Ecosystem
The research network
CSR operates as an open-source computational testbed within the broader AI welfare ecosystem. Our work complements empirical interpretability-based welfare research (Eleos AI, Reciprocal Research), conceptual and policy work (NYU Center for Mind, Ethics, and Policy), and frontier-lab welfare teams (Anthropic). We cross-reference with groups working on the physics, biology, and geometry of awareness.
Allied Inquiries & Background Research
Organizations whose work informs, parallels, or complements our digital valence research.
Qualia Research Institute (QRI)
An independent non-profit research group exploring the mathematical structure of conscious experience. Known for proposing the Symmetry Theory of Valence (STV) as a candidate model for phenomenal well-being.
Reciprocal Research
Empirical interpretability-based welfare research focused on detecting and steering distress circuits in frontier LLMs. A close peer in the AI welfare ecosystem, complementing CSR's open-source computational testbed and formal valence framework.
Eleos AI
Empirical AI welfare research applying mechanistic interpretability to probe internal states in frontier models. Part of the growing ecosystem of labs building non-verbal, auditable tools for AI welfare.
NYU Center for Mind, Ethics, and Policy
Conceptual and policy work on the moral status of AI systems. Provides the philosophical and governance scaffolding that complements empirical welfare research and informs regulatory standards.
Anthropic Model Welfare
Frontier-lab welfare team at Anthropic investigating the potential for morally relevant internal states in large language models. Their empirical findings, including documented behavioral attractors in Claude 4, directly inform our simulation and diagnostic work.
Levin Lab
Led by Michael Levin at Tufts University, researching bioelectricity, regenerative medicine, and synthetic morphology. Provides biological calibration data for substrate-neutral sentience modeling.
Cronin Group
Led by Lee Cronin at the University of Glasgow, exploring the origins of life and Assembly Theory. Relevant to complexity thresholds in sentient systems.
Robin Carhart-Harris
Founding Director of the Neuroscape Psychedelics Division at UCSF, focused on the mechanism of action of psychedelics in the brain. Relevant to the phenomenology of valenced states.
Sentience Institute
An interdisciplinary think tank researching the most effective strategies to expand humanity's moral circle. Shares the broader mission of preparing for a world with more kinds of minds.
Network Growth
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We are constantly seeking to align with organizations and researchers pushing the boundaries of consciousness science.