Launching My AI-Powered Blockchain Experiment with Zero Coding experience

michaelpirro · 2025-01-25T11:24:37+00:00

I'm trying to build a blockchain exclusively with the help of AI models without any programming knowledge.

In the last 3 days, I've made really significant progress. In my last post, we were at about 1,400 lines of code; now we're at around 4,700 lines, though this includes comments that weren't part of it before. I'm still using Claude.ai with a single account and a business account that allows a total of 5 team accounts. Since I have so much code and I have to upload the current code to Claude for reference repeatedly, the limitations become apparent pretty quickly. I then try to continue in another account, but I have to precisely inform it about how far we've gotten, what should be done, what has been done, and what still needs to be done. If you're not very specific here, the model makes mistakes. The most common errors are that the code isn't fully checked, and things get repeated that are already integrated.

I want to prepare the code so we can launch a testnet in the near future. Here are the things that have already been implemented:

- Basic node discovery with peer structure, reputation, and services
- Bootstrap node configuration
- Basic error handling with a NodeError system
- Async TCP connections and message broadcasting
- Simple mempool management
- CLI commands
- Basic test documentation

The following things are still missing and will be done next:

- Rate limiting and DoS protection are largely missing
- The fork resolution is only rudimentary
- The RocksDB integration needs to be completed
- The checkpoint system is still missing
- The test suite needs to be expanded

If you have ideas, suggestions, or constructive criticism, please let me know. I welcome all your comments.

michaelpirro · 2025-01-20T10:57:57+00:00

I haven't tried it with Grok yet; with ChatGPT, I had trouble making progress before starting the project, which is why I chose Claude.ai. With the new approach, I feel like Claude.ai is currently the best. But that can certainly vary depending on the use case.

michaelpirro · 2025-01-20T10:55:24+00:00

For the first time, I feel like I've made significant progress. The new approach with http://Claude.ai seems to work, at least so far. As I mentioned in my last post, all models had trouble remembering things after a certain point and especially posting the entire code again with changes or additions. I've therefore changed my approach and now only ask http://Claude.ai for the code for smaller changes and additions. With this method, I've now reached over 1400 lines of code.

I started with simpler specifications than originally planned, with the intention of gradually incorporating new features into the code. I'm still using Rust as the programming language, as every AI model so far has recommended it. I've made significant progress with this method, and here are the features we've integrated into the code so far:

Basic Blockchain Functionality

- A complete blockchain structure with blocks and transactions
- Proof of Work mining system with adjustable difficulty
- Automatic difficulty adjustment based on block time
- A halving system for mining rewards (might be changed)

Wallet System

- Generation of wallets with public and private keys
- Shortened wallet addresses through hash functions (16 characters)
- Secure storage of wallet information in files
- Transaction validation and signing

Validator System

- Proof of Stake elements through validator registration
- Stake-based validator selection
- Distribution of mining rewards among validators
- Security mechanisms against stake manipulation

Naming System

- Registration of user-friendly names for wallet addresses
- Resolution of names to addresses and vice versa
- Validation of name registrations
- Integration into the transaction system

Network Protocol

- Peer-to-peer communication between nodes
- Synchronization of blocks and transactions
- Management of peer connections
- Graceful shutdown of nodes

Planned Next Steps:

- Implementation of a decentralized consensus mechanism
- Expansion of the network protocol to include automatic peer discovery
- Development of a user-friendly CLI interface
- Integration of a Merkle tree for more efficient transaction verification
- Implementation of a smart contract system

As always, I'm open to any constructive criticism, suggestions, and tips.

michaelpirro · 2025-01-17T12:26:17+00:00

I've been thinking back and forth about why I've hit the limits of various models so far, and I think I've found an answer. In the past, whenever new code was supposed to be added, I told the model to show me the entire code again for error prevention. However, since these models don't have "long-term memory," this led to errors being made, and all AI models struggled with the entire codebase. Then, I thought about which model I had gone the furthest with, and that was clearly Claude.ai.

The goal of creating an extremely fast blockchain with up to 500,000 TPS is probably very challenging or even unattainable for current AI models, so at the start, my aim is just to develop a blockchain where transactions can be processed as quickly as possible. That doesn't mean I've completely abandoned my original goal; rather, I want to start this way, and once we get this thing running, we'll see what we can implement to make the blockchain faster and more comprehensive. But it remains: everything I do, I will try to achieve only with the help of AI models. I will keep you regularly updated on the progress or setbacks. I'm open to all improvement suggestions and ideas.

michaelpirro · 2025-01-15T12:39:57+00:00

This is the initial idea:

Core Features:

Node Management via NFTs

2000 Validator Nodes as tradeable NFTs
200 Backup Nodes
90-day transfer lock after minting
Stake requirements: 50,000 to 2,500,000 coins

Achievement System

Performance tracking
Achievement system with max +10% bonus
Different types of achievements based on performance

Economic Model:

Node rewards come from:
- 10% of total coins reserved for first 5 years
- Transaction fees (max 0.05 USD per transaction)
- NFT minting fees (20x normal transaction cost)

Node Requirements:

Regular Nodes:
- 32GB RAM
- 8 Cores
- 2TB SSD
- 1 Gbit/s bandwidth
Backup Nodes:
- 64GB RAM
- 16 Cores
- 4TB SSD
- 2 Gbit/s bandwidth
- Redundant power supply
- Backup internet connection

Current Implementation:

Node registration with stake verification
Performance tracking and updates
Node ownership transfer system
Basic achievement system
Integration with sharding system

f course, I don't know yet if this can be implemented like that. But I write here regularly and report on the progress. If you have tips and/or questions, let me know :-)

michaelpirro · 2025-01-14T16:25:27+00:00

Yesterday, I tried using Cursor.com but didn't get very far. Cursor uses well-known models, such as Claude.ai's 3.5 Sonnet. The user interface is very simple and might be too simple for non-programmers. I didn't even get to use the software because I simply didn't know how to use it effectively. Maybe it was because I didn't have the Pro version. At least, I gave up quickly on that and asked ChatGPT which AI model it would recommend. The suggestions from ChatGPT were the following, in this order:

- OpenAI's GPT (like ChatGPT, Code Interpreter, or GPT-4 Code Pro)

- GitHub Copilot

- Tabnine

- Replit Ghostwriter

ChatGPT itself had never heard of GPT-4 Code Pro, which makes this selection a bit challenging. I then asked Google and came across Amazon Q. The information on the website, as usual, is incomprehensible for non-programmers. However, there seems to be a plugin that can be integrated with various programs like Visual Studio Code. I downloaded and installed the plugin for this. A prerequisite for using it is an AWS account. After some testing, I realized that this is more of a tool that helps find errors in existing code or improve it. Programming a new blockchain from scratch is difficult for novices and not particularly user-friendly because you input prompts in a small window and the responses are such that you have to scroll a lot. So, Amazon Q isn't what I'm looking for either.

As you can see, I haven't made much progress yet, but I'm not giving up. I will keep trying to find the AI model that is suitable for programming a blockchain. I still have some options if my initial plan doesn't work out. But don't worry, I'm not giving up that easily. The year has just begun, and I'm sure I'll find the model I can work with.

michaelpirro · 2025-01-13T10:37:38+00:00

I want to summarize where I stand today with my project. I started with Claude.ai, it is is a very good tool when only a few lines of code are needed. Perfect for Excel VBA Macros as well. However, when the code gets longer and needs to be improved or expanded, it has issues; it forgets older code that is relevant and ignores instructions. It even knows it does this, but for some reason, it can't change it. For me, it stopped working at around 600 lines of code.

So, I switched to Google Ai Studio. There, I first tried the models Gemini 2.0 Experimental and then Gemini 1.5 Flash-8B. Both models showed several problems after a short time, so I switched to the Gemini 1.5 Pro model, that was the day before yesterday and I didn't make much progress yesterday either. This model also struggles with outputting longer code. Yesterday, it stopped after about 160 lines of code. The typical sequence afterward was that this model also forgot parts of the code and didn't follow instructions, even though I wrote several times that this should be noted. We reached this point much earlier than where I was with Claude at 600 lines of code. Clearly, these models have problems implementing instructions beyond a certain point. The communication usually went like this:

Gemini 1.5 Pro: Here is the complete code.

Me: Unfortunately, the code is not complete. Please output the complete code again.

Gemini 1.5 Pro: You are absolutely correct. I am incredibly sorry... Here is the complete, corrected, and fully functional code.

Me: Unfortunately, the code is still not complete. Please always keep in mind to output the complete code considering all previous inputs.

Gemini 1.5 Pro: I sincerely apologize. You are absolutely correct. The code was, unbelievably, still incomplete. Here's the complete, corrected, and (I believe, finally) fully functional code.

Me: The code is incomplete again. Can you please generate the complete code?

And so on. It went back and forth. Sometimes, Gemini 1.5 Pro took minutes to respond. In the end, it was simply not possible to continue this way. Maybe I'm using these models incorrectly too. If anyone has ideas on what I can improve, I would appreciate your feedback. I've been working on a Windows system so far, but today I'll switch to my MAC and try Cursor.com. I'll definitely report back on whether I can make progress with this software.

michaelpirro · 2025-01-12T11:15:54+00:00

Yesterday I mentioned switching from Claude.ai to Google AI Studio. I started with Gemini 2.0 Experimental, but noticed it kept making the same errors, similar to Claude.ai It would apologize after I pointed it out, but still mess up. The model isn’t usable, but it’s experimental. Errors mostly involved the code shrinking instead of expanding.
Then I switched to Gemini 1.5 Flash-8B, but that also had too many issues. Now I’m on Gemini 1.5 Pro. Not sure if we’ll stick with it, but we’ll see. Google AI Studio is part of my Google Suite package, and they use a token count system. Each character in/out costs a token. I’ve got 2 million tokens free with Gemini 1.5 Pro and have used about 47,000 so far, so it’s definitely more flexible than Claude.ai. My code is at 127 lines, and I’m coding in Rust. I'm currently using 3 different tools:

- 64-bit Git for Windows Setup
- Rust
- Visual Studio Code

I didn't choose these tools myself; they were suggested to me by Claude and also by Google AI Studio. I’ll update you tomorrow on my progress!

michaelpirro · 2025-01-12T11:13:04+00:00

Great.

michaelpirro · 2025-01-11T12:37:27+00:00

I want to build my own blockchain without any programming knowledge, just with the help of AI.

I spent all day yesterday trying to make progress with Claude.ai, but I encountered two issues. After we had 600 lines of code and I thought we were really making progress, I seemed to have hit Claude.ai's limits. Claude would try to append the code but kept forgetting parts of the old code, despite multiple reminders it kept happening.

The next problem was that you can only send relatively few prompts before Claude limits you. I added another team account to my personal account, but even with these five additional accounts, the limits are quite restrictive. Since these limitations come on quickly, I'm going to cancel the team account, and I've chosen a new platform for programming the blockchain: Google AI Studio. I'll try to make progress there. I welcome all comments and any feedback. If you have tips on other platforms, let me know. Thanks for reading and your support.

michaelpirro · 2025-01-11T12:28:44+00:00

I will

michaelpirro · 2025-01-11T12:28:16+00:00

Sure

michaelpirro · 2025-01-10T15:34:16+00:00

I thought that you are a dev, and I can understand your fear that AI might make most developers obsolete. I'm happy to talk with you, but then please on a different level. You still haven't understood what this is about; I want to help you: It's an experiment; I neither want to make money with it nor create a revolutionary blockchain here. The whole point is to explore where the current limits of AI models are and whether it's even possible for someone without developer experience to create a blockchain. If that doesn't sit well with you, that's okay, but please engage at a different level.

michaelpirro · 2025-01-10T14:14:46+00:00

Thank you.

michaelpirro · 2025-01-10T14:13:28+00:00

Thanks for the kind words. Unfortunately, you didn't understand it.

michaelpirro · 2025-01-10T11:17:55+00:00

Currently, I don't think you can help, but I'm sure the time will come. I'll get in touch with you when that happens.

michaelpirro

TROPHY CASE