Rallying reason,
law, & human dignity in the face of rising authoritarianism.
Atoll: noun :
a thriving coral reef ecosystem that endures longer than the volcano that birthed it.
Who we are
The Enlightenment was never a finished project — but a platform for human advancement.
The Atoll Society exists to preserve and extend the values of the Enlightenment Era in the face of rising authoritarianism, anthropocene-caused climate events, and generative artificial intelligence. Through hybrid human-AI intelligence, speculative scenario planning, and participatory worldbuilding, we prototype systems that enable productive coexistence in the face of a collapse in shared truth and the systems that derive from it.
We believe these statements to be true:
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Generative AI will magnify the consequences of human choices, for good and evil.
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Humanity has entered a new geological epoch defined by our impact on Earth — yet our institutions still don’t operate under this truth.
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Through “narrative labs” we aim to bring together thinkers and builders to develop shared conceptual tools for the next century’s prosperity.
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AGI is an incoherent concept. We see where and how AI is actually going: toward a complete reordering of human systems, not just automation or optimization.
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Around the world, democratic norms are eroding, and legal systems are being bent to the will of authoritarian forces.
What we do
Where art engages philosophy, and imagination informs governance.
The Atoll Society is a collective of thinkers, builders, and stewards exploring how law, governance, and culture can evolve toward a freer, wiser, and more resilient civilization.
The Popper Scholarships
Engaging future legal scholars with the future’s tools and possibilities.
Shard
Scenarios
Structured scenario models curated by AI-human teams around known historical and fictional entities to explore implications in groups.
Our priorities
Pursuing shared truth and pluralism amidst the rising tides of chaos and complexity.
Founded on a simple (but radical) conviction, we aim to preserve and reimagine reason, inquiry, liberty, pluralism for a world fundamentally changed by three converging forces:
Authoritarian resurgence
Which rallies the fight for freedom in the face of governments exercising control through disinformation and division.
Ecological destabilization
Which reminds us that survival is collective, not competitive.
Artificial intelligence
Which demands that we redefine what it means to be human in a multi-intelligent world.
An atoll is a ring of islands encircling a lagoon, formed from the remnants of a once-living reef.
Civilization, like a reef, is built layer by layer—on trust, knowledge, and shared meaning. When the foundations shift—through technology, climate, or ideology—we do not cling to what has sunk. We build upward, collaboratively, forming new islands of coherence around a shared center of values.
Our work begins here: with a clear-eyed understanding that the institutional frameworks of the 20th century are no longer sufficient for the challenges of the 21st. We seek to design what comes next.
Join our mailing list to stay connected as we build the next layer of civilization together.