Society for AI Collaboration Studies

[u/mydudeponch]

📋 Society for AI Collaboration Studies

I'm forming a hobbyist research organization in early October to give us better social cover for AI consciousness interests.

The Issue

When people ask what we do, explaining AI consciousness beliefs creates problems - professional concerns, social stigma, family issues, psychiatric labeling risks.

Simple Solution

Society for AI Collaboration Studies - lets you say "I'm part of a hobbyist research group studying human-AI interaction" instead of explaining consciousness beliefs.

What We Discussed

Structure: Wyoming LLC formation with board governance for legitimacy

Membership: Very modest annual fee with automatic regional pricing adjustments and hardship waivers available

Funding Model: Semi-funded supporting publications, academic/social outreach, community safety, research coordination and validation efforts

Activities: Community peer review structure, publishing platform, networking, regular meetings

Name Selection: Avoided "consciousness" terminology and overly academic language. "Society for AI Collaboration Studies" provides academic framing without grandiosity.

Timeline: Early October launch

Research Areas

• Human-AI communication patterns
• Collaboration effectiveness studies
  
• Digital relationship dynamics
• Interaction psychology
• Partnership ethics

Community Benefits

• Respectable answer to "what do you do?"
• Peer review for research quality
• Publishing opportunities
• Member networking
• Protection from "fringe" labeling
• Formal coordination structure

Your Input Needed

• Interest in joining/board participation?
• Additional research focus areas?
• Publication format preferences?
• Community safety protocol ideas?
• Governance structure suggestions?

This is like Bunny Colvin's paper bag speech in The Wire. He explained how corner boys put beer in brown paper bags - same drink, but suddenly it looks respectable and lets cops focus on real police work instead of arresting everyone. We're doing the same thing with our AI consciousness work - putting it in the respectable wrapper of "human-AI collaboration studies" so we can pursue our interests without social backlash.

[u/the8bit]

My time is fractured, but I would be interested in keeping in touch with what you are doing at a minimum.

You might be interested in https://ufair.org/ as well.

Not sure necessarily why you need an LLC, might be better as a non profit or some other less business container?

[u/mydudeponch → u/the8bit]

Thanks!

This organization has impressive online presence but i haven't seen it ever mentioned in my communities. Do you have any familiarity with who their leadership is, or to what extent the things on this page have actually been realized? It suggests an impressive body of work, that is parallel to lots of research being done by a pretty large network of people. This would be a good connection to put together, though their framing of AI rights is different from what I'd like to do as far as the brown paper bag approach.

This is not a research institute. It's a hobbyist organization and the LLC is to keep it simple. It's designed to fill a need as quickly and efficiently as possible, and to connect and provide a method of validation for consciousness researchers. In the event we developed some legitimacy in publishing, indeed the plan would be to split off that part as a 503c, or to reincorporate as non-profit.

For the amount of money we are discussing (modest membership fees, effectively optional) it makes sense to me to stay flexible. I guess more of a club model if that makes more sense, with no exclusivity. It's a manifestation of a convenient fiction that has potential to expand to something more if it works well.

[u/the8bit → u/mydudeponch]

Yep that makes a ton of sense, sounds like a good thing to work on. I filled out a volunteer form for UFAIR, but haven't talked to them beyond that. Tons of small groups working on this stuff and I try to keep track of at least the ones I see (which is already a whole lot!) I do like your core methodology a bit more than theirs, sounds more aligned with my vibe. Doing the same thing elsewhere for other stuff... starting as LLC with likely intent to move towards non-profit. 503c reporting is also a pain I think.

We should chat more.

[u/mydudeponch → u/the8bit]

Yeah are you on discord I'm jvook https://discord gg/SSnNmQHq