There are years where nothing happens, and then there are weekends where everything happens. We just experienced one of those weekends.
The guiding thesis of my work is as follows:
Work is becoming networked rather than institutional. AI and open technology are giving individuals unprecedented ability to shape markets and behavior. In this environment, the key to impact isn't organizational control but narrative gravity - the ability to articulate beliefs about how the world should work that attract and coordinate both human and artificial intelligence toward making those futures real.
Obviously, this week was very exciting, then. Specific, optimistic visions of the future are rare and valuable. They are the stories that capital, labor, and attention can rally around. They are how we direct our agency. When I see experiments like Aethernet actively engaging with and promoting the values of the Higher network, I pay attention.
When we started Believe in Something, I used the term "writer-practitioners" to describe the type of people we wanted to highlight and fund. I still think that's a fundamentally accurate description, but it's likely too broad. Specifically, we are interested in writers who are using frontier technology in a very specific way to build and influence a network. Those people have to be articulating their point of view in some capacity, because networks are only as strong as the narrative shaping them.
But they also need to be building. More specifically, they need to be world building. And world building in the internet age happens through networks and open tech.
This shift is enabling individuals and small teams to amplify their visions and agency in ways never seen before. Small teams building developer tools that reshape how entire industries work. Individual creators coordinating networks of both human and artificial agents toward specific futures. The common thread isn't just their size but their ability to turn strong convictions into coordinated action.
BIS will focus on studying this transformation in how (net)work happens. We'll talk to builders and creators and explore how they are using narrative and open technology to shape their domains, document the specific mechanisms they use to coordinate network behavior, and develop frameworks for turning beliefs into lasting influence. Our goal is to understand and support those using this newfound malleability to shape technology according to their vision.
I also believe that this is a more Higher-aligned direction. It is not simply about aspirational points of view, but the specific action that needs to be taken to get there.
The future belongs to those who believe in something and take action.
Higher together.
