Frequently Asked Questions

About Permacommons

What is Permacommons?

Permacommons is building a permanent home for useful shared resources that are maintained with AI assistance, starting with open source software. Our mission is to create a sustainable ecosystem where human effort scales down as AI systems improve, but never at the expense of quality, usability, or security.

How is this different from other open source initiatives?

While traditional open source relies heavily on volunteer maintainer time, we're exploring how AI can reduce the maintenance burden while maintaining high standards. Our long-term vision is to create a sustainable model through an endowment fund that supports both compute resources and human oversight, making the commons truly permanent.

What does "minding the future" mean?

It means being thoughtful and intentional about how we integrate AI into open source development. We're not rushing to automate everything, but carefully exploring how AI can help while maintaining human oversight and community values.

AI Assistance and Quality

How do you ensure quality doesn't suffer with AI assistance?

Quality is our top priority. We maintain human oversight for all critical decisions. We use AI to enhance rather than replace human judgment. Our principle is that quality never compromises as AI systems improve—if anything, it should get better.

What about security concerns with AI-generated code?

We implement rigorous review processes, automated security scanning, and maintain human oversight for all security-critical components. AI assists with routine tasks and documentation, but security decisions always involve human expertise.

How do you handle AI hallucinations or errors?

We use multiple layers of verification: automated testing, human review, and community feedback. AI is used as a tool to assist human developers, not to make autonomous decisions. Every AI contribution goes through the same quality gates as human contributions.

Getting Involved

How can I contribute to Permacommons?

The best way to get started is through our GitHub organization. You can participate in discussions, contribute to existing projects, or propose new ones. We welcome developers at all skill levels who are interested in responsible AI use.

Do I need to know about AI to contribute?

Not at all! We need traditional developers, designers, documentation writers, and community builders. AI is just one tool in our toolkit. Many valuable contributions don't involve AI at all.

Can I bring my existing project to Permacommons?

We'd love to hear about your project! Share it in our Show and Tell discussions. We're particularly interested in projects that could benefit from AI-assisted maintenance or that align with our values of sustainability and community.

Technical Approach

What types of projects are you focusing on?

We're starting with simple tools and scripts, learning as we go. As AI technology improves, we'll tackle more complex projects. Our current focus is on utilities that make open source development and daily life easier.

What AI tools and models do you use?

We use a variety of AI tools depending on the task, always with human oversight.

We prioritize open source agentic editing tools, open protocols, and open APIs to avoid vendor lock-in effects.

We currently don't require the use of openly licensed models, but are shifting workloads to open models where feasible.

How do you handle dependencies and privacy?

We minimize external dependencies to protect user privacy and increase maintainability. For our website, when we do use third-party resources, we prefer to host them locally rather than linking to CDNs.

Sustainability and Funding

How will Permacommons be funded long-term?

Our long-term goal is to establish an endowment fund that can sustain both compute resources and human effort indefinitely. This would make the commons truly permanent, independent of market fluctuations or corporate interests.

Is this a commercial venture?

No, Permacommons is focused on building public goods. Our mission is to create lasting value for the entire open source community, not to generate profit.

What happens if AI development stagnates?

Our approach is designed to be valuable regardless of AI progress. Even with current AI capabilities, we can reduce maintenance burden and improve documentation. If AI improves faster than expected, we benefit more. If it stagnates, we still provide value to the community.

What about environmental impact?

Our project is founded on the premise that AI has the potential to make human life more sustainable, not less. We do recognize that compute takes energy. Currently our compute use is negligible (<$100); as it increases, we will invest in an increasing percentage in carbon offsetting for every dollar of compute.

We do not use models operated by xAI due to its especially poor environmental track record.

Aren't AI providers heavily subsidizing this stuff and it's actually really expensive to run?

Leading providers report gross margins in the 60% range for access to their most powerful models, and break-even even when training costs are taken into account. Outside special cases (e.g., "sneak previews" of expensive new models), this suggests that looking at individual spend is a reasonable predictor of direct environmental impact.

Community and Governance

How are decisions made in the Permacommons?

We're still developing our governance model as we grow. Currently, decisions are made through open discussion in our GitHub forums, with a focus on consensus-building and community input.

What are your principles for AI use?

We are committed to accessibility, progressive enhancement, aesthetic excellence, usability, and privacy. AI must enhance these values, not compromise them.

How do you ensure the community remains welcoming?

We believe AI can actually lower barriers to entry by helping with documentation, code review, and onboarding. Our goal is to create an environment where new contributors feel welcomed and supported, regardless of their experience level.

Current Status

What stage is Permacommons in?

We're in the early experimental phase. We're building our community, establishing best practices, and creating our first tools.

How can I stay updated on progress?

Follow our blog for regular updates, watch our GitHub organization for technical progress, and join our discussions to participate in the conversation.

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Have a question not covered here? Join our community discussions or reach out to us at info@permacommons.org. We'd love to hear from you!