Accelerating Order.
A sci-fi and thinkpiece magazine and research library on protocols — from the Summer of Protocols program, published by the Protocol Institute.
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Public transit systems reveal the cultural values and trust dynamics of cities through their protocols governing payment, space control, safety, and social interaction. By examining how different cities organize their transportation infrastructure, we can understand the deeper "national protocol characters" that shape urban life.
Protocolized announces its fourth creative contest, the Jamverse Jam, inviting artists and writers to extend an interconnected fictional universe comprising four intersecting story cycles exploring themes of protocol-driven futures and stigmergy. The contest seeks submissions of in-universe artifacts that build out and connect this shared world inspired by science fiction's focus on systemic consequences rather than individual innovations.
Venkatesh Rao introduces the Protocol Institute Challenges program, designed to catalyze fresh research efforts around protocol science problems by moving beyond repackaged thinking and cosmetic applications. The program aims to develop practitioners who think natively in protocols rather than superficially applying protocol concepts to existing problems.
Matthew McDowell-Sweet and Mike Travers discuss Stewart Brand's book 'Maintenance: Of Everything,' exploring how systems are kept going and evolve over time. The conversation connects Brand's legacy of systems thinking from the Whole Earth Catalog to contemporary questions about maintaining complex systems at scale.
The 2026 Protocol Symposium, the third edition of the flagship event for protocol studies, will be held online September 21-25 with the theme 'New Nature,' exploring the technological layer shaped by AI and protocols. Abstract submissions for talks and workshops are open until June 14, 2026, with registration to follow once the schedule is finalized.
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Curated highlights from the library.
An edited essay version of a June 2026 talk unpacking the Protocol Institute's core thesis: New Nature = AI and Protocols entangled at planetary scale. Develops the Humboldt analogy, the Evil Twins Thesis (AI as irresistible force, protocols as immovable objects), the three-circle Venn of AI/Protocols/Planetary, and PI's positioning as a Context Tank in the priceless-planetary quadrant.
Venkatesh Rao
A glossary of terms coined or specifically defined within the Protocol Institute corpus — from protocolization and hardness to Kafka protocols, dynamic non-events, and protocol dysphoria.
Protocol Institute
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