About
Independent, transdisciplinary team rethinking humanitarianism, particularly what conflict prevention and support for communities on a large scale look like.
The lab's projects are diverse, but all share the core intention of: building self-governance and anti-autocratic resilience tools and research, in a third space derived from the principles of traditional interventions + decentralization of vertical power and information structures.
Areas of Interest
- horizontal collective intelligence and decision-making tools
- alternative information distribution systems in authoritarian regimes, conflict zones; modeling of information and resource flows during system breakdowns
- integration of insights from mediation/ peace-building operations into digital spaces, tools for bridge-building between communities that are moderated in a decentralized/ peer-to-peer manner on online platforms
- secure community archives, radio stations
- accelerated infrastructure reconstruction, rapid-deployment infrastructure solutions for media organizations, psychological support facilities, and essential services
Emerging Questions
How do we prevent conflict, facilitate mediation, leverage collective intelligence today?
How do we map and understand the distribution of power across hybrid networks/ where is agency placed if not simply embedded in the individual?
How can individuals and their communities protect themselves from attacks, use technology as a site of contestation of power?
What constitutes authentic social reward in this system?
How do we understand the social navigation and group coordination through which communities choose which meanings/uses of technological tools to integrate? Relatedly, what are the modern-day challenges with understanding the mechanisms through which individuals reach understandings of their world?