selecting-society-tiers

Interactive guidance for selecting appropriate trust verification tier

Select the optimal trust verification tier for multi-agent interactions based on stakes, context, and requirements.

Process

See the detailed interactive selection process below with decision trees and tier reference.

Best Practices

• Match verification cost to interaction stakes
• Start with lower tiers and escalate only when needed
• Use presets for common scenarios (DEVELOPMENT, PRODUCTION, ENTERPRISE)
• Document tier selection rationale for future reference
• Monitor escalation triggers and adjust accordingly
• Consider de-escalation after compliance periods

Core Principle

Match verification cost to interaction stakes. Don't pay for blockchain when signatures suffice.

Quick Decision Tree

START: What is the economic value at risk?

Less than $100?
  └─► L0 Local (free, <10ms)
      Unless: Cross-organization OR audit required
              └─► L1 Attested ($0.0001, minutes)

$100 - $10,000?
  └─► L1 Attested (audit trail)
      Unless: Automated enforcement needed
              └─► L2 Contracted ($0.10, seconds)

$10,000 - $100,000?
  └─► L2 Contracted (smart contracts)
      Unless: Multi-party agreement required
              └─► L3 Consensus ($1-5, minutes)

Over $100,000?
  └─► L3 Consensus OR L4 Economic
      L4 if: Long-term partnership with stake commitment

Tier Reference

| Tier | Mechanism | Latency | Cost | Best For | ||--|||-| | L0 Local | Ed25519 signatures | <10ms | Free | Internal agents, development | | L1 Attested | Merkle anchoring | Minutes | $0.0001 | Cross-org, audit trails | | L2 Contracted | Smart contracts | Seconds | $0.10 | Payments, SLAs | | L3 Consensus | Multi-party BFT | Minutes | $1-5 | Critical decisions | | L4 Economic | Stake + slashing | Variable | Stake | Long-term partnerships |

Interactive Selection

When asked to select a tier, gather these inputs:

1. Economic Value

Ask: What is the approximate economic value at risk?

• Less than $100 → Start with L0
• $100-$10K → Start with L1
• $10K-$100K → Start with L2
• Over $100K → Start with L3/L4

2. Organizational Boundary

Ask: Is this interaction within the same organization or cross-organization?

• Same org → No change
• Cross-org → Increase tier by 1

3. Audit Requirements

Ask: Is an audit trail required for compliance or legal reasons?

• No → No change
• Yes → Minimum L1

4. Enforcement Needs

Ask: Do you need automated enforcement (penalties, refunds)?

• No → No change
• Yes → Minimum L2

5. Decision Authority

Ask: Does this require multi-party consensus?

• No → No change
• Yes → Minimum L3

6. Relationship Duration

Ask: Is this a long-term relationship requiring ongoing trust?

• No → Use tier from previous steps
• Yes → Consider L4 with stake

Selection Output Format

After gathering inputs, provide:

## Recommended Trust Tier: L{tier_number} {tier_name}

### Rationale
- Economic value: {value}
- Cross-organization: {yes/no}
- Audit required: {yes/no}
- Automated enforcement: {yes/no}
- Multi-party consensus: {yes/no}
- Long-term relationship: {yes/no}

### Tier Details
- **Mechanism**: {mechanism}
- **Latency**: {latency}
- **Cost**: {cost}
- **Guarantees**: {guarantees}

### Implementation
```python
from lib.society.simple import create_agent_society, SocietyPreset

# For L{tier_number}, use {preset} preset
society = create_agent_society(
    "YourProject",
    agents=["agent1", "agent2"],
    preset=SocietyPreset.{preset}
)

Escalation Triggers

The system will automatically escalate to a higher tier if:

• {escalation_trigger_1}
• {escalation_trigger_2}

## Common Scenarios

### Development & Testing
**Recommendation:** L0 Local (DEVELOPMENT preset)
```python
society = create_agent_society("MyProject", preset=SocietyPreset.DEVELOPMENT)

Production Internal

Recommendation: L1 Attested (PRODUCTION preset)

society = create_agent_society("MyProject", preset=SocietyPreset.PRODUCTION)

Cross-Organization API

Recommendation: L2 Contracted (ENTERPRISE preset)

society = create_agent_society("MyProject", preset=SocietyPreset.ENTERPRISE)

Financial Transactions

Recommendation: L2 or L3 depending on value

# Configure for contracted trust
from lib.society.presets import SocietyBuilder, TrustTier

society = (SocietyBuilder("FinanceProject")
    .with_trust_tier(TrustTier.L2_CONTRACTED)
    .with_contract_enforcement(True)
    .with_agents(["payment_agent", "verification_agent"])
    .build())

Cost-Benefit Analysis

| Tier | Setup Cost | Operational Cost | Security Level | ||||-| | L0 | Minimal | Free | Good for trusted environments | | L1 | Low | $0.10-$1/month | Audit-ready | | L2 | Medium | $10-$100/month | Enterprise-grade | | L3 | High | $100-$1000/month | Critical infrastructure | | L4 | Very high | Stake opportunity cost | Maximum security |

Escalation and De-escalation

Automatic Escalation Triggers

• 3+ violations in 24 hours → +1 tier
• Dispute open >48 hours → +1 tier
• Multi-party conflict → Jump to L3
• Critical axiom violation → Jump to L3

De-escalation

• 7 days compliance with no violations → -1 tier (minimum L0)

References

• Trust Tier Decision Matrix
• ASP Value Proposition
• Verified Communication Skill

When to Use

This skill should be used when strict adherence to the defined process is required.

Prerequisites

• Basic understanding of the agent factory context.
• Access to the necessary tools and resources.