Skip to content

Risky Autonomy vs Walled Gardens

ArticleSarah Friend

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.

Related resources

Article

Theorizing Protocolization I New

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

Article

Curate Your Own Pipeline

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

Article

Bridge Atlas Ep 1 Entry Points

Bridge Atlas is a new video podcast series hosted by Christine D. Kim featuring conversations with protocol experts about the Summer of Protocols research program and its evolution across four phases focused on making protocols a first-class concept for understanding the world. The inaugural episode explores the program's history, funding from the Ethereum Foundation, and its output of essays, projects, and artifacts aimed at understanding, designing, and improving protocols.

Protocolized