Introducing the New Artificiality Institute

This is the most important newsletter/post we have published.

While working with thousands of people navigating the new world of AI, we've been motivated by three simple but big questions:

• What does AI mean to me?
• What will it mean to be human?
• How do we lead a meaningful life with this new synthetic intelligence?

Our core interest in meaning—and in designing for a more meaningful life—is at odds with the direction of the AI industry. 

Yes, technology-assisted efficiency is a fine goal—that's been the case since Steve Jobs called the computers a 'bicycle for the mind' nearly 50 years ago. But tech's pursuit of monetizing efficiency has seen our attention fracked, our society fractured, and a population frightened and angered by Silicon Valley's vision of AI-enabled automation and displacement.

We believe that it doesn't have to be this way. 

We believe that synthetic intelligence can be beautiful—a source of awe and wonder rather than anxiety and fear. We believe that it's possible to design symbiotic AI systems that support rather than supplant us. And we believe these systems can help us lead more meaningful lives. 

Introducing: The Artificiality Institute

We are re-establishing Artificiality as a nonprofit research organization: the Artificiality Institute. 

We're doing this because we believe that humanity is undergoing the largest shift in what it means to be human. We exist to bear witness to this change, to shape it, and to serve the public good in the process. Here's how:

The Chronicle: A Living Record of the Transition to Synthetic Intelligence

Our flagship research program is a longitudinal, participatory ethnography of AI’s human impact. The Chronicle captures those intimate, often-overlooked threshold moments when AI enters a person’s life and alters how they think, feel, learn, decide, or create.

These are not just stories. They are data, design inspiration, and moral compass. Participants are not subjects but co-researchers and co-storytellers. Outputs include public exhibits, multimedia archives, and critical design briefs to inform how AI systems are built and understood.

Neosemantic Design: Beyond the GUI

From these lived experiences, we’re developing a new design philosophy: Neosemantic Design. It goes beyond the GUI and beyond skeuomorphism to imagine radically new forms of interface, language, and interaction between human and synthetic minds. It’s about creating expressive systems where meaning flows freely—not just functionality.

Building a Community for Meaningful AI

To do all of this, we’re growing a community—including you. We're gathering researchers, designers, collaborators, conspirators, dreamers, and supporters. We believe the best technology is created for people, not just for profit. And we believe that if we can imagine a better future, we can have a chance at creating it—with a like-minded community.

At the core of our community are our advisors. We are thrilled and humbled to launch the Artificiality Institute with the support of advisors who have shaped our thinking and inspired our work:

• Barbara Tversky, Emerita Professor of Psychology at Stanford University and Columbia Teachers College
• Don Norman, Board Member Nielsen Norman Group and Don Norman Design Award, Professor Emeritus of Cognitive Science & Psychology at University of California, San Diego
• Jamer Hunt, Professor of Transdisciplinary Design, Parsons School of Design
• John Pasmore, Founder & CEO, Latimer.ai
• Peter Spear, ethnographer, brand consultant, and principal of SPEAR, a brand listening company
• Steven Sloman, Professor of Cognitive and Psychological Sciences, Brown University

Our Mission, Vision, and Impact:

• Mission: To shape the emerging human experience in an increasingly synthetic world through participatory research, inclusive design, and public storytelling.
• Vision: A world where human identity is enriched by awe of diverse intelligences, wonder at emergent consciousness, and symbiosis with minds created for our minds.
• Impact: We aim to co-create a public record of 1 million moments between people and AI. We aspire to use that knowledge in our design lab to influence products reaching 1 billion people. And we dream that our frameworks and designs will positively impact 1 trillion hours of human life.

How You Can Help

• Donate: We cannot build this alone. Your support powers the research, stories, and designs that shape how we live with AI.
  • Donate.
• Participate: Share your story. The Chronicle depends on real experiences—including yours. One moment or many—we’d love to hear from you.
  • Email us for more info.
• Attend: Join us at the Artificiality Summit, October 23–25 in Bend, Oregon. This year’s theme: Me → We → Us. Explore the personal, social, and collective journey of life with synthetic intelligence.
  • Buy a ticket.
• Sponsor: Align your brand with a movement redefining intelligence, identity, and intimacy in the age of AI. Sponsor the Summit to help extend our mission—and to stand for something deeper than visibility: meaning.
  • Email us for more info.
• Engage: Invite us to your organization. From short talks to full workshops, strategy sessions, or offsites (we’ll host in Bend!), we’d love to collaborate.
  • Email us for more info.
• Partner: We are actively seeking research and design partnerships across universities, nonprofits, and companies. Yes, companies—because the best way to influence the future is to work directly with those shaping it.
  • Email us for more info.

Stay Tuned

Over the next several weeks, we'll be sharing more about our mission and work, including:

• More depth on each program, especially The Chronicle
• Early research findings, including the five threshold moments of human-AI interaction
• New research partnerships, fellows, advisors, and board members
• Essay from our community (interested in contributing? Let us know!)
• And of course, more about the Artificiality Summit agenda, speakers, and programs.