Welcome to the Swarm — Protocolized

Fernández examines internet-era swarms as networked collectives coordinated through algorithmic feedback loops, distinguishing them from traditional crowds and exploring their dual nature as vectors for both misinformation and mutual aid. The paper frames swarms as fundamental organizational units of digital society, analyzing how they emerge from interconnected networks of people, bots, and content.

Related resources

Paper

Control and Consciousness of Time

Saffron Huang examines how timekeeping protocols shape human consciousness and control, exploring how different temporal measurement systems constrain behavior and coordinate collective action across distributed systems. The paper investigates whether certain forms of timekeeping are preferable to others by analyzing how protocols like sundials and distributed software systems structure human experience and freedom.

protocol-watching protocols theory

Dec 2023

Saffron Huang

Workshop Template

Swarm Protocol Workshop

This workshop template provides a structured framework for designing and implementing swarm protocols that enable distributed coordination among multiple agents or participants. The resource offers practical templates and methodologies for facilitating collaborative protocol development sessions focused on decentralized decision-making and emergent behavior.

coordination design organizations

Jan 2024

Rafael Fernández

Paper

The Swarm Effect: China's 2022 Covid Protests

This paper analyzes China's 2022 COVID protests as a case study of 'swarm' coordination dynamics, examining how decentralized protest organization enabled mass mobilization against zero-COVID policy and how government responses specifically targeted these swarm characteristics. The research argues that understanding swarm protocols—their enabling traits and vulnerabilities—is essential for analyzing both protest movements and governmental counter-strategies.

coordination governance protocol-watching

Dec 2023

Anonymous