AIIM (AI Internet-Meritocracy) is an experimental science-funding project that uses AI-assisted evaluation to distribute donated funds among scientists and free-software contributors. Whether it produces fairer or more effective outcomes than existing funding systems remains to be tested.
- Many conventional funding systems rely heavily on formal credentials, institutional affiliation, and competitive grant processes. Science DAO argues that this can leave some independent or unconventional work underfunded or under-promoted. The scale of any resulting scientific or economic loss has not been established.
- AIIM is an experimental attempt to broaden access to research funding. AIIM uses an AI-assisted workflow to assess documented contributions and inform proportional funding allocations. Whether it is fairer or more effective than existing funding systems remains to be tested. Participation is not limited to degree holders, but registration does not guarantee eligibility or payment.
👉 Donate for AIIM
👉 Help fund the next public test of AIIM.
Help Test a New Way to Fund Science
AI Internet-Meritocracy (AIIM) is an operational beta designed to allocate available donations to researchers and open-source developers using AI-assisted evaluation of documented contributions. Payment transactions are already recorded on-chain.
The next major evidence milestone is a proposed five-month public adversarial test of the allocation model, with $1,000 distributed to eligible funding recipients. Donations help pay for the development, infrastructure, reviewer and participant recruitment, outreach, and operating work needed to reach and evaluate that milestone.
You do not need to assume AIIM is already proven to support the project. Your donation helps turn the proposal into evidence: what works, what fails, and what should change.
Support the next testing milestone → Read the test proposal →
Independent review
Researchers and technical reviewers: independent criticism is welcome, including negative conclusions. Review AIIM’s assumptions, governance, failure modes, and testing plan →
Research status: AIIM remains experimental. AI-generated evaluations can contain factual errors or biases, and decentralized governance and non-custodial components remain under development. That uncertainty is why public testing, auditability, and external criticism are central to the project.