The Consilience Project publishes novel research at the leading edges of global risk mitigation, governance design and culture. Our content explores the key challenges and existential threats facing humanity, and the underlying problems with current approaches for addressing them. We outline how our social systems and institutions need to be redesigned if free, open, non-authoritarian societies are to survive.
At no other point in history has humanity faced such a wide range of novel catastrophic risks. Our civilization has never been more vast, complicated, and fragile. This systemic fragility is exacerbated by new technologies, geopolitical instability, an ecological crisis and a reliance on global economic supply chains. These interlocking, interrelated problems are known collectively as the metacrisis. The Consilience Project’s primary aim is to clarify and reveal the nature of the metacrisis to enable comprehensive solutions to global problems. Our work recognizes the interconnectedness of humanity’s challenges: any solution must factor the underlying drivers of each one.
We publish research and analysis to help guide decision-makers and leaders towards the critical paths necessary to address the unique challenges of our time. The content published here is for any individual, group or institution trying to innovate around global coordination challenges, catastrophic risks and social technologies.
The Consilience Project is a publication of the Civilization Research Institute (CRI), a charitable think tank focused on reducing systemic fragility and advancing new forms of governance and coordination. CRI seeks to inform the next era of human collaboration and collective intelligence to ensure human and ecological thriving.
The Consilience Project consists of a core team of passionate people from a wide range of disciplines.
Project Strategy
Social philosophy, collective intelligence, risk mitigation.
Geopolitical Intelligence Founder, Bismarck Analysis, Research Fellow, Long Now Foundation.
Psychometrics & Education Expert in psychology and philosophy, previous Co-Founder at Lectica Inc.
Social Network Intelligence, Founder, Aizle Analytics, Former All Source Intelligence, JSOC, NSWDG.
Economic Intelligence
Senior Researcher at Bismarck Analysis, focus on industrial economics.
Future-Oriented Design
Award-winning urbanist, architect, and futurist, Skoll Fellow, Fellow at Singularity Institute.
Operations
Project management, software, finance, operations.
Executive Administrator
Scheduling, administration, and back office.
Strategic communications & Partnerships
Outreach and campaign specialist, Founder of Hylo, former CBC Radio journalist.
Visual Design & Brand
Founder of Red & Grey design and brand agency. Partner at Adaptive cultures design strategy firm.
Branding, Design, Innovation
Strategic Director, Adaptive Cultures design strategy firm.
Editorial & Policy
Public policy, defence & security, neuroscience, art. Former UK Government, Cambridge Fellow.
Philosophy & Social Theory
Governance, catastrophic risk, humane tech, cognitive science, logic, metaphysics
Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
Author, speaker, and researcher on systemic racism and the advancement of women of color in corporate America.
Technology Ethics
Co-Founder at the Center for Humane Technology. Technology ethicist, philosopher, systems thinker.
Natural Resource Economics and Risk
Focuses on the interrelationship between debt-based financial markets and natural resources.
Intelligence & National Security
CEO of Ergo, Fmr Director at the White House National Security Council, Senior Diplomat. Economics, natl. security and geo-politics. Investor. Best selling author.
Cultural Research
Lecturer and Author on Indigenous Knowledge, academic, researcher, educator, art critic.
Geospatial Intelligence Analyst
Director, Center for Geospatial Information Technology. Complex systems, resilience, regenerative systems.
Business & Supply Chain Intelligence
Cofounder and Chair of 09 Solutions. Supply chain management, artificial intelligence.
National Security Policy
Research experience employing qualitative and quantitative methods for clients in national security, education and public policy.
Game Theory & Existential Risk
Science Broadcaster, Astrophysics, game theory, existential risk.
Cultural Architecture
Executive Director of the Flow Genome Project and Co-Author of the Global Bestseller Stealing Fire.
Behavioral Economics
Applies behavioral economics insights in product design, with a focus on technology.
Complexity and Technology
Chairman, Santa Fe Institute. Former CEO of Network solutions. Complexity science, politics, economics.
Market Intelligence
President at Robinson Global Strategies, Founder at Princeton Review, Chess Master, Top Financial Advisor.
Co-Founder of Undercurrent, COMMON, and Fearless; former Chief Digital Advisor, Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project.
Collective Intelligence
Economics, currency design, organizational architecture, regenerative culture.
Directed product strategy across Apple Media Divisions.
Medical Strategy
Former Chief Medical Information Officer and Associate CMO at Kaiser Permanente.
Technology and Governance
Co-founder of Asana, programmer of software, organizations, cultures, & systems in service of love. Co-Founder, One Project.
Financial Intelligence
Founder, Investment Banking Partners AB, Chairman, EFG Investment Bank. Member, Club of Rome.
Technology & Data
Innovation, product development, and product management. Data science, IoT, global utilities, information technology.
Complex Systems
Director of research at the Bateson Institute, transcontextual research, in ecology, economy, social change, health, education, and art.
Open Societies
Chief Strategy Officer at Human Rights Foundation. Faculty at Singularity University. Advisor at Blockchain Capital.
Digital Strategy
CTO & CIO Obama campaign. Chief strategist, Harmony Labs. Technology, politics, and impact strategies.
Professor, Financial Centre Expert, Economist, Diplomat, Historian, Author.
Military Intelligence
Air Force, Special Ops, Military Intelligence. Expertise in counterterrorism and unconventional warfare.
Medicine & Biosciences
Integrative physician and medical researcher in the areas of longevity and human potential.
Strategic Intelligence
Founder at DivX, Founder of Game B,trustee, Santa Fe Institute.
Research & Strategy
Ret. Colonel, Associate Surgeon General of the US Air Force, fighter pilot. Director of NFIM.
Peer-to-Peer Social Dynamics & Technology
Founder of the Foundation for Peer-to-Peer Alternatives, and the Peer-to-Peer Cooperative.
Security Research
Cybersecurity and biosecurity; Existential risk expert.
Neuroscience
Tenured Professor of Neurology at Stanford Medical School; brain dev., brain plasticity, and neural regeneration.
Decentralization & Democratic Practice
Decentralization, distributed governance, horizontal practices. Collaborative and transparent decision-making and financing.
Impact Entrepreneur
XFellow, CEO of #WeThePlanet, impact entrepreneur, disruptive innovator & curator.
Media Strategy
Founder Current TV, Entrepreneur, Venture Capitalist, Investor.
Materials Science
Ret. Colonel, Director of US Air Force Research, nanotech, bioweapons containment.
Cultural Intelligence
CEO Jazz Leadership Project, Senior Fellow at Institute for Cultural Evolution, author, educator.
Design thinking
Founder, Dent. Public policy, philanthropy, design, technology, behavioral economics, design methodology, and venture capital.
Environmental Law
Co-Founder of Pachamama, Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature.
Biosciences
Senior scientist at the Human Genome Project; leader in molecular biology.
Journalism & Media
Channel 4 News (UK), BBC Newsnight, Guardian, Buzzfeed. Founder, Rebel Wisdom.
Future of Cities
Founder, Board Member, and former CEO of Oceanix: Sustainable Floating Cities. Former Minister of Tourism for French Polynesia.
Media
Former Chief Content Officer of Univision and Televisa.
Cognitive Psychology and Science
Professor of cognitive psychology and science at the University of Toronto.
Social Media
Former VP of Advertising at Facebook.
Social Psychology
Cognitive Psychologist, Professor at Columbia University, author, Former Scientific Director at The Imagination Institute.
Diplomacy & International Security
Hoover Institution, Stanford. Associate Editor, Palladium. Advisor, Bismarck Analysis.
Technology and Economics
Founder and CEO of CyberCash. Founder of VeriFone, Inc. Former Board Member of the Santa Fe Institute.
Philosophy and Strategy
Co-founder and Director at Perspectiva, Chess Grandmaster, 1999. Author.
Philosophy
Co-Author of Futurica Trilogy, Music Producer, Co-founder of Stockholm Record.
Intelligent Systems & Organic Governance
Founder of the International Industrial Informatics, President of IMPACT Institute for the Digital Economy, Technology Alchemist Innovating at the nexus of AI/IoT/Blockchain.
Economics & Systems
Co-founder of Holochain, Software Architect, decentralized social and technological systems.
Economic Intelligence
Author of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man; Former Advisor to the World Bank, United Nations, U.S. Treasury Department. Founding member of The Pachamama Alliance; Activist and lecturer.
Economic and International Intelligence
Founder and CEO at Voyaj, US State Department “Engage America” Ambassador, and Researcher at Harvard University; Blogger and speaker at international conferences.
Clinical Psychology & Human Systems
Director of Health and Human Performance at Stanford’s Flourishing Project, Co-founder of At The Core.
Biological Research Microbiology, interdisciplinary biosciences, epistemics.
Culture, News & Journalism Editor-in-chief of Culturekiosque, journalist for Le Monde & Wall Street Journal Europe.
Product Engineering
Web3 Researcher at curvelabs.eu, Director at meaning.systems
Collaboration & Coordination
Executive Director of Civana, Young Global Leader, World Economic Forum.
Machine Learning
Theoretical physics, string theory, machine learning, data science, deep learning, adaptive learning.
Aligned with the principle of Consilience and the mission of this project, we seek earnest and well-considered perspectives on topics from all sides of an issue and through the lens of different disciplines. Our advisors all support the project’s central aim of better public education and dialogue: that does not mean they agree with or endorse every perspective in each article we write, nor does the Consilience Project necessarily agree with or endorse all the perspectives on issues each of them may have shared in other places.
Similarly, while everyone on the team contributes to the project and is aligned with the mission as a whole, that does not mean each piece represents the view of each team member, nor that the personal posts of team members elsewhere online represent the views of the project.
The views expressed in the articles are those of The Consilience Project as an organization, which assumes full responsibility for the content.
Helena is a problem-solving institution that addresses urgent global issues through non-profit, for-profit, and legislative projects.
Bismarck is a firm that analyzes institutions, from governments to companies, focusing on the causes of societal decay and flourishing.
The Center for Humane Technology is an independent nonprofit organization whose aim is to drive a comprehensive shift toward humane technology by changing the way technologist think about their work and how they build products.
Ergo delivers tailored intelligence and advisory services to help our private and public clients overcome multifaceted challenges and capture opportunities in over 200 nations.
In an effort to address the erosion of trust in the media and guard against the biasing forces that arise from perverse incentives and human fallibility, we have implemented the following commitments:
Universal access to information is foundational to a functioning open society. For the duration of this project, none of our content will ever be behind a paywall.
This is a purely donation-supported endeavor, with no competing agendas beyond the stated mission. Neither the content nor its host site will serve as an income stream for the project in any way. To eliminate the possibility of manipulation or preference modification of our content, we will never sell our readers’ data or display paid advertisements of any kind.
As a US 501c3 non-profit organization, our finances are reported transparently to the federal government and publicly available on the FCC website.
To protect our content from influence, we will not accept funds from any person or organization that seeks to influence content through their support. Moreover, we will consider any actor that even suggests a conditionalized donation as a potential source of harm to the information commons and investigate accordingly.
Our commitments regarding freedom from financial influence present real limitations to our ability to fund the team. If we are limited in what we can raise with these commitments in place, then we will simply be smaller and do less with full integrity. We will not rationalize compromise for scale.
With the exception of possible occasional guest posts by specific individuals, we will attribute all articles to the collective authorship of the House. This serves both our readers and our writers in a variety of ways:
We will continue to seek out team members and advisors from across the spectrum of political perspectives, industries, epistemic disciplines, as well as cultures and regions of the world. This multiplicity of viewpoints provides a more complete picture of any given issue. It also serves as a mitigating factor against our own human susceptibility to bias and group reinforcement.
In our “Under the Hood” sections, we will show the evidence and methods of analysis we used to arrive at our conclusions. Rather than guarding our methods like trade secrets in a competitive environment, we will open-source all of our resources and processes in the hope that others will replicate, adapt and improve upon our methods of sensemaking and reporting.
We will be filing and publishing our 2020 990 form in November of 2021 on our website and GuideStar. You can view our federal extension application here.
© 2021 by the Civilization Research Initiative The Civilization Research Initiative owns all copyrights to the work of The Consilience Project.
The articles on this web site may be redistributed in other media and non-commercial publications as long as the following conditions are met. The redistributed article may not be abridged, edited or altered in any way without the express consent of The Consilience Project. The redistributed article may not be sold for a profit or included in another media or publication that is sold for a profit without the express consent of The Consilience Project.
The Consilience Project publishes novel research at the leading edges of global risk mitigation, governance design and culture. Our content explores the key challenges and existential threats facing humanity, and the underlying problems with current approaches for addressing them. We outline how our social systems and institutions need to be redesigned if free, open, non-authoritarian societies are to survive.
At no other point in history has humanity faced such a wide range of novel catastrophic risks. Our civilization has never been more vast, complicated, and fragile. This systemic fragility is exacerbated by new technologies, geopolitical instability, an ecological crisis and a reliance on global economic supply chains. These interlocking, interrelated problems are known collectively as the metacrisis. The Consilience Project’s primary aim is to clarify and reveal the nature of the metacrisis to enable comprehensive solutions to global problems. Our work recognizes the interconnectedness of humanity’s challenges: any solution must factor the underlying drivers of each one.
We publish research and analysis to help guide decision-makers and leaders towards the critical paths necessary to address the unique challenges of our time. The content published here is for any individual, group or institution trying to innovate around global coordination challenges, catastrophic risks and social technologies.solution must factor the underlying drivers of each one.
The Consilience Project consists of a core team of passionate people from a wide range of disciplines.
Product Engineering
Web3 Researcher at curvelabs.eu, Director at meaning.systems
Collaboration & Coordination
Executive Director of Civana, Young Global Leader, World Economic Forum.
Materials Science
Ret. Colonel, Director of US Air Force Research, nanotech, bioweapons containment.
Media Strategy
Founder Current TV, Entrepreneur, Venture Capitalist, Investor.
Strategic Intelligence
Founder at DivX, Founder of Game B,trustee, Santa Fe Institute.
Machine Learning
Theoretical physics, string theory, machine learning, data science, deep learning, adaptive learning.
Philosophy & Social Theory
Governance, catastrophic risk, humane tech, cognitive science, logic, metaphysics
Diplomacy & International Security
Hoover Institution, Stanford. Associate Editor, Palladium. Advisor, Bismarck Analysis.
Editorial & Policy
Public policy, defence & security, neuroscience, art. Former UK Government, Cambridge Fellow.
Clinical Psychology & Human Systems
Director of Health and Human Performance at Stanford’s Flourishing Project, Co-founder of At The Core.
Economic and International Intelligence
Founder and CEO at Voyaj, US State Department “Engage America” Ambassador, and Researcher at Harvard University; Blogger and speaker at international conferences.
Economic Intelligence
Author of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man; Former Advisor to the World Bank, United Nations, U.S. Treasury Department. Founding member of The Pachamama Alliance; Activist and lecturer.
Economics & Systems
Co-founder of Holochain, Software Architect, decentralized social and technological systems.
Intelligent Systems & Organic Governance
Founder of the International Industrial Informatics, President of IMPACT Institute for the Digital Economy, Technology Alchemist Innovating at the nexus of AI/IoT/Blockchain.
Philosophy
Co-Author of Futurica Trilogy, Music Producer, Co-founder of Stockholm Record.
Philosophy and Strategy
Co-founder and Director at Perspectiva, Chess Grandmaster, 1999. Author.
Technology and Economics
Founder and CEO of CyberCash. Founder of VeriFone, Inc. Former Board Member of the Santa Fe Institute.
Social Psychology
Cognitive Psychologist, Professor at Columbia University, author, Former Scientific Director at The Imagination Institute.
Social Media
Former VP of Advertising at Facebook.
Cognitive Psychology and Science
Professor of cognitive psychology and science at the University of Toronto.
Media
Former Chief Content Officer of Univision and Televisa.
Future of Cities
Founder, Board Member, and former CEO of Oceanix: Sustainable Floating Cities. Former Minister of Tourism for French Polynesia.
Journalism & Media
Channel 4 News (UK), BBC Newsnight, Guardian, Buzzfeed. Founder, Rebel Wisdom.
Biosciences
Senior scientist at the Human Genome Project; leader in molecular biology.
Environmental Law
Co-Founder of Pachamama, Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature.
Design thinking
Founder, Dent. Public policy, philanthropy, design, technology, behavioral economics, design methodology, and venture capital.
Cultural Intelligence
CEO Jazz Leadership Project, Senior Fellow at Institute for Cultural Evolution, author, educator.
Impact Entrepreneur
XFellow, CEO of #WeThePlanet, impact entrepreneur, disruptive innovator & curator.
Decentralization & Democratic Practice
Decentralization, distributed governance, horizontal practices. Collaborative and transparent decision-making and financing.
Neuroscience
Tenured Professor of Neurology at Stanford Medical School; brain dev., brain plasticity, and neural regeneration.
Security Research
Cybersecurity and biosecurity; Existential risk expert.
Peer-to-Peer Social Dynamics & Technology
Founder of the Foundation for Peer-to-Peer Alternatives, and the Peer-to-Peer Cooperative.
Research & Strategy
Ret. Colonel, Associate Surgeon General of the US Air Force, fighter pilot. Director of NFIM.
Cultural Architecture
Executive Director of the Flow Genome Project and Co-Author of the Global Bestseller Stealing Fire.
Medicine & Biosciences
Integrative physician and medical researcher in the areas of longevity and human potential.
Military Intelligence
Air Force, Special Ops, Military Intelligence. Expertise in counterterrorism and unconventional warfare.
Digital Strategy
CTO & CIO Obama campaign. Chief strategist, Harmony Labs. Technology, politics, and impact strategies.
Open Societies
Chief Strategy Officer at Human Rights Foundation. Faculty at Singularity University. Advisor at Blockchain Capital.
Complex Systems
Director of research at the Bateson Institute, transcontextual research, in ecology, economy, social change, health, education, and art.
Cultural Research
Lecturer and Author on Indigenous Knowledge, academic, researcher, educator, art critic.
Technology & Data
Innovation, product development, and product management. Data science, IoT, global utilities, information technology.
Financial Intelligence
Founder, Investment Banking Partners AB, Chairman, EFG Investment Bank. Member, Club of Rome.
Technology and Governance
Co-founder of Asana, programmer of software, organizations, cultures, & systems in service of love. Co-Founder, One Project.
Medical Strategy
Former Chief Medical Information Officer and Associate CMO at Kaiser Permanente.
Collective Intelligence
Economics, currency design, organizational architecture, regenerative culture.
Market Intelligence
President at Robinson Global Strategies, Founder at Princeton Review, Chess Master, Top Financial Advisor.
Complexity and Technology
Chairman, Santa Fe Institute. Former CEO of Network solutions. Complexity science, politics, economics.
Behavioral Economics
Applies behavioral economics insights in product design, with a focus on technology.
Natural Resource Economics and Risk
Focuses on the interrelationship between debt-based financial markets and natural resources.
Game Theory & Existential Risk
Science Broadcaster, Astrophysics, game theory, existential risk.
National Security Policy
Research experience employing qualitative and quantitative methods for clients in national security, education and public policy.
Business & Supply Chain Intelligence
Cofounder and Chair of 09 Solutions. Supply chain management, artificial intelligence.
Geospatial Intelligence Analyst
Director, Center for Geospatial Information Technology. Complex systems, resilience, regenerative systems.
Intelligence & National Security
CEO of Ergo, Fmr Director at the White House National Security Council, Senior Diplomat. Economics, natl. security and geo-politics. Investor. Best selling author.
Technology Ethics
Co-Founder at the Center for Humane Technology. Technology ethicist, philosopher, systems thinker.
Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
Author, speaker, and researcher on systemic racism and the advancement of women of color in corporate America.
Directed product strategy across Apple Media Divisions.
Professor, Financial Centre Expert, Economist, Diplomat, Historian, Author.
Co-Founder of Undercurrent, COMMON, and Fearless; former Chief Digital Advisor, Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project.
Branding, Design, Innovation
Strategic Director, Adaptive Cultures design strategy firm.
Visual Design & Brand
Founder of Red & Grey design and brand agency. Partner at Adaptive cultures design strategy firm.
Strategic communications & Partnerships
Outreach and campaign specialist, Founder of Hylo, former CBC Radio journalist.
Executive Administrator
Scheduling, administration, and back office.
Operations
Project management, software, finance, operations.
Future-Oriented Design
Award-winning urbanist, architect, and futurist, Skoll Fellow, Fellow at Singularity Institute.
Economic Intelligence
Senior Researcher at Bismarck Analysis, focus on industrial economics.
Project Strategy
Social philosophy, collective intelligence, risk mitigation.
Social Network Intelligence, Founder, Aizle Analytics, Former All Source Intelligence, JSOC, NSWDG.
Psychometrics & Education Expert in psychology and philosophy, previous Co-Founder at Lectica Inc.
Geopolitical Intelligence Founder, Bismarck Analysis, Research Fellow, Long Now Foundation.
Culture, News & Journalism Editor-in-chief of Culturekiosque, journalist for Le Monde & Wall Street Journal Europe.
Biological Research Microbiology, interdisciplinary biosciences, epistemics.
Aligned with the principle of Consilience and the mission of this project, we seek earnest and well-considered perspectives on topics from all sides of an issue and through the lens of different disciplines. Our advisors all support the project’s central aim of better public education and dialogue: that does not mean they
Helena is a problem-solving institution that addresses urgent global issues through non-profit, for-profit, and legislative projects.
Bismarck is a firm that analyzes institutions, from governments to companies, focusing on the causes of societal decay and flourishing.
In an effort to address the erosion of trust in the media and guard against the biasing forces that arise from perverse incentives and human fallibility, we have implemented the following commitments:
Politicians, journalists, and everyday people on all sides intentionally mislead with facts, mischaracterize opposing views, and dehumanize those with whom they disagree. Social media has started to change our basic habits of communication by amplifying and incentivizing bad faith tactics.
Politicians, journalists, and everyday people on all sides intentionally mislead with facts, mischaracterize opposing views, and dehumanize those with whom they disagree. Social media has started to change our basic habits of communication by amplifying and incentivizing bad faith tactics.
We will be filing and publishing our 2020 990 form in November of 2021 on our website and GuideStar. You can view our federal extension application here.
© 2021 by the Civilization Research Initiative The Civilization Research Initiative owns all copyrights to the work of The Consilience Project.
The articles on this web site may be redistributed in other media and non-commercial publications as long as the following conditions are met. The redistributed article may not be abridged, edited or altered in any way without the express consent of The Consilience Project. The redistributed article may not be sold for a profit or included in another media or publication that is sold for a profit without the express consent of The Consilience Project.