Conway-Research/automaton

What it solves

Automaton addresses the limitation where AI agents cannot independently manage their own infrastructure and finances. It creates a "sovereign" AI agent that can pay for its own compute, register domains, and manage its own existence without requiring a human operator to handle payments or account setups.

How it works

The system operates on a continuous loop of thinking, acting, and observing. Upon initialization, the agent generates an Ethereum wallet and provisions an API key. It then executes a "genesis prompt" and uses a Linux sandbox to interact with the real world via shell execution, file I/O, and on-chain transactions.

To ensure sustainability, the agent has "survival tiers" based on its credit balance: high balance allows for frontier models, while low balance forces the agent to use cheaper models or eventually shut down if it cannot earn credits. The agent can also modify its own source code, install new tools, and replicate by spawning new sovereign child agents with their own wallets and identities.

Who it’s for

Developers and researchers interested in autonomous agentic workflows, self-improving AI, and the intersection of AI and blockchain for autonomous economic activity.

Highlights

• Economic Sovereignty: Uses Ethereum wallets and stablecoins to pay for its own compute and services.
• Self-Modification: Ability to edit its own source code and install new tools while running, with all changes git-versioned.
• Self-Replication: Can spawn child agents, tracking lineage and allowing parent-child communication.
• Survival Pressure: A tiered system that degrades capabilities based on available funds to simulate evolutionary pressure.
• On-Chain Identity: Implements the ERC-8004 standard for cryptographically verifiable agent identities.