66 lines
3.2 KiB
Markdown
66 lines
3.2 KiB
Markdown
# Background
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A one-page account of why the Inference Cooperative exists and how it got
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here. For how to join and use it, see [Getting started](getting-started.md);
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for the rules, see the [Charter](charter.md).
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## Mission
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The Inference Cooperative exists to give people a real alternative for AI: a
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service owned and directed by the people who use it, rather than rented from
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an extractive industry. Members pay dues on a sliding scale and receive
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private AI chat and API access through infrastructure the members govern
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together.
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Three commitments shape how we build it:
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- **Privacy.** Our "private" models run in trusted execution environments
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(hardware-encrypted enclaves) with end-to-end encryption between your device
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and the model — the stack is designed so that even the co-op's own operators
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cannot read members' conversations.
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- **Sustainability.** Members can choose models that run on 100% renewable
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energy, from providers with public environmental commitments. We self-host
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our own infrastructure, so every efficiency gain is ours to make.
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- **Self-governance.** Decisions are made by members through
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[policy governance](charter.md), on our [forum](https://forum.inference.coop/),
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using free, self-hosted tools wherever possible.
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We are a small cooperative by design, fiscally sponsored by the nonprofit
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[Metagov](https://metagov.org) and funded through member dues on
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[Open Collective](https://opencollective.com/inference-cooperative).
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Membership starts at $5/month (suggested $15), which covers a $15 monthly
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usage allowance. The service costs what members put in, and no investor takes
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a cut.
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## How we got here
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The cooperative launched in 2026, growing out of research on democratic
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digital infrastructure at the Media Economies Design Lab (MEDLab) at the
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University of Colorado Boulder. It began with a single privacy-first provider
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— Tinfoil, whose models run in encrypted enclaves — and a deliberately small
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toolset: a chat, an API gateway, and the basics for membership and payments.
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From there it grew the way co-ops do: in response to what members asked for.
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A model picker grouped providers by what they stand for — **private**
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(encrypted enclaves) and **green** (renewable-powered: GreenPT and Regolo,
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the latter with a written zero-data-retention policy). A member dashboard
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made usage and spending transparent. A federated
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[Matrix](https://matrix.inference.coop) server, a
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[forum](https://forum.inference.coop), and a newsletter gave members places to
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talk to each other and to the project. The chat migrated to LibreChat, and the
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code that runs the member-facing services was opened up in public
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repositories.
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In October 2026, members adopted the co-op's first
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[charter](charter.md) — a democratic constitution setting out values, roles,
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and decision-making, with a commitment to redesign governance as the
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community grows past 250 members.
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## Where we're going
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The near-term road: more model choices with strong privacy and environmental
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records, infrastructure hosted with values-aligned providers, and the
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working-group structure the charter describes. The longer arc: proving that
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people can govern their AI the way they govern a credit union or a land trust
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— and sharing what we learn with the co-ops that come after us.
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