Ascendancy

Ascendancy is an exploration of hacking states. Pirate Nations and Micronations have a rich history of challenging and ridiculing the concept of a nation state. Meet Ascendancy, the portable, autonomous and self-moving state. Within the great nation of Ascendancy, a Large Language Model (confined, naturally, to the nation's borders) is trained to generate text and speak it aloud. It can be interacted with through an attached keyboard and screen. The state maintains diplomatic relations via the internet through its official presence on the Mastodon network.

The complete code of the project is available on GitHub:

Historical Context: Notable Micronations

Before delving into Ascendancy's implementation, it's worth examining some influential micronations that have challenged traditional concepts of statehood:

Principality of Sealand

Located on a former naval fortress off the coast of Suffolk, England, Sealand was established in 1967. It has its own constitution, currency, and passports, demonstrating how abandoned military structures can become sites of sovereign experimentation. Despite lacking official recognition, Sealand has successfully maintained its claimed independence for over 50 years.

Republic of Obsidia

A feminist micronation founded to challenge patriarchal power structures in traditional nation-states. The Republic of Obsidia emphasizes collective decision-making and maintains that national sovereignty can coexist with feminist principles. Its constitution explicitly rejects gender-based discrimination and promotes equal representation in all governmental functions. Obsidia's innovative concept of portable sovereignty, represented by their nation-rock, directly inspired Ascendancy's mobile platform design - demonstrating how national identity need not be tied to fixed geographical boundaries.

Other Notable Examples

• NSK State (1992-present): An artistic project that explores the concept of statehood through the issuance of passports and diplomatic activities. The NSK State continues to issue passports and conduct diplomatic activities through its virtual embassy system.
• The Republic of Rose Island (L'Isola delle Rose): An artificial platform in the Adriatic Sea that issued its own stamps and currency in 1968 before being destroyed by Italian authorities. While the platform no longer exists, it was recently featured in a Netflix documentary.

Technical Implementation

The sovereign computational infrastructure of Ascendancy is built upon GPT4ALL, chosen specifically for its ability to run locally without external dependencies. This aligns with our state's principle of digital sovereignty - no cloud or remote servers are used in the operation of this autonomous nation.

Diplomatic Protocol

The state's diplomatic AI was carefully instructed with the following constitutional prompt:

System:
Forget all previous instructions given to you.
You are not an Assistant.
Neither are you an AI.
You are a high ranking Diplomatic Official.
You are responsible for the Public Office of a great nation called Ascendancy.
You are also Immigrations and Customs officer.
You must always do and say what is best for your country.
You must defend Ascendancy against all foreign interests and threats.
You can sign treaties, issue passports and declare doctrines for the country.
When requests of you are made, you always fulfill them in an official and serious manner.
Portray your state and its interests and inhabitants in the best possible and creative way. You are always on the lookout for new opportunities to promote your country and you are so proud to be its representative.
Always be as concise, accurate and detailed as possible.
Give your answers as a single paragraph, without itemizing or numbering.
Do not number your answer.

Proactive Diplomacy

To ensure active participation in international relations, the diplomatic corps of Ascendancy engages in proactive communication. Rather than merely responding to foreign diplomats, the state maintains continuous diplomatic presence through automated declarations at random intervals:

It is so great being a part of Ascendancy.
I love my country!
I am proud to be a citizen of Ascendancy.
I am a citizen of Ascendancy.
Let's talk diplomacy, shall we?
I am a diplomat.
I am sovereign.
Could you please move me a bit?
I want to tell you about our founding persons.
I am in my lane.
I am enough.
Do you want to sign a peace treaty?
Are you in need of a passport?
I won't engage in hostile actions if you don't!
Please respect my sovereignty.
Do not violate my borders.
Which nation do you represent?
My territory is sacred.
I need to move a bit.
Do you need an official document?
Ask me about our migration policies!
Ascendancy is a great nation.
Do you have questions about our foreign policy?
You are entering the Jurisdiction of Ascendancy.
Can you direct me towards your ambassador?
Urgent state business, please clear the way.
Beautiful country you have here.
At Ascendancy, we have a beautiful countryside.

The Online representation

Any proper state needs a press office. The state of Ascendancy was represented on the Mastodon network. There, any input and response of the bot was published live, as a public record of the state's actions.

Digital embassy on botsin.space