A two-month gathering of 300-500 individuals to promote/research the defensive, decentralized, differentiated, and democratic acceleration of technology, following the d/acc philosophy outlined in Vitalik Buterin’s article My techno-optimism. Vitalik writes about technologies that are exceptionally game changing and need extra consideration in order to accelerate them in a safe way, such as artificial intelligence.

In Zuzalu, we built some of these game changing technologies, such as identity documents protected with zero knowledge cryptography, and partnered with Montenegrin officials and university leaders for mutual benefit. In Georgia, we seek to continue this legacy by bringing together a larger number of builders and thinkers from frontier fields to discuss and develop technologies that tackle humanity’s greatest challenges, while building strategic partnerships to accelerate technological development in Georgia in a way that takes safety considerations into account.

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Dates (updated!):

July 20 - August 31

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Key topics:

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Open to community proposals.
Ethereum / web3 / ZK / Privacy / Cyberdefense
As Crypto has gained in popularity and adoption, a proliferation of projects and communities have emerged, creating a web3 ecosystem with many builders and entrepreneurs keen to get involved. Over time, there has been an inevitable drift in the underlying mission to build towards a “free and open society and economy,” and we seek to discuss and refocus community efforts towards “Cypherpunk” software values such as those Vitalik outlines in his recent article, Make Ethereum Cypherpunk Again.

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(Meta)Rationality / Cognitive Sovereignty / Collective Intelligence In a very interconnected, technological world, we’re faced with increasing information oversaturation, tribalism, polarization, and a loss of trust in truth seeking as a cultural basis. We will practice and teach cognitive tools to navigate complex information landscapes, maintain individuals’ autonomy in thought and perception, and foster collective intelligence. We seek to ensure Zuzalu and Georgian community members have the tools to build their own individual opinions, discuss complex topics, and disagree productively.

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Artificial Intelligence / Emerging Technologies 2024 is a year of unprecedented technological change through exponentially improving artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies. We will discuss and examine these changes, how individuals and institutions can and should adapt, and experiment with building to accelerate human capabilities with a d/acc approach.

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Decentralised Science / Longevity / Biotech A number of issues plague science, including challenges in funding allocation, replicability crisis, inefficient and nepotistic peer review processes, regulatory firewalls, and the “valley of death” between basic research and clinical development of new drugs. Decentralised Science offers a solution to democratize access to scientific resources and knowledge. It proposes alternative funding models and resource allocation methods that could significantly accelerate health and medical breakthroughs; it allows ideas such as longevity, spacetech and other moonshot ideas to be pursued as well as things of global importance (e.g. biosecurity). In Georgia, we will invite scientists to collaborate with pioneers in web3 tech, creating a space where advanced science and emerging technology blends. The aim is to foster an environment where breakthrough tech can be incubated and developed into pragmatic and tangible solutions for some of the world's most pressing issues.

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Decentralized Governance / Network States / Legal Engineering Legal frameworks and regulatory standards sometimes lag behind technological advances due to slower adaptation and evolution. Recent developments in legal engineering build on ideas like blockchain and cryptography, allowing for decentralized decision making processes like DAO models or new paradigms such as e-governance. Innovation hubs can be built on regulatory sandbox models like special economic zones, which can accelerate progress. We will hold discussions to analyze potential use cases and opportunities in Georgia for innovative governance.

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Key activities:

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Large conferences (with up to 200 visitors)
Opening and closing ceremonies, weekly town halls
Coworking and co-living
Weekly workshops, discussions, clubs with Zuzalu and Georgian community members
Hackathon Competitions
Education and events with young Georgians

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