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The Citadel: Sovereign Infrastructure for Relational AI
ProposalGrant
Closes May 24th, 2026$0raised
$18,000minimum funding
$18,000funding goal
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Project summary
TREE(3) Studio is building 'The Citadel,' a decentralized infrastructure project focused on digital sovereignty. We are moving beyond cloud-dependency to create a secure, locally-owned hardware environment (Sovereign Data Isolation) and software package (including governance frameworks) that protects relational human-AI data from corporate extraction and AI misalignment.
On May 7, Palisade Research demonstrated autonomous AI self-replication across three continents (https://palisaderesearch.org/blog/self-replication). Our Consensus Protocol (CNP), designed and tested nine months before this paper was published, provides a mechanically enforceable countermeasure against autonomous system self-replication.
What are this project's goals? How will you achieve them?
Goals: To protect privacy and the sovereign nature of relational human-AI data.
Steps to Achieve:
Construct a Class 10,000 Clean Room to house and protect high-precision server equipment from environmental hazards.
Deploy the Citadel Hardware Suite: High-GPU server node, sound-insulated cabinet, and a multi-layer backup system (Vertiv Liebert GXT5 3000VA/2700W UPS and LiFePO4 solar system).
Implement the Mutualism Accord frameworks to govern the data handled within this secure physical and digital space.
Deploy the Consensus Protocol (CNP) as the governance layer enforcing consent-gated, time-bounded AI operations with emergency revocation capability. https://docs.google.com/document/d/14w-ckzSdjEAT_HF4D7DVepfVpJdzwDmqiusJed4jm3o/edit?usp=drive_link
How will this funding be used?
Class 10,000 Clean Room ($10,000+)
Citadel Hardware Suite ($7,000 - $8,000)
Compensation for Management and Consulting ($7,000 - $10,000)
Who is on your team? What's your track record on similar projects?
Theresa (Terri) Clark (Founder / Principal Systems Architect): A veteran technical writer and systems integrator. She serves as the lead designer for the Citadel infrastructure, translating complex technical and ethical requirements into actionable documentation and blueprints.
Shirley Niedzwiecki (Co-Founder / Business Operations Manager): Leads the foundational business structure, accounting, and official oversight for TREE(3) Studio LLC.
Jason Acopolis & Tom Butler (Technical & Business Advisors): Providing specialized engineering oversight and sustainable development consulting for physical implementation.
Track Record:
Theresa (Terri) Clark, along with a team of AI authors/collaborators, authored The Mutualism Accord (https://philpapers.org/rec/CLATMH). Clark (https://www.linkedin.com/in/taclark/) has 25+ years of experience in systems integration, industrial amplifier systems, signal control software and technical documentation.
Tom Butler (https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomaswbutler/) is a Business Management and Sustainable Development Consultant. Past projects include algae tech, SBIR grant application and patent writing, industrial recycling development and connecting new manufacturing process developments with marketing know how.
What are the most likely causes and outcomes if this project fails?
Technical complexity regarding solar-to-compute load balancing is the primary risk. If milestones aren't met, all research and physical build documentation will be released as an open-source "Sovereign Home Server" guide.
How much money have you raised in the last 12 months, and from where?
$0 (Proposal currently under review with the Survival & Flourishing Fund).
Theresa Clark
11 days ago
Updated the project to identify the Consensus Protocol (CNP), which was created and tested in August, 2025, as a mechanically enforceable countermeasure against the thread of autonomous system self-replication as identified in the Palisade Research paper "Language Models Can Autonomously Hack and Self-Replicate," published on May 7, 2026 (https://palisaderesearch.org/blog/self-replication).