Protocolized has extended the deadline for its Building and Burning Bridges short story contest to December 8, 2025, with a judging panel now assembled including Nils Gilman and Spencer Nitkey. The magazine is preparing to publish its fourth protocol fiction anthology following the success of three previous collections, and invites writers to join a community feedback call on December 4.
This issue features worldbuilding analysis of the AI-generated film South Beast Asia, examining ten core traits designed to explore distributed AI systems through a Southeast Asian-inspired lens developed at the Khlongs & Subaks workshop. The piece unpacks how fictional 'strange rules' address questions of AI distribution while the issue also hosts a guest talk with AI Snake Oil author Arvind Sarayanan.
Sam Chua
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
Protocolized reflects on the conclusion of its protocol fiction serial The Librarians, which emerged from six teams' work at the Summer of Protocols Knowledge Futurama workshop at Edge Esmeralda 2025, where participants designed 1,000-year library preservation systems across technological and social dimensions. The series distills six principles for protocol futures derived from this collaborative exploration of knowledge artifacts, preservation technology stacks, and the social contexts required for long-term cultural survival.
Timber Stinson-Schroff