# How AIA Chain Works AIA Chain offers a community-operated cloud infrastructure designed for deploying and running decentralized applications. It combines the characteristics of decentralized databases with features of serverless computing platforms. Applications running on this platform can also create their own tokens and interact in novel ways. These capabilities allow developers to build applications that handle high-storage data, such as money, identity, and assets, with reduced backend scrutiny and seamless integration with other components. The backend and components of these applications are referred to as "smart contracts." The infrastructure of this protocol is created by a limited number of "nodes" operated by individuals and organizations around the world. Developers write smart contracts and deploy them to this protocol, similar to how they would deploy applications to a single server in existing centralized clouds. Once a developer deploys an application, referred to as a "smart contract," and marks it as immutable, the application continues to exist and run on AIA Chain’s blockchain. In centralized protocols, decisions are made unilaterally by the controlling company. AIA Chain's community-operated protocol is decentralized, so updates must ultimately be accepted by a sufficient number of network participants. Future updates are generated by the community and are subject to an inclusive governance process that balances efficiency and security. To ensure that node operators—who may be anonymous and potentially running code in good faith—are held accountable, they participate in a process known as "Proof of Stake." In this process, they are willing to risk a portion of their value, which can be forfeited if their actions are proven to be improper. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://aiachain.gitbook.io/aia-chain-pos-ai-and-financial-payments/how-aia-chain-works.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.