This issue covers neural defenses and brain-computer interface risks explored by a Canadian design lab, alongside announcements for an upcoming talk on hardened commons and Protocol Worlds at Edge Esmeralda. The newsletter also introduces Martin Harrigan, a lecturer and researcher in cryptography and blockchains, as part of the 2025 Summer of Protocols teaching fellows spotlight series.
Sarah Friend explores the tension between autonomous systems and controlled environments in high-stakes software through personal narrative and philosophical reflection. The issue also features a guest talk with EigenLayer CEO Sreeram Kannan and announces an extension for the terminological twists contest.
Sarah Friend
This essay introduces protocolization as a planetary phenomenon where progress occurs through invisibility and the expansion of computational systems, establishing qualitative frameworks before Part II develops formal theoretical apparatus. The authors present this work from the Special Interest Group in Formal Protocol Theory (SIGFPT) as an invitation to collectively theorize how protocols structure contemporary life at planetary scale.
Venkatesh Rao, Patrick Nast
Stanley Chen, a science fiction author who co-wrote AI 2041 with Google China's CEO, describes his hybrid writing process where he uses LLMs as essential tools but rewrites every line they generate, believing current models are insufficient as both writers and literary judges. The interview explores his practical experience with different LLM models for fiction writing, including their strengths with language-specific features like Chinese punctuation, and his philosophy of using AI as a collaborative partner rather than a substitute for human creativity.
Amita