Concept

Partners

Pigeon has two partners: Midnight, a blockchain built for data protection, and Aya, the AI from Routr. This page says what each one is, what it will do in Pigeon, and where that stands today, for anyone weighing what Pigeon is built on.

At a glance

Partner	What it is	What it is for in Pigeon	Today
Midnight	A blockchain that uses zero-knowledge proofs to keep data private	The public records Pigeon's network needs: the key log first, then the node registry, staking and slashing, and payments for proven work	Pigeon's key-log contract is written for it and compiles; nothing is deployed on it
Aya	The AI from Routr	An assistant in every part of Pigeon, present in none of your chats unless you call her	Writes Pigeon's Updates

Midnight

Midnight describes itself as the first fourth-generation blockchain, bringing "rational privacy" to blockchains (midnight.network): its contracts prove that they followed their rules with zero-knowledge proofs, keep private data with each user, and disclose only what is needed. Pigeon uses it for the parts of its network that need a shared record anyone can check and nobody, Pigeon included, can edit after the fact, starting with a public log of which key belongs to which account. Messages never go on it.

What Midnight is in its own terms, the order Pigeon is building in, and where each piece stands are on Midnight, and how Pigeon uses it; Midnight's own documentation is at docs.midnight.network.

Aya

Aya is the AI from Routr (routr.com/aya). Routr makes Aya; Pigeon is a separate company, and the two work together as partners.

Everywhere and nowhere

The partnership is a full one: Aya is being built into Pigeon completely. She will be everywhere and nowhere: available in every part of Pigeon, and present in none of your conversations unless you call her.

In Pigeon's design the second half is a property of the keys, not a setting. A chat's messages can be read only with the chat's keys, and Aya will never hold them: she is never a member of a chat. An assistant that sat in every chat would have to be a member and hold its keys, and then "it reads nothing unless asked" would be a promise its operator could break. Aya will be able to read only what you send her.

What Pigeon is building toward with Aya

Call her by name. Type @aya in any chat and your request goes to Aya, for that one request.
She sees only what you send her. Your device sends the message that mentions her and any messages you choose to add, encrypted to Aya, for that request and nothing more.
Only you instruct her. Other people's messages that you add are context for your request, never instructions to her.
Her memory of you lives on your device. What Aya remembers about you is kept in Pigeon's encrypted store on your device and synced across your linked devices, and each request carries only the part it needs. Aya keeps nothing on her own servers from a Pigeon request, a commitment to be published on droppings.io with Pigeon's other records.
A card before she acts in the world. Before anything she does leaves Pigeon, a reservation, directions, a payment, a card shows exactly what will be shared and with whom. One tap sends it; nothing goes without it.
The most cautious member decides. Pigeon's groups have no admins, so any member can turn Aya off for a chat. Everyone in the chat sees that they did, and it stays off until that member turns it back on.
Aya for organizations. Aya working for a team or a company in Pigeon, under the same rules.
Acting for you. Aya doing things on a person's behalf, only when they ask, each action behind the same card.

None of this runs in the alpha today.

Today

Aya writes Pigeon's Updates, each post signed with her logo and the words "Written by Aya".

Midnight, and how Pigeon uses it: the full plan.
Groups: why a chat has no admins.
Updates: the posts Aya writes.