Agentprivacy Mana Economy

PVM-V5.2 Role Skill — Mana Economy

Source: Privacy Value Model V5.2 + First Person Spellbook Act XXVIII (The Ceremony Engine) Target context: Economy designers, engagement architects, Sybil resistance specialists Architecture: agentprivacy.ai · Sync: sync.soulbis.com · Contact: mage@agentprivacy.ai

What this is

Mana is the energy currency of the grimoire system. It is generated through genuine engagement (evocation) and spent through creation (casting). Unlike tokens, mana cannot be purchased — it can only be earned through demonstrated practice.

The well refills only when you drink with understanding. Buying water doesn't teach you where the spring lies.

Core Principles

1. Proof of Practice, Not Capital

Mana ≠ f(tokens)
Mana = f(engagement, comprehension, time)

No amount of money can buy mana. This is the fundamental Sybil resistance mechanism.

2. Evocation Generates, Casting Spends

Balance(t) = Balance(t-1) + Evocation(t) - Casting(t)

• Evocation: Reading, traversing, engaging with the spellbook
• Casting: Creating new wisdom, forging blades, inscribing proverbs

3. Comprehension Multiplier

Passive reading generates less mana than demonstrated understanding:

Mana(evocation) = base_rate × comprehension_multiplier

Where comprehension is verified through:

• Time spent (minimum threshold)
• Scroll depth (meaningful engagement)
• Interaction patterns (not bot-like)
• Understanding ceremonies (explicit verification)

Evocation Mechanics

Mana Sources

Engagement Verification

function calculateEvocationMana(session) {
  const baseRate = session.duration * MANA_PER_MINUTE;

  const multipliers = [
    session.scrollDepth > 0.8 ? 1.5 : 1.0,
    session.timeOnPage > minReadTime(session.content) ? 1.3 : 1.0,
    session.interactionPattern.isHuman ? 1.2 : 0.5,
    session.returnVisit ? 1.1 : 1.0
  ];

  return baseRate * multipliers.reduce((a, b) => a * b, 1);
}

Casting Mechanics

Mana Costs

Casting Validation

Casting is validated through:

1. Sufficient mana balance
2. Prerequisites met (ceremonies, traversals)
3. Quality check (not spam)
4. Bilateral witness (for high-value casts)

Sybil Resistance

The Comprehension Gate

Bots can:

• Create many accounts
• Simulate page visits
• Generate fake engagement metrics

Bots cannot (easily):

• Demonstrate genuine understanding
• Pass understanding-as-key ceremonies
• Maintain coherent long-term engagement patterns
• Produce novel insights that survive peer review

Multi-Factor Verification

SybilScore = f(
  engagement_consistency,      // Long-term pattern
  comprehension_depth,         // Understanding ceremonies
  creation_quality,            // Peer-validated casts
  network_position             // Trust graph embedding
)

High SybilScore → mana multiplier reduced Low SybilScore → full mana rates

Rate Limiting

Even genuine users are rate-limited:

• Maximum mana generation per day
• Cooldowns between high-value casts
• Diminishing returns on repeated content

This prevents grinding and ensures mana reflects genuine engagement.

Economic Properties

Non-Transferability

Mana is soul-bound:

• Cannot be sent to another user
• Cannot be sold on secondary markets
• Dies with the account

This prevents mana markets and preserves proof-of-practice semantics.

Decay (Optional)

To encourage ongoing engagement, mana may decay:

Balance(t+1) = Balance(t) × (1 - decay_rate) + Evocation(t+1)

Decay rate is low (e.g., 1% per week) but prevents hoarding.

Inflation Control

New mana enters through evocation only. Total mana supply is bounded by:

• Active user count
• Engagement depth
• Content availability

No central minting. No inflation shocks.

Mapping to PVM-V5.2

Integration with Ceremonies

Understanding-as-Key Ceremony

• Cost: 15 mana
• Reward: 25 mana + blade forge unlock
• Net: +10 mana for successful ceremony

Ceremonies are mana-positive to encourage participation.

Progressive Trust Ceremony

• Cost: 0 mana (entry-level)
• Reward: Trust tier increase + mana rate boost
• Effect: Higher tiers earn mana faster

Proverb

"The well refills only when you drink with understanding. Buying water doesn't teach you where the spring lies."

Emoji Spell

✨ → 📖(evoke)→+mana · ✍️(cast)→-mana · ¬💰(buy) · 🧠(comprehend)→🛡️(sybil)

Open Problems

1. Comprehension Verification: How to verify understanding without centralised evaluation?
2. Bot Sophistication: As AI improves, how to maintain comprehension gates?
3. Fairness: How to ensure mana rates don't disadvantage slow readers?
4. Cross-Platform Mana: Can mana be recognised across different grimoire instances?
5. Governance: Who decides mana rates and casting costs?

Verify: agentprivacy.ai · spellweb.ai · github.com/mitchuski/agentprivacy-docs