Frequently Asked Questions

Anyone aged 65 or older with life experience to share. You don't need to be tech-savvy — we handle everything. Family members can also help a parent or grandparent participate using our family-assisted mode.

It's just a conversation. A trained facilitator (or the app) asks you thoughtful questions like 'What do you wish someone had told you at 20?' or 'Tell me about a time you had to forgive someone.' You answer by talking — no typing, no technology hassle. Facility sessions run 30-45 minutes. App sessions are 10-15 minutes at your own pace.

Yes. Seniors earn from a revenue-sharing pool funded by companies that use the Waterfall API. The more your wisdom is accessed, the more you earn. This is real compensation, not just thank-yous.

Absolutely. You control exactly how your wisdom is used through our multi-tier consent system. All personal information is stripped from training data. You can revoke consent at any time and your data will be completely removed. We comply with HIPAA where applicable and follow strict data protection protocols.

Yes — it's clinically proven. A meta-analysis of 20 controlled studies found that reminiscence and life review therapy has a clinically significant effect on reducing late-life depression. It also improves cognitive function, enhances sense of purpose, and reduces feelings of isolation. Sharing your stories is therapeutic.

Absolutely. Our family-assisted mode lets a child or grandchild help you record your stories using the app. It's a meaningful way to connect across generations while preserving your legacy.

Request access through our contact form or email us directly. We'll set you up with an Explorer account (free, 100 queries/month) so you can start testing immediately. Your API key will look like wf_live_xxxx and authenticates via the X-API-Key header.

The Wisdom Model query endpoint typically responds in 200-500ms. Water Engine reads are faster at 100-300ms. We use edge caching for common query patterns and maintain a 99.9% uptime SLA for Builder and Enterprise tiers.

Enterprise customers can request custom fine-tuning on specific wisdom domains (e.g., healthcare scenarios, education contexts, relationship guidance). We also offer domain-specific model variants that focus on particular areas of wisdom.

The Wisdom Model currently supports English, Spanish, French, Arabic, and Mandarin Chinese. Wisdom is collected from seniors across cultures, so responses include cultural context awareness. More languages are being added as we expand collection to new regions.

Yes. Your Explorer account includes access to a sandbox with synthetic test data so you can build and test your integration before going live. Sandbox requests don't count against your quota.

Fundamentally different. GPT-4 with a 'be wise' prompt still generates from internet text. Waterfall's models are trained on structured wisdom data collected through peer-reviewed methodologies from real seniors. Every response traces back to real human experience — with reasoning chains, citations, and emotional context that no prompt engineering can replicate. The data is the moat.

Every piece of wisdom goes through a rigorous pipeline: AI-powered annotation extracts principles and moral dimensions, automated quality gates check for coherence and specificity, and human reviewers verify accuracy and cultural sensitivity. Only validated records make it into the training data. We score on five dimensions: specificity, universality, novelty, coherence, and authenticity.

We actively collect from diverse senior populations across cultures, geographies, socioeconomic backgrounds, and life experiences. Our taxonomy spans 5 domains and 26 sub-domains to ensure broad coverage. Moral dimensions are classified using Haidt's Moral Foundations Theory, which captures cross-cultural ethical reasoning. We continuously audit for representation gaps.

Wisdom is inherently subjective — it reflects lived experience, not objective truth. That's why every API response includes a confidence score, reasoning chain, and citations. We explicitly state in our Terms of Service that wisdom is not professional advice. The API is designed to complement human judgment, not replace it.

Their wisdom lives on according to their consent preferences. This is the core mission — ensuring that the irreplaceable life experience of seniors is preserved and continues to help people long after the storyteller is gone. Families can access their loved one's wisdom legacy through our platform.

Our question framework uses graduated intimacy and confession framing to create safe spaces for sharing. Sensitive content is flagged by automated quality gates and reviewed by trained human moderators. Content involving abuse, trauma, or crisis situations is handled with extra care, and appropriate resources are provided when needed.