The Thing

The Thing is a non-profit media studio aiming to humanize the ML industry with creative, human-centric storytelling, educational material, and ultimately a digital commons container. Currently, the project operates as a podcast, blog, and educational repository that covers first principles of AI, zooming out to a big picture focus to answer the questions "what this is and why it matters to you." 

‘Alignment’ is farther away than ‘superintelligence,’ because it is nearly impossible to centralize all human values, methods, and perspectives to one idea or process. Solving for how we coordinate and curate the infinite amount of data, information, and decision-making processes will be the largest coordination problem humanity has ever faced. The Thing aims to build a container to observe this problem, and work together to come up with a container that holds critical tools, conversations, and community that helps curate towards better understandings and novel approaches. 

Inspired by a pioneering late 1980s bulletin board system (BBS) project, also called "The Thing," we're carrying the torch of building a network that spans both on an offline. 

Our mission is to bridge the gap between the technical and the non-technical, making the future of AI accessible and empowering for everyone. 

Build in public. We believe in transparency and shared learning. Our projects and processes are open for all to see and contribute. 

Connect the dots. We're building a network of nodes and projects, each contributing to a greater good. We envision a vibrant ecosystem where ideas flow freely and collaboration thrives. 

Host events. We bring communities together through in-person events, primarily at the AI Collective in San Francisco. 

 We've previously worked with organizations like the People-Centered Internet, IEEE, SeedAI, MindsDB and more to foster inclusive discussions and collaborations. 

Champion open-source. We believe in sharing resources and knowledge freely. We're committed to building a foundation for future innovation that benefits everyone.  

Friends who are working on creating digital commons. We aim to connect to the global shared network that is already building the new futures for themselves and their communities. We aim to listen, learn from, and work alongside each other, to make shared visions real. 

We’re lucky to work alongside and support friends from: Wikipedia, Internet Archive, People Centered Internet, Seed AI, Hugging Face, Open Futures, Open Source Institute, Spotify, Google, Oracle, Center for Humane Technology, Foresight Institute 

Get in touch [email protected] to work with us.