There are a number of problems affecting the scientific community today that are hampering global progress. While there is an abundance of research being conducted and published, it is both costly to access and difficult to manage. Research professionals are pressured to deliver, publish and review on tight deadlines, creating perverse incentives to exaggerate facts and omit assumptions and constraints. With little to no accountability and reward for authors and reviewers, reproducibility suffers.
The AIUR token will support Project Aiur, an open, community-governed engine that will allow users to access and contribute to a validated repository of scientific research.
The AIUR token sale aims to raise ˆ10 million, with a minimum target for completion of 60 per cent and a hard cap of 500 per cent. Iris.ai’s founders will not receive any direct monetary compensation, in either fiat, cryptocurrency or AIUR tokens. If the minimum is not reached, ETH will be returned to the original holders.
AIUR will also reward developers who build products on top of Aiur, including Iris.ai tools. The tokens are designed for people who believe in the value that Aiur will bring, either to them directly or to other third-party users.
Anita Schj?ll Brede, CEO and co-founder of Iris.ai said: “We see a world where the right scientific knowledge is available at our fingertips, where all research is validated and reproducible, where unbiased scientific information flows freely, and where research already paid for with our taxes is free to us. With Aiur and the AIUR tokens, we aim to give ownership of science back to scientists, universities and the public.”
Iris.ai has pledged that 75% of the amount raised will belong to the community and will be released – as development milestones are reached – to anyone who achieves them, subject to community scrutiny. The remaining 25% will be allocated to Iris.ai for the planning and initial execution of the project.
There are two phases in Project Aiur. In ‘Phase 1’ Iris.ai hold 50% +1 of the tokens in circulation, and after the transition to ‘Phase 2’ it will renounce all tokens outside of the allowed 2% cap, thus becoming an equal community member.
“Validation of science is something that has to be an open process - no one company can be an arbiter,” Schj?ll Brede continued. “With Aiur, we’re setting up a self-sufficient, decentralized ecosystem that will disintermediate the process of validating scientific papers. Everyone who participates will own the project, can use the tools we build together, and can vote in important decisions.”