> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://guardiandocs.korymsmith.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Author

> About Guardian API and its creator

## Creator

<Card title="Kory Smith" icon="user">
  **Role**: Creator & Lead Developer

  **Contributions**:

  * Full-stack development
  * Machine learning implementation
  * API architecture & design
  * SDKs (Python & JavaScript)
  * Documentation & deployment
</Card>

## Project Background

Guardian API evolved from an academic machine learning project focused on detecting sexism in social media text. What started as a binary classification problem for a CSC 380 class project has grown into a comprehensive, production-ready content moderation system.

### Academic Foundation (Fall 2025)

**Course**: CSC 380 - Machine Learning
**Institution**: University of Arizona
**Original Goal**: Build a sexism classifier using LASSO regression

**Initial Scope**:

* Train binary classifier on \~40,000 labeled tweets
* Achieve >80% F1 score
* Demonstrate practical ML engineering

### Evolution to Production

After successfully completing the academic requirements, I chose to expand the project into a full-fledged API service:

**Phase 1**: Multi-Model Architecture

* Added toxicity transformer model
* Integrated rule-based heuristics
* Designed ensemble aggregation system

**Phase 2**: Production Infrastructure

* Built FastAPI backend
* Implemented rate limiting and caching
* Added comprehensive error handling and logging

**Phase 3**: Developer Experience

* Created Python and JavaScript SDKs
* Generated comprehensive documentation
* Set up interactive API playground

**Phase 4**: Advanced Features

* GPU acceleration support
* Batch processing capabilities
* Custom deployment options

## Philosophy

Guardian API is built on several core principles:

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Transparency" icon="eye">
    **Open Source & Explainable**

    * Full source code available on GitHub
    * Clear model explanations
    * Documented decision-making process
    * No black-box algorithms
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Accuracy" icon="bullseye">
    **Multi-Model Validation**

    * Never rely on a single model
    * Ensemble voting reduces false positives
    * Continuous evaluation and improvement
    * Academic rigor meets production standards
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Flexibility" icon="sliders">
    **Configurable & Extensible**

    * Adjustable thresholds
    * Custom rule sets
    * Pluggable model architecture
    * Self-hosted or cloud options
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Developer-First" icon="code">
    **Built for Engineers**

    * Clean REST API
    * Type-safe SDKs
    * Comprehensive documentation
    * Interactive examples
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Technology Stack

Guardian API leverages modern tools and frameworks:

### Backend

* **FastAPI**: High-performance async Python web framework
* **PyTorch**: Deep learning framework for transformer models
* **Scikit-learn**: Machine learning for LASSO classifier
* **Pydantic**: Data validation and settings management

### Models

* **Custom LASSO**: Binary sexism classifier
* **HuggingFace Transformers**: Pre-trained toxicity detection
* **NLTK**: Natural language preprocessing
* **Custom Rules**: Regex-based pattern matching

### Infrastructure

* **Uvicorn**: ASGI server
* **Redis/Upstash**: Rate limiting and caching
* **Docker**: Containerization
* **GitHub Actions**: CI/CD (planned)

### SDKs

* **Python**: Type hints, async support
* **TypeScript**: Full type definitions
* **Requests/Fetch**: HTTP clients

## Recognition

<Info>
  **Academic Excellence**: Guardian API received high marks in CSC 380 for demonstrating production-grade ML engineering, going well beyond the standard academic project scope.
</Info>

<Note>
  **Open Source**: The project is fully open source and welcomes contributions from the community. See our [GitHub repository](https://github.com/Ksmith18skc/GuardianAPI) for contribution guidelines.
</Note>

## Contact

* **GitHub**: [github.com/Ksmith18skc/GuardianAPI](https://github.com/Ksmith18skc/GuardianAPI)
* **Issues**: Report bugs or request features on GitHub Issues
* **Discussions**: Join conversations in GitHub Discussions

## Acknowledgments

Special thanks to:

* **University of Arizona** - For providing the academic environment and resources
* **CSC 380 Course Staff** - For guidance on ML best practices
* **HuggingFace** - For pre-trained transformer models
* **FastAPI Community** - For excellent web framework
* **Open Source Community** - For the tools that made this possible

***

<Card title="Want to Contribute?" icon="heart" href="https://github.com/Ksmith18skc/GuardianAPI">
  Guardian API is open source and welcomes contributions. Whether it's code, documentation, or ideas, contributions are appreciated.
</Card>