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.
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.
Venkatesh Rao
The Protocol Institute is building itself around AI adoption, using bots like C3PO and Humboldt to handle research discovery and organizational tasks rather than traditional human-led infrastructure. The organization's approach treats AI tool proliferation as a generative process, allowing practical patterns to emerge through experimentation rather than top-down design.
Timber Stinson-Schroff
The Protocol Institute launches as a new organization dedicated to advancing protocol design, analysis, and stewardship across domains, with Protocolized magazine as its flagship publication. The institute inherits work from the Summer of Protocols program (2023-2025) and aims to build a field and global community capable of stewarding planetary-scale protocolization—the process by which human behaviors become standardized into civilization's coordinating infrastructure.
Timber Stinson-Schroff
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