that these suggestions can lead to a more positive outcome for everyone in the DFINITY and Caffeine AI communities.
Kind regards
Kurt
