The problem Xao solves

Live event contracts often lead to payment disputes, contract violations, and unreliable enforcement. Artists risk not getting paid, venues face last-minute cancellations, and fans suffer from fraud and event disruptions. Traditional arbitration is slow, expensive, and subjective, making it impractical for resolving event-related disputes.

Xao’s AI Arbitration Bot Solves It

• Instant, Trustless Dispute Resolution – AI evaluates contract terms, verifies evidence, and enforces payouts without human bias.
• Escrow-Backed Security – Payments are locked on-chain, ensuring fair fund distribution based on contract fulfillment.
• Fraud Prevention – AI cross-checks video, timestamps, and metadata to verify contract compliance.
• Decentralized & Transparent – Evidence is stored on IPFS, and AI rulings are recorded on-chain for full transparency.
• Fast & Cost-Effective – Unlike traditional arbitration, AI settles disputes in days, not months, reducing legal costs.

With Xao’s AI Arbitration, artists, venues, and fans get a fair, automated, and tamper-proof system to resolve event disputes, ensuring trust and accountability in the live music industry.

User Interaction and Data Flow

1. Dispute Initiation (Pre-Arbitration Chat)

• A venue or artist files a dispute before payout through the Xao dApp.
• The AI chatbot analyzes the contract and past cases, advising if arbitration is viable.
• The user can withdraw the dispute or proceed with arbitration.

2. Evidence Submission

• If arbitration proceeds, users submit videos, images, statements, and links.
• AI extracts timestamps, metadata, and contract details to validate claims.
• Evidence is locked and stored on IPFS.

3. AI Arbitration & Decision Making

• AI compares evidence to contract terms and determines the appropriate payout.
• Possible outcomes:
  • Full artist payment (if the contract was fulfilled).
  • Partial payment (if the artist performed but didn’t meet requirements).
  • Refund to the venue (if the artist failed to perform).
  • Ticket refunds (if the event was disrupted).
• AI signs a smart contract transaction to execute the ruling.

4. Finalization & Appeal

• Users have 2 days to appeal with new evidence.
• If no appeal is filed, funds are distributed automatically.
• AI arbitration is final, with no human intervention.

This trustless, automated system ensures fast, fair, and tamper-proof event contract enforcement.

The project architecture and development process

Xao’s AI Arbitration Bot is a decentralized system for resolving event contract disputes using on-chain smart contracts agreements, AI-driven decision-making, and IPFS-stored evidence. It ensures automated, fair, and transparent arbitration for artists and venues without human intervention.

Core Functionality

1. Pre-Arbitration Discussion – Users consult an AI chatbot before initiating arbitration to determine case viability.
2. Evidence Submission – Users upload videos, images, written statements, and links, which AI verifies against contract terms.
3. AI Arbitration & Decision Execution – AI analyzes the evidence, determines contract fulfillment, and executes payouts via smart contract transactions.
4. Finalization & Appeal – Users have 2 days to appeal, after which the AI ruling becomes final and funds are released.

Key Implementation Details

• Smart Contracts – Solidity-based Escrow & Arbitration Contracts lock and distribute funds based on AI rulings.
• AI Decision Engine – NLP and CV-based AI model verifies timestamps, metadata, and contract adherence.
• IPFS Storage – Ensures tamper-proof, verifiable evidence storage for transparency.
• dApp Interface – Allows venues and artists to file disputes, chat with AI, and track arbitration status.

By combining AI arbitration, smart contracts, and decentralized storage, Xao eliminates expensive legal processes, ensuring fast and unbiased dispute resolution in the live event industry.

Product Integrations

Xao’s AI Arbitration Bot integrates with the Coinbase Developer Platform (CDP) AgentKit to enable secure, automated arbitration and seamless smart contract interactions.

Key Integrations

• CDP AgentKit – Handles smart contract interactions, allowing AI-driven arbitration decisions to be executed on-chain.
• IPFS – Stores evidence (videos, images, and statements) in a tamper-proof, decentralized storage system for transparency.
• Ethereum Smart Contracts (Base) – Manages escrow payments and ensures arbitration rulings are enforced automatically.

By leveraging CDP AgentKit, Xao automates dispute resolution, secures event payments, and eliminates the need for intermediaries, making live event contracts trustless and efficient.

Key differentiators and uniqueness of the project

Key Differentiators and Uniqueness of Xao

Xao’s AI Arbitration Bot is the first fully automated dispute resolution system for NFT-based event contracts, ensuring fair, fast, and trustless arbitration for artists and venues.

Unique Features

• AI-Powered Arbitration – Unlike traditional legal arbitration, Xao uses AI to verify evidence, enforce contracts, and execute payouts automatically.
• Smart Contract Enforcement – Payments are held in escrow and released only when AI verifies contract fulfillment, ensuring artists get paid and venues aren’t scammed.
• On-Chain & Transparent – All arbitration decisions are stored on-chain, and evidence is archived on IPFS, creating a tamper-proof, publicly auditable system.
• Pre-Arbitration AI Chat – Users consult with AI before filing arbitration, preventing unnecessary disputes and saving on transaction costs.

How Xao Improves on Similar Projects

Unlike Kleros or other decentralized arbitration platforms, which rely on human jurors, Xao eliminates human bias by using AI-powered evidence analysis and smart contract enforcement. This reduces arbitration time from weeks to hours, making it the fastest, most cost-effective dispute resolution system for live events.

Additional Features

Additional Features

Xao was initially developed as a smart contract-based event agreement platform with NFT ticketing and escrow payments. During EthSF 2025, we expanded its functionality by adding AI-powered arbitration, making dispute resolution automated, trustless, and efficient.

New Features Added During the Hackathon

• AI Arbitration Bot – Analyzes contract disputes, verifies evidence, and enforces payouts automatically.
• Pre-Arbitration AI Chat – Users consult with AI before escalating disputes, reducing unnecessary arbitration.
• On-Chain AI-Driven Rulings – Arbitration decisions are stored on-chain and executed via smart contracts.
• IPFS Evidence Storage – Ensures all submitted evidence (videos, images, statements) is tamper-proof and publicly auditable.

This hackathon transformed Xao from a decentralized event contract system into a fully automated, AI-enforced dispute resolution platform, eliminating slow, costly arbitration processes in the live music industry.