On-chain Capital Allocation: From Present Mechanisms to Future Possibilities - Bangkok 2024 Funding the Commons 2026-09-23 | On-chain Capital Allocation: From Present Mechanisms to Future Possibilities - Bangkok 2024
Open Conversations: Building the Systems of Tomorrow (Ethan Frey & Jake Hartnell) Funding the Commons 2025-10-01 | Web2 gave us speed, scale, and easy access to the world’s information—but only by concentrating trust in single systems. Web3 promised trustless confidence through distributed ledgers—but at the cost of speed, scope, and siloed computation.In this Open Conversation, Ethan Frey (CTO of Layer) and Jake Hartnell (CEO of Layer) explore how we can combine the best of both worlds. Together, they argue that programmable value, open networks, and strong communities are the building blocks for institutions that really serve society. Filmed at Funding the Commons Forum Berlin, June 2025.Relevant Projects: Layer: https://layer.xyz Funding the Commons: fundingthecommons.ioThank You to Our Sponsors: Protocol Labs: protocol.ai NEAR Foundation: https://near.foundation Stellar Development Foundation: stellar.org Layer: https://layer.xyz Octant: https://octant.app human.tech by Holonym Foundation: https://human.tech/ Drips: https://drips.network Self Protocol: https://self.xyz/ Gitcoin: gitcoin.co
Open Conversations: Climate Data Belongs in the Commons (Diego Saez Gil) Funding the Commons 2025-08-20 | Every forest tells a story in data—tree height, carbon stored, biodiversity returning. When shared, this data becomes a tool for restoring nature and fighting climate change.In this Open Conversation, Diego Saez Gil, co-founder and CEO of Pachama, shares what he’s learned after six years of building technology in service of forests. Pachama uses satellite images, LiDAR scans, and AI to measure the carbon stored in trees and track how ecosystems regenerate.Diego argues that this information shouldn’t be locked away. Climate data belongs in the commons, where it can accelerate action for everyone. Nature already knows how to recover—we just need to measure it and collectively act on it.Filmed at Funding the Commons at the Internet Archive, San Francisco, March 2025.Relevant Projects:Pachama: pachama.com Funding the Commons: fundingthecommons.io Thank You to Our Sponsors:Protocol Labs: protocol.ai NEAR Foundation: https://near.foundation/ Holonym: holonym.io Octant: https://octant.app/ Drips Network: https://drips.network/ Filecoin Foundation: fil.org OpenLedger: https://www.openledger.xyz/ Orange DAO: https://www.orangedao.xyz/ Regen Network: https://www.regen.network/
Funding the Commons Builder Residencies: Chiang Mai Teaser (David Dao) Funding the Commons 2025-08-19 | The problems we face won’t be solved with business-as-usual thinking. We need spaces where experimentation is possible—and where people can step into a whole creative zone together.At the Funding the Commons Builder Residency in Chiang Mai, David Dao, founder of GainForest, found the space to step away from everyday routines and think differently about what change requires.For David, the residency offered something many working in this space struggle to find: focused time, peer exchange, and a shared context. It created an environment where ideas could be tested more openly, and where long-term work didn’t have to compete with daily urgency.Produced by Funding the Commons in Bangkok, November 2024.Relevant Projects:GainForest: https://gainforest.earth/ Funding the Commons: fundingthecommons.ioThank You to Our Sponsors:Octant: https://octant.app/Protocol Labs: protocol.aiFilecoin Foundation: fil.orgStellar: stellar.orgNEAR: near.orgHolonym: holonym.ioDrips: https://drips.network/Gitcoin: gitcoin.coBreadchain: https://breadchain.xyz/LAYER: https://layer.xyz/KXVC: https://www.kxvc.tech/Blockchain for Good Alliance: https://www.blockchainforgood.xyz/
Open Conversations: Privacy Is a Civic Technology (Isabela Fernandes) Funding the Commons 2025-07-08 | Tor’s tools are designed for resistance. From volunteer-run relays to privacy-preserving browsers, the network creates real alternatives to systems built to track, sort, and silence.In this Open Conversation, Isabela Fernandes, Executive Director of The Tor Project, explains how control is written into the infrastructure of the internet and how we can better counter it. Privacy, she argues, is not a personal preference. It is a public right and a necessary condition for political democratic participation.Isabela reminds us that anonymity isn’t a shield for bad actors, but rather a safeguard for a free society.Filmed at Funding the Commons Forum Berlin, June 2025.Relevant Projects:The Tor Project: torproject.org Funding the Commons: fundingthecommons.io Thank You to Our Sponsors:Protocol Labs: protocol.ai NEAR Foundation: https://near.foundation Stellar Development Foundation: stellar.org Layer: https://layer.xyz Octant: https://octant.app human.tech by Holonym Foundation: https://human.tech/ Drips: https://drips.network Self Protocol: https://self.xyz/ Gitcoin: gitcoin.co
Open Conversations: The Future of Open Source Is Funded (Robert Drost) Funding the Commons 2025-07-07 | Open source powers the modern internet—but the developers who build it rarely benefit from the value it creates. In this Open Conversation, Robert Drost, Head of the Eigen Foundation, shares how his team is building a repeatable model for open source funding—one that works without holding anything proprietary and channels value directly back to contributors.Through the Foundation’s work supporting EigenCloud (formerly EigenLayer), they’ve shown that open infrastructure can produce real financial outcomes and remain truly open. This approach opens new paths for developers who want to work on public goods without compromising on sustainability or impact.Filmed at Funding the Commons at the Internet Archive, San Francisco, March 2025.Relevant Projects:Eigen Foundation: https://www.eigenfoundation.xyz EigenCloud (formerly EigenLayer): https://www.eigencloud.xyz Funding the Commons: fundingthecommons.io Thank You to Our Sponsors:Protocol Labs: protocol.ai NEAR Foundation: https://near.foundation/ Holonym: holonym.io Octant: https://octant.app/ Drips Network: https://drips.network/ Filecoin Foundation: fil.org OpenLedger: https://www.openledger.xyz/ Orange DAO: https://www.orangedao.xyz/ Regen Network: https://www.regen.network/
Infrastructures of Resilience: Berlin Forum | Funding the Commons Funding the Commons 2025-06-27 | At Funding the Commons Forum Berlin, we gathered builders, researchers, funders, creators, and activists to ask: What kind of infrastructure do resilient, collective futures actually require? And how do we design systems that hold, adapt, and stay open?Our recap video captures some of the voices and ideas that shaped the conversations, featuring:Isabela Fernandes, Executive Director, The Tor ProjectRene Reinsberg, Co-Founder, Celo Foundation / Self ProtocolShady El-Damaty, Ph.D., CEO, Co-Founder, Holonym FoundationSunita Grote, Lead, UNICEF Venture Fund, UNICEF Office of InnovationJames Farrell, CTO, Funding the Commons🌍 Learn more: fundingthecommons.io
Open Conversations: Reclaiming Crypto for Public Goods (David Casey) Funding the Commons 2025-06-09 | The most useful crypto tools were built to solve real problems. That’s still the point.In this Open Conversation, David Casey, Director of Funding the Commons, talks about how his early work coordinating payments across 80+ countries led him to focus on real-world use cases for crypto. Today, he’s helping grow a community focused on public goods—people building tools, infrastructure, and funding models that serve more than just markets.He shares how Funding the Commons has evolved beyond a conference series into a platform for action, with developer residencies, hackathons, and a growing network of builders working on practical ways to support the things we all depend on.Filmed at Funding the Commons at the Internet Archive, San Francisco, March 2025.Relevant Projects:Funding the Commons: fundingthecommons.io Thank You to Our Sponsors:Protocol Labs: protocol.ai NEAR Foundation: https://near.foundation/ Holonym: holonym.io Octant: https://octant.app/ Drips Network: https://drips.network/ Filecoin Foundation: fil.org OpenLedger: https://www.openledger.xyz/ Orange DAO: https://www.orangedao.xyz/ Regen Network: https://www.regen.network/
Open Conversations: AI and the Language of Life (Aza Raskin) Funding the Commons 2025-05-28 | If elephants have names, dolphins speak in third person, and plants respond to sound, what does that say about how we define intelligence—and what else have we missed by not knowing how to listen?In this Open Conversation, Aza Raskin, co-founder of the Earth Species Project and the Center for Humane Technology, shares how his team is using AI to study how animals and even plants communicate, revealing how much has been happening just beyond the edge of human perception.As AI sharpens our ability to detect patterns in nature, it’s not just other species coming into view. These discoveries are challenging our assumptions about language, thought, and what it means to live in a world full of minds we’ve only just begun to notice.Filmed at Funding the Commons at the Internet Archive, San Francisco, March 2025.Relevant Projects:Earth Species Project: earthspecies.org Center for Humane Technology: humanetech.com Funding the Commons: fundingthecommons.io Thank You to Our Sponsors:Protocol Labs: protocol.ai NEAR Foundation: https://near.foundation/ Holonym: holonym.io Octant: https://octant.app/ Drips Network: https://drips.network/ Filecoin Foundation: fil.org OpenLedger: https://www.openledger.xyz/ Orange DAO: https://www.orangedao.xyz/ Regen Network: https://www.regen.network/
Open Conversations: Infrastructure Must Be Human-Centered (Shady El Damaty & Nanak Nihal) Funding the Commons 2025-04-29 | A conversation with Shady El Damaty and Nanak Nihal from human.tech by Holonym Foundation. As digital infrastructure becomes more embedded in daily life, questions of privacy, consent, and control are becoming harder to ignore.Shady and Nanak explore what it takes to build systems that put people first—where privacy is protected by design, access is possible without centralized gatekeepers, and identity remains in the hands of the individual.Created at Funding the Commons at the Internet Archive, San Francisco, March 2025.Relevant Projects:human.tech by Holonym Foundation: https://human.tech/ Funding the Commons: fundingthecommons.ioThank You to Our Sponsors:Protocol Labs: protocol.aiNEAR Foundation: https://near.foundation/Holonym: holonym.ioOctant: https://octant.app/Drips Network: https://drips.network/Filecoin Foundation: fil.orgOpenLedger: https://www.openledger.xyz/Orange DAO: https://www.orangedao.xyz/Regen Network: https://www.regen.network/
Open Conversations: The Only Way Forward Is User-Owned AI (Illia Polosukhin) Funding the Commons 2025-04-21 | A conversation with Illia Polosukhin, co-founder of NEAR Protocol. As AI becomes more powerful, it’s increasingly controlled by a few centralized entities—raising serious questions about who benefits, who gets left out, and who holds the power. In a time when trust in institutions is eroding, Illia shares why user-owned AI could be the key to reclaiming agency, reshaping how we make decisions, and rebuilding systems that serve people, not platforms. He explains how NEAR is building the infrastructure for a future where AI acts as an advocate for individuals. Created at Funding the Commons at the Internet Archive, San Francisco, March 2025.Relevant Projects:NEAR: near.orgFunding the Commons: fundingthecommons.io Thank You to Our Sponsors:Protocol Labs: protocol.aiNEAR Foundation: https://near.foundation/Holonym: holonym.ioOctant: https://octant.app/Drips Network: https://drips.network/Filecoin Foundation: fil.orgOpenLedger: https://www.openledger.xyz/Orange DAO: https://www.orangedao.xyz/Regen Network: https://www.regen.network/
Open Conversations: Reclaiming the Internet as a Public Square (Wendy Hanamura) Funding the Commons 2025-04-14 | A conversation with Wendy Hanamura, Core Organizer of the DWeb movement and Director of Partnerships at the Internet Archive. She shares the roots and values behind a global effort to build an internet that serves people, not platforms—one that functions as a public square.Wendy discusses how technologies like peer-to-peer protocols, distributed storage, identity, and governance can support digital spaces where control is shared and intentions stay clear.Created at Funding the Commons at the Internet Archive, San Francisco, March 2025.Relevant Projects:DWeb: getdweb.netInternet Archive: archive.orgEthereum Foundation: https://ethereum.foundation/ Funding the Commons: fundingthecommons.io Thank You to Our Sponsors:Protocol Labs: protocol.aiNEAR Foundation: https://near.foundation/Holonym: holonym.ioOctant: https://octant.app/Drips Network: https://drips.network/Filecoin Foundation: fil.orgOpenLedger: https://www.openledger.xyz/Orange DAO: https://www.orangedao.xyz/Regen Network: https://www.regen.network/
Frontier AI to Decode Animal Language – San Francisco 2025 Funding the Commons 2025-04-04 | Frontier AI to Decode Animal Language: Aza Raskin shares how Earth Species Project is using cutting-edge AI to analyze non-human communication—from whale song to crow dialects—to uncover the richness of animal language, cognition, and culture. By aligning linguistic structures across species, the team hopes to unlock cross-species translation and challenge human exceptionalism.Speaker: Aza Raskin (Earth Species Project, Center for Humane Technology)This session was part of the 12th edition of Funding the Commons, held March 15–16, 2025, at the Internet Archive in San Francisco.Learn more at fundingthecommons.io
Opening Words – San Francisco 2025 Funding the Commons 2025-04-03 | Opening Words – San Francisco 2025: David Casey and Wendy Hanamura reflect on the importance of preserving digital memory and building intergenerational bridges in tech. From early internet archives to today’s challenges with AI, they highlight the Internet Archive as a living knowledge commons and call for collective stewardship of our digital future.Speakers: David Casey (Funding the Commons), Wendy Hanamura (Internet Archive)This session was part of the 12th edition of Funding the Commons, held March 15–16, 2025, at the Internet Archive in San Francisco.Learn more at fundingthecommons.io
Toward Universal Access to All Knowledge – San Francisco 2025 Funding the Commons 2025-04-03 | Toward Universal Access to All Knowledge: Mark Graham offers an in-depth look at the mission and infrastructure behind the Internet Archive, from archiving over 900 billion web pages to digitizing millions of books, academic papers, and television broadcasts. He highlights key tools like the Wayback Machine, preservation challenges in the AI era, and partnerships that ensure public access to knowledge remains free and global.Speaker: Mark Graham (Internet Archive)This session was part of the 12th edition of Funding the Commons, held March 15–16, 2025, at the Internet Archive in San Francisco.Learn more at fundingthecommons.io
Futures Worth Building – San Francisco 2025 Funding the Commons 2025-04-03 | Futures Worth Building: B Cavello invites the audience to reimagine our relationship with AI through the lens of public access, accountability, and sustainable public goods. Framing “Public AI” as a civic approach—not a model or platform—they call for concrete measures of progress, broader participation, and a collective commitment to shaping technology in service of the many, not the few.Speaker: B Cavello (Aspen Institute)This session was part of the 12th edition of Funding the Commons, held March 15–16, 2025, at the Internet Archive in San Francisco.Learn more at fundingthecommons.io
Seed Banks for Data: Stewarding and Preserving Climate Data – San Francisco 2025 Funding the Commons 2025-04-03 | "Seed Banks for Data": Stewarding and Preserving Climate Data: How do we ensure vital climate data survives for the generations who need it most? Moderated by David Dao, this conversation explores the fragility of digital archives, the role of decentralized infrastructure, and the importance of inclusive, well-documented data stewardship. With perspectives from the worlds of policy, AI, and biodiversity, the panel makes a compelling case for climate data as a public good that demands care, context, and collective responsibility.Speakers:Maria João Sousa (Climate Change AI)Alan Ransil (Cherty)Marie-Claire Graf (Climate Action Now)David Dao (GainForest)This session was part of the 12th edition of Funding the Commons, held March 15–16, 2025, at the Internet Archive in San Francisco.Learn more at fundingthecommons.io
Powering Human Coordination Networks with Keys, Identity, and Wallets – San Francisco 2025 Funding the Commons 2025-04-03 | Powering Human Coordination Networks with Keys, Identity, and Wallets: Shady El Damaty introduces human.tech, an open framework designed to establish digital human rights through cryptographic tools like self-custodial keys, identity wallets, and privacy-preserving authentication. He explores how these technologies can create portable, enforceable rights and unlock capital access for underserved communities, enabling resilient coordination networks across the globe.Speaker: Shady El Damaty (human.tech by Holonym Foundation)This session was part of the 12th edition of Funding the Commons, held March 15–16, 2025, at the Internet Archive in San Francisco.Learn more at fundingthecommons.io
Legal Infrastructure for Agent Transactions – San Francisco 2025 Funding the Commons 2025-04-03 | Legal Infrastructure for Agent Transactions: Dazza Greenwood explores the evolving legal and technical frameworks needed to support AI agents capable of transacting on behalf of individuals and organizations. He highlights how existing statutes can be adapted for generative AI agents, emphasizing the need for authenticated delegation, error prevention, and commons-driven legal models to shape trustworthy, accountable systems.Speaker: Dazza Greenwood (Civics.com)This session was part of the 12th edition of Funding the Commons, held March 15–16, 2025, at the Internet Archive in San Francisco.Learn more at fundingthecommons.io
Load Bearing People, Load Bearing Code – San Francisco 2025 Funding the Commons 2025-04-03 | Load Bearing People, Load Bearing Code From retroactive public goods funding to the pitfalls of over-automation, Danny O’Brien explores how both code and people can become single points of failure—and why neither should bear the load alone. This is a call to build with resilience in mind, balancing automation with care, and protecting those who quietly hold it all together.Speaker: Danny O’Brien (Filecoin Foundation)This session was part of the 12th edition of Funding the Commons, held March 15–16, 2025, at the Internet Archive in San Francisco.Learn more at fundingthecommons.io
OMN: Towards a Robust Planetary Library – San Francisco 2025 Funding the Commons 2025-04-03 | OMN: Towards a Robust Planetary Library: Samuel Klein shares a vision for building resilient systems of knowledge—ones that don't rely on a single library, database, or algorithm to safeguard our cultural memory. From multimodal archives to concordances of primary sources, he invites us to think in systems of systems and map what we’re already doing into something more complete, durable, and open.Speaker: Samuel Klein (Open AI Network)This session was part of the 12th edition of Funding the Commons, held March 15–16, 2025, at the Internet Archive in San Francisco.Learn more at fundingthecommons.io
Culture & Community as Complex Systems – San Francisco 2025 Funding the Commons 2025-04-03 | Culture & Community as Complex Systems: How do communities evolve—and what happens when they don’t? Carter Gibson and Beth McCarthy explore the messy, necessary layers of community governance, content moderation, and cultural infrastructure. Drawing from Carter’s experience managing internal systems at scale at Google, this session examines the lessons centralized organizations can offer decentralized ecosystems.Speakers: Carter Gibson (Google), Beth McCarthy (Funding the Commons)This session was part of the 12th edition of Funding the Commons, held March 15–16, 2025, at the Internet Archive in San Francisco.Learn more at fundingthecommons.io
Building the 21st Century Commons – San Francisco 2025 Funding the Commons 2025-04-03 | Building the 21st Century Commons: What if philanthropists funded public goods with the same ambition—and mechanisms—as venture capitalists fund startups? Tom Kalil and Evan Miyazono explore models for scalable, impactful giving, from focused research organizations to outcome-based funding mechanisms like impact certificates. The conversation touches on everything from the role of AI in public goods to incentives for open data, rethinking how we coordinate, fund, and measure progress across science, governance, and global infrastructure.Speakers: Tom Kalil (Renaissance Philanthropy), Evan Miyazono (Atlas Computing)This session was part of the 12th edition of Funding the Commons, held March 15–16, 2025, at the Internet Archive in San Francisco.Learn more at fundingthecommons.io
Decentralized Scenarios Under Short AGI Timelines – San Francisco 2025 Funding the Commons 2025-04-03 | Decentralized Scenarios Under Short AGI Timelines: Allison Duettmann explores how decentralized systems might evolve under accelerated AGI timelines, examining potential geopolitical pressures, AI governance paradigms, open vs. closed-source trajectories, and the role of cryptoeconomic coordination. She maps emerging risks and opportunities—ranging from AI agents and research automation to brain-computer interfaces—while inviting participants to imagine and build toward more pluralistic, human-aligned futures.Speaker: Allison Duettmann (Foresight Institute)This session was part of the 12th edition of Funding the Commons, held March 15–16, 2025, at the Internet Archive in San Francisco.Learn more at fundingthecommons.io
Biorisk as Common Resource: The Critical Digital-to-Physical Interface – San Francisco 2025 Funding the Commons 2025-04-03 | Biorisk as Common Resource: The Critical Digital-to-Physical Interface: What kind of public good is biological risk—and how do we decide what to prioritize? Max Langenkamp offers a clarifying lens: the digital-to-physical frontier. From standardizing KYC for DNA orders to improving synthesis screening tools, he outlines concrete steps for reducing the risk of synthetic biology misuse. As design tools become more powerful and accessible, the greatest threats may come not from hypothetical super-pathogens, but from overlooked infrastructure gaps.Speaker: Max Langenkamp (SecureDNA)This session was part of the 12th edition of Funding the Commons, held March 15–16, 2025, at the Internet Archive in San Francisco.Learn more at fundingthecommons.io
Computer Security in the Age of AI – San Francisco 2025 Funding the Commons 2025-04-03 | Computer Security in the Age of AI: Artificial intelligence is transforming cybersecurity—on both sides of the battle. Abhinav Singh shares how machine learning is being used to defend against large-scale threats like phishing and data exfiltration, while also enabling more sophisticated attacks, from deepfake voice scams to AI-powered social engineering. As machines increasingly battle machines, effective cybersecurity will depend not just on better tools, but on human vigilance, policy guardrails, and proactive system design.Speaker: Abhinav Singh (Normalyze)This session was part of the 12th edition of Funding the Commons, held March 15–16, 2025, at the Internet Archive in San Francisco.Learn more at fundingthecommons.io
Decentralized AI: Beneficial Scenarios – San Francisco 2025 Funding the Commons 2025-04-03 | Decentralized AI: Beneficial Scenarios: What are the trade-offs between centralized and decentralized approaches to AI development—and what futures do they make possible? In this wide-ranging conversation, panelists discuss everything from security risks and red-teaming to open-source infrastructure, pedagogical applications, and the sociopolitical implications of AI control. Speakers: Christine Peterson (Foresight Institute), Mark Miller (Agoric), Max Langenkamp (SecureDNA), Abhinav Singh (Normalyze), and Allison Duettmann (Foresight Institute)This session was part of the 12th edition of Funding the Commons, held March 15–16, 2025, at the Internet Archive in San Francisco.Learn more at fundingthecommons.io
AI Tools for Navigating Existential Risk – San Francisco 2025 Funding the Commons 2025-04-03 | AI Tools for Navigating Existential Risk: What if we could use today’s AI capabilities to improve our chances of surviving tomorrow? In this fireside chat, Ben Goldhaber and Lou de Kerhuelvez explore how the Future of Life Foundation is leveraging AI for coordination, epistemics, and security. From early-stage tooling to legal infrastructure like the Windfall Trust, the conversation explores what it takes to build for a future shaped by AI—without being overtaken by it. Speakers: Ben Goldhaber (Future of Life Foundation), Lou de Kerhuelvez (N0des)This session was part of the 12th edition of Funding the Commons, held March 15–16, 2025, at the Internet Archive in San Francisco.Learn more at fundingthecommons.io
Decentralized, Confidential Machine Learning – San Francisco 2025 Funding the Commons 2025-04-03 | Decentralized, Confidential Machine Learning: What would it take to build AI that’s truly user-owned, censorship-resistant, and private by default? Alex Skidanov outlines a path forward using trusted execution environments (TEEs) to run models securely on untrusted hardware. He explores how this infrastructure could enable community-funded, confidential, and monetizable AI—where no one sees your data, and everyone who contributes gets rewarded.Speaker: Alex Skidanov (NEAR Protocol)This session was part of the 12th edition of Funding the Commons, held March 15–16, 2025, at the Internet Archive in San Francisco.Learn more at fundingthecommons.io
Funding Open Source & Decentralized Development, from Enterprise to AI Agents – San Francisco 2025 Funding the Commons 2025-04-03 | Funding Open Source & Decentralized Development, from Enterprise to AI Agents: Paul Brody and Timour Kosters explore models that support open source development—from enterprise-backed initiatives to experiments in decentralized AI agents. The conversation bridges commercial incentives, community contributions, and the role of crypto-native tools in shaping the future of development.Speakers: Paul Brody (Ethereum Enterprise Alliance), Timour Kosters (Edge City)This session was part of the 12th edition of Funding the Commons, held March 15–16, 2025, at the Internet Archive in San Francisco.Learn more at fundingthecommons.io
Building Sustainable Open Source: Open Core & Web3 Decentralized Clouds – San Francisco 2025 Funding the Commons 2025-04-03 | Building Sustainable Open Source: Open Core & Web3 Decentralized Clouds: Robert Drost outlines how cryptoeconomic primitives and verifiable decentralized infrastructure can regenerate open source development, challenging exploitative Web2 cloud models. He introduces trusted compute, restaking for capital efficiency, and a vision for sustainable, permissionless cloud services built by and for open-source developers.Speaker: Robert Drost (Eigen Foundation)This session was part of the 12th edition of Funding the Commons, held March 15–16, 2025, at the Internet Archive in San Francisco.Learn more at fundingthecommons.io
Deep Funding: Scaling Funding & Governance with Network Intelligence – San Francisco 2025 Funding the Commons 2025-04-03 | "Deep Funding": Scaling Funding & Governance with Network Intelligence: This panel explored how decentralized funding mechanisms can evolve through network-aware governance, onchain coordination, and iterative experimentation. Speakers shared insights into building funding protocols that learn over time, integrating feedback loops, reputation systems, and transparent metrics to support ecosystem-aligned development at scale.Speakers:Raymond Cheng (Open Source Observer)Kevin Owocki (Gitcoin, Allo)James Kiernan (Octant)Devansh Mehta (Ethereum Foundation)Sophia Dew (Celo)This session was part of the 12th edition of Funding the Commons, held March 15–16, 2025, at the Internet Archive in San Francisco.Learn more at fundingthecommons.io
Funding the Commons Update – San Francisco 2025 Funding the Commons 2025-04-03 | Funding the Commons Update: David Casey opened Day 2 with a reflection on the past year of Funding the Commons, highlighting global events across Berkeley, Tokyo, and Bangkok, along with a hackathon, media pilots like Open Conversations, and new experimental funding pilots with tools like Drips. He teased upcoming initiatives including a refugee-focused crowdfunding protocol and announced the next gathering in Berlin this June, alongside a broader push to incubate real-world public goods infrastructure.Speaker: David Casey (Funding the Commons)This session was part of the 12th edition of Funding the Commons, held March 15–16, 2025, at the Internet Archive in San Francisco.Learn more at fundingthecommons.io
Leading Through Subtraction – San Francisco 2025 Funding the Commons 2025-04-03 | Leading Through Subtraction: In a reflective conversation with Wendy Hanamura, Aya Miyaguchi shared the principles that guided her seven-year tenure as Executive Director of the Ethereum Foundation. From the philosophy of "subtraction"—leading by stepping back—to cultivating Ethereum as an “infinite garden,” she emphasized values like stewardship, decentralization, and long-term sustainability. The discussion touched on public goods funding, ecosystem growth beyond EF’s control, and her continued commitment to safeguarding Ethereum’s core values as she transitions into a new role as President.Speakers: Aya Miyaguchi (Ethereum Foundation), Wendy Hanamura (Internet Archive)This session was part of the 12th edition of Funding the Commons, held March 15–16, 2025, at the Internet Archive in San Francisco.Learn more at fundingthecommons.io
Collective Intelligence vs. Superintelligence? – San Francisco 2025 Funding the Commons 2025-04-03 | Collective Intelligence vs. Superintelligence? Institutional Design for Resilience in the AI Age:Chris Wray and Seth Frey explored how intentional community living has shaped their views on governance, process, and the role of AI. Challenging the dominance of voting as the default unit of democracy, they proposed a shift toward intentional gatherings and deliberative practices. The conversation unpacked tensions between outcome-driven and process-oriented design, questioned adversarial models of system robustness, and reflected on how AI might support—not replace—human-centered processes like facilitation, conflict resolution, and meaning-making in collective decision-making.Speakers: Chris Wray (Future Human Systems Research), Seth Frey (University of California, Davis)This session was part of the 12th edition of Funding the Commons, held March 15–16, 2025, at the Internet Archive in San Francisco.Learn more at fundingthecommons.io
An Anthropology of Cyborgs, for Cyborgs – San Francisco 2025 Funding the Commons 2025-04-03 | An Anthropology of Cyborgs, for Cyborgs: Amber Case explored how concepts like cybernetics and calm technology can guide more human-centered, low-friction design in an age of overwhelming interfaces and abstract AI hype. She emphasized the importance of attention-aware systems and understanding the historical roots of our tools.Speaker: Amber Case (Calm Technology)This session was part of the 12th edition of Funding the Commons, held March 15–16, 2025, at the Internet Archive in San Francisco.Learn more at fundingthecommons.io
Where Does Knowledge Come From? Funding Informational Commons – San Francisco 2025 Funding the Commons 2025-04-03 | Where Does Funding Come From? Funding Informational Commons in a World with AI:This session explored how information production, funding, and innovation are shaped by shifting dynamics between markets, monopolies, and open culture. Barry Threw and Matt Prewitt discussed hybrid models—such as data trusts, partial common ownership, and nonprofit consolidation—that challenge traditional paradigms of knowledge creation and funding in the age of AI.Speakers: Barry Threw (Gray Area), Matt Prewitt (RadicalxChange)This session was part of the 12th edition of Funding the Commons, held March 15–16, 2025, at the Internet Archive in San Francisco.Learn more at fundingthecommons.io
Introducing Grassroots Economics and the Barter & Beyond Game – San Francisco 2025 Funding the Commons 2025-04-03 | Introducing Grassroots Economics and the Barter & Beyond Game: Will Ruddick shared the journey of Grassroots Economics from paper-based community currencies to blockchain-based mutual credit systems rooted in ancestral traditions. Highlighting real-world deployments in Kenya and beyond, he introduced a protocol inspired by Elinor Ostrom's principles that enables communities to curate, value, limit, and exchange commitments—reviving local reciprocity networks with blockchain tools.Speaker: Will Ruddick (Grassroots Economics)This session was part of the 12th edition of Funding the Commons, held March 15–16, 2025, at the Internet Archive in San Francisco.Learn more at fundingthecommons.io
Ecoweaving with Beloved Intelligence – San Francisco 2025 Funding the Commons 2025-04-03 | Ecoweaving with Beloved Intelligence: Tony Lai invites us into a meditative exploration of collective breath, ancestral wisdom, and relational knowledge systems. Weaving together indigenous concepts like aroha and samay, he calls for nurturing “beloved intelligence” as a foundation for new governance tools and community-led stewardship of the commons.Speaker: Tony Lai (Mothertree Labs)This session was part of the 12th edition of Funding the Commons, held March 15–16, 2025, at the Internet Archive in San Francisco.Learn more at fundingthecommons.io
Sensemaking a Planetary Ecological Commons – San Francisco 2025 Funding the Commons 2025-04-03 | Sensemaking a Planetary Ecological Commons: The panel explored how planetary-scale ecological stewardship can emerge through commons-based governance, bioregional frameworks, AI-enhanced sensing, and indigenous knowledge systems. From climate reporting to bird song data, the conversation bridged poetic awareness and systemic design.Speakers: Stuart Cowan (Buckminster Fuller Institute), Marco Schletz (Innovation and Governance Researcher), and Sarah Baxendell (Art Ecology Design, LayerLabs)This session was part of the 12th edition of Funding the Commons, held March 15–16, 2025, at the Internet Archive in San Francisco.Learn more at fundingthecommons.io
Funding the Regeneration – San Francisco 2025 Funding the Commons 2025-04-03 | Funding the Regeneration: Matthew Monahan explores how regenerative projects rooted in place-based communities can scale through aligned funding mechanisms—from philanthropy and quadratic funding to nature-based tokens and hypercerts. Drawing from Ma Earth’s work, the talk highlights strategies to mobilize capital for ecological resilience and shared data standards for impact evaluation.Speaker: Matthew Monahan (Ma Earth)This session was part of the 12th edition of Funding the Commons, held March 15–16, 2025, at the Internet Archive in San Francisco.Learn more at fundingthecommons.io
The Future of AI Is Specialized: Why General Models Arent Enough – San Francisco 2025 Funding the Commons 2025-04-03 | The Future of AI is Specialized: Why General Models Aren’t Enough: Ram outlines why large, generalized models fall short for real-world use cases—and how OpenLedger enables the creation of specialized AI agents through a decentralized model lifecycle. The talk highlights attribution-based rewards for data contributors, use cases ranging from DeFi to programming models, and a vision for AI development infrastructure that mirrors YouTube’s model for content creators.Speaker: Ram (OpenLedger)This session was part of the 12th edition of Funding the Commons, held March 15–16, 2025, at the Internet Archive in San Francisco.Learn more at fundingthecommons.io
Investing in Climate Resilience – San Francisco 2025 Funding the Commons 2025-04-03 | Investing in Climate Resilience: With $380 billion in climate-related damages in 2023 alone, the stakes are clear. This panel dives into how capital, technology, and market structures can shift from financializing climate action to building real resilience—from regenerative finance to biocultural credits. Gregory Landua, Troy Carter, and Tito Jankowski discuss what’s worked, what hasn’t, and where we go next—moderated by Tereza Bizkova.Speakers: Gregory Landua (Regen Network), Troy Carter (Earthshot Labs), Tito Jankowski (AirMiners), Tereza Bizkova (Funding the Commons)This session was part of the 12th edition of Funding the Commons, held March 15–16, 2025, at the Internet Archive in San Francisco.Learn more at fundingthecommons.io
Geospatial AI for Climate and Nature – San Francisco 2025 Funding the Commons 2025-04-03 | Geospatial AI for Climate and Nature: How can we use AI to map, model, and regenerate the planet—starting with the world’s forests? Diego Saez Gil and Stuart Cowan explore the rise of geospatial AI, the role of open data and shared algorithms, and new coalition efforts like Symbiosis that are channeling billions into high-quality nature-based carbon projects. From forest canopy maps to digital twins of bioregions, this conversation lays out a vision where tech, science, and stewardship converge.Speakers: Diego Saez Gil (Pachama), Stuart Cowan (Buckminster Fuller Institute)This session was part of the 12th edition of Funding the Commons, held March 15–16, 2025, at the Internet Archive in San Francisco.Learn more at fundingthecommons.io
Beyond the Black Box Algorithm: Health Data and the Public Good – San Francisco 2025 Funding the Commons 2025-04-03 | Beyond the Black Box Algorithm: Health Data and the Public Good: What would it take to turn fragmented health records and siloed devices into a shared resource for public benefit? Daniel Wolfe explores how AI, privacy-preserving tools, and commons-aligned infrastructures can unlock the potential of health data—without replicating extractive models. From Jupyter Health to data governance inspired by CERN, he envisions a shift from black-box predictions to collaborative, open, and patient-centered systems.Speaker: Daniel Wolfe (UCSF & UC Berkeley Joint Program in Computational Precision Health)This session was part of the 12th edition of Funding the Commons, held March 15–16, 2025, at the Internet Archive in San Francisco.Learn more at fundingthecommons.io
Stewarding the Future with Wise Ancestors – San Francisco 2025 Funding the Commons 2025-04-03 | Stewarding the Future with Wise Ancestors: What if every species we sequenced came with a responsibility to its ecosystem, its history, and its future? Aleksandra Smilek of Wise Ancestors shares how their platform connects Indigenous communities and scientists to co-create conservation challenges, track genetic data, and build models aligned with the Nagoya Protocol.Speaker: Aleksandra Smilek (Wise Ancestors)This session was part of the 12th edition of Funding the Commons, held March 15–16, 2025, at the Internet Archive in San Francisco.Learn more at fundingthecommons.io
Biodiversity Data as a Commons: Sequencing Life on Earth – San Francisco 2025 Funding the Commons 2025-04-03 | Biodiversity Data as a Commons: Sequencing Life on Earth: What does it mean to treat genomic data as a public good? This session explored decentralized approaches to sequencing life on Earth, from statewide mapping to community-led conservation. Speakers shared lessons from Colombia to California, emphasizing open data, local stewardship, and shared infrastructure for biodiversity resilience.Speakers: Ann Pace (Wise Ancestors), Brad Shaffer (UCLA / California Conservation Genomics Project), Aleksandra Smilek (Wise Ancestors)This session was part of the 12th edition of Funding the Commons, held March 15–16, 2025, at the Internet Archive in San Francisco.More at fundingthecommons.io
Decentralized AI, from Open Data to AGI – San Francisco 2025 Funding the Commons 2025-04-03 | Decentralized AI, from Open Data to AGI: This panel tackled the future of AI infrastructure—from data provenance to synthetic training sets—and the tradeoffs between decentralization, scale, and control. What happens when compute, ownership, and intelligence distribution intersect? Expect strong takes on synthetic data, economic incentives, and whether decentralization is a pipe dream—or the only real path to AGI.Speakers: Vincent Weisser (Prime Intellect), Anna Kazlauskas (OpenDataLabs / Vana), Ram (OpenLedger), Chi Zhang (Kite AI), and Madisen Taylor (Prime Intellect)This session was part of the 12th edition of Funding the Commons, held March 15–16, 2025, at the Internet Archive in San Francisco.More at fundingthecommons.io
Privacy by Design: ZK, MPC, TEE – San Francisco 2025 Funding the Commons 2025-04-03 | Privacy by Design: ZK, MPC, TEE: As cryptographic infrastructure matures, the question isn’t whether we can build privacy-preserving systems—but how to make them easy to use, verifiable, and widely adopted. This panel explored how tools like zero-knowledge proofs, secure enclaves, and multi-party computation are shaping digital identity, AI provenance, and the next layer of civic infrastructure.Speakers: Nanak Nihal Khalsa (human.tech by Holonym), Florent Tavernier (Self Protocol), Aayush Gupta (ZKEmail), Chris Cassano (Lit Protocol), and Beth McCarthy (Funding the Commons)Held at the Internet Archive as part of Funding the Commons SF 2025.More info at fundingthecommons.io
Architecting Resilient Futures – San Francisco 2025 Funding the Commons 2025-04-03 | Architecting Resilient Futures: Illia Polosukhin and Juan Benet explore how AI, blockchains, and decentralized systems might shape a more resilient society. They touch on post-AGI coordination, AI arbitration, evolutionary design, and the need for formal verification, emphasizing open systems over centralized control in an era of accelerating intelligence.Speakers: Illia Polosukhin (NEAR Protocol), Juan Benet (Protocol Labs)This session was part of the 12th edition of Funding the Commons, held March 15–16, 2025, at the Internet Archive in San Francisco.Learn more at fundingthecommons.io
Infrastructures of Resilience: San Francisco | Funding the Commons Funding the Commons 2025-04-02 | The systems we rely on weren’t built for the world we’re living in now. They’re being stretched—by the climate crisis, accelerating AI, and fractured information ecosystems.At FtC San Francisco, we brought together over 80 speakers and hundreds of participants to ask: What does it take to build infrastructure for resilience? How do we design systems that adapt, remember, and hold?This short film captures some of the voices shaping that conversation—featuring Aza Raskin, Shady El Damaty, Illia Polosukhin, Diego Saez Gil, and Wendy Hanamura.🌍 Learn more: fundingthecommons.io
