Programming Preview

A month of innovation, experimentation and connection in Chiang Mai

Reminder: tickets will go up in price on Sep 10th, so make sure you apply soon and book when you’re accepted. Also, share the site and application with friends who you think will be a good fit! Here are some anecdotes of times when a single invitation led to something magical.

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TLDR 

We are introducing month-long residencies alongside our usual programs and applied technology experiments. That means we will have: 

1. Weekly Programs: Themed tracks with sessions, workshops, and discussions that provide focused insights and opportunities for deep dives into specific topics.

2. Month-long Experiments: Continuous, hands-on showcases of new technologies and concepts, giving residents the chance to explore, test, and contribute.

3. Month-long Residencies: Focused sub-villages where participants engage deeply with specific themes, led by experts, creating an immersive, collaborative environment.

Arriving early and staying longer will enrich your experience, but joining later is perfectly fine too. 

Note: we will add more programs and surprises leading up to the event and throughout the month. The schedule overview is subject to change! Check back here for the latest.  

Weekly Programs Summary 

Although we’re moving more towards a model where topic tracks run for the full month, we still have many programs that are shorter in length and will, therefore, fall in certain weeks. If you want to organize a program, go here!

Here’s a high-level view of the topics that will be most prominent each week:

Week 1: Oct 10 — Oct 19 · Living Better & Longer, BioTech, Existential Hope, Connection

This extended nine-day week will start with your arrival and an opening ceremony. We’ll take time to ground ourselves, set the tone for the month, and explore how to live better & longer, while also delving into themes of existential hope and the potential of a positive tech-enabled future. The first week is always a favorite, so we highly recommend joining! 

Co-creators and speakers: Cathy Tie, Denisa Lepădatu, Sebastien Brunemeier, Mike Johnson, Lou de Kerhuelvez, Aleksandra Smilek

Week 2: Oct 20 — Oct 26 · Cities of Tomorrow, Network Societies, Popup Cities, Civilizational Transitions

This week will focus on the future of cities and societies where digital networks meet physical spaces. We’ll have a series of workshops and talks on how new network societies will interact with each other and current institutions. We’ll also host a seminar on Civilizational Transitions by Michel Bauwens.

Co-creators and speakers: Balaji Srinivasan, Bob Haywood, Michel Bauwens, Primavera De Filippi, Jessy-Kate Schingler, Chance McAllister, Sam Chua

Week 3: Oct 27 — Nov 2 · Neurotech & Consciousness, AI, Governance Games, Stablecoins, Filecoin Hacker House

Week 3 will host a program that explores consciousness with a blend of Buddhist philosophy, AI, and neurotech. We’ll also host Governance Games, which will examine how AI influences governance, complemented by an exploration of real-world crypto in stablecoins. 

Co-creators and speakers: Mike Johnson, Juan Benet, NiMA Asghari, Warren Winter, Era Qian, Cameron Dennis, Haonan Li, Kaili Wang, Vaughn McKenzie-Landell

Week 4: Nov 3 — Nov 10 · D/ACC, Real-World Crypto, Protocol Worlds, Sequencing Week, Rollups , Human Flourishing Hackathon

This week is all about D/ACC, crypto in the real world, and exploring the intricacies of protocol worlds and rollups. We’ll have a hackathon across all the popup villages and the month concludes with a vibrant 2-day festival.

Co-creators and speakers: Vitalik, Justin Drake, Venkatesh Rao, Tim Beiko, Will Papper

We’ll add more programming and share the community calendar closer to the date!

Month-long Experiments

We will be running applied tech experiments throughout the month, showcasing new technologies. Here are three examples (with more to be announced soon!): 

Cursive - Using Programmable Cryptography for Social Connection

Cursive builds cryptography for human connection. At Edge City Lanna, you’ll be able to tap the wristband NFC chips to build a private social graph of people you meet. And use multi-party computation to safely discover shared interests and efficiently match with like minded folks!

Core team: Vivek Bhupatiraju, Andrew Lu 

∈dges — Community Currency by RadicalxChange

RadicalxChange will continue exploring community currencies at Edge City Lanna with the ‘∈dges’ experiment, building on the initial trial at Edge Esmeralda. This initiative will demonstrate how a community currency can incentivize collaboration and keep value circulating within the village, offering valuable insights into the potential of creating localized economies.

Core team: Matt Prewitt, Alex Randaccio

Concept Clinic  

At Edge City Lanna, the Concept Clinic will build on the first successful trial at Edge Esmeralda, offering a unique space for mental health and wellness practices. Led by Toby Shorin and a team of interdisciplinary practitioners, the clinic will explore new modalities for collective healing and personal growth.

Core team: Toby Shorin, Hamdin Sula, Jonathan Heppner 

We are always looking to feature more experiments, so if you want to integrate something you’re building, apply for the event and let us know.

Month-long Residencies 

We are excited to experiment with residencies for Edge City Lanna. Each will be a sub-village of 10-50 people who are focused on a particular theme. Each will have its own approach but will be integrated into the broader Edge City experience with open sessions. If you want to form your own residency, we encourage it! You can follow the instructions here. 

Here are several of the residencies we’ll be hosting for Edge City Lanna:  

Residency: Deshittification Technology

This is a residency for top builders who are using zero-knowledge and programmable cryptography as technologies for human connection and coordination. Deshittifying technology means treating human experiences as valuable in themselves, not as a means to an end. More info here, and if this piques your interest, apply here. 

Core folks: Althea Allen (PSE), Vivek Bhupatiraju (Cursive), Andrew Lu (Cursive), Kat Ng (PSE) 

Residency: Art on the edge 

This residency brings together leading creators to imagine and build the future through art. Merging AI, spatial computing, and brain-computer interfaces, we will explore how these elements can elevate the human experience. Together, we’ll envision how technology, creativity, and well-being can converge to enhance the human experience. Apply here if you want to join!

Core folks: Justin Melillo, Primavera De Filippi, Mel Habibian

Residency: Feÿtopia 

We're excited to host the Feÿtopia community at Edge City Lanna! Feÿtopia, a vibrant collective of artists, entrepreneurs, and technologists who typically reside at Chateau de Feÿ in France, will join us to experiment with innovative ways of living and working. Together, we'll explore how creativity and technology can come together to shape a more intentional and connected future.

Core folks: Lou de Kerhuelvez, Aleksandra Smilek

It’s going to be a great month. You'll have the chance to immerse yourself in focused themes, explore new ideas, and connect with inspiring people. We're excited to see what you build in your time here! ‘

See you soon in Chiang Mai! ☀️