Lamp DAO: a Cybermemetic Experiment in Collective Governance

Exploring applications of Web3 tech for the collective management of ‘real world’ cyber-physical infrastructure

Web3 evangelists preach the promise of a new Internet of Value and multidimensional democratization where the first iterations of the Internet failed. They say blockchain and cryptocurrency technology offer new modes for economic expression and socio-political paradigms where people-powered organizations can create their own currencies, pool funding, collectively own and manage infrastructure, and self-govern. The vision is ambitious, to say the least, and 14 years after the introduction of Bitcoin, many question the “real world” impact of these technologies as ecological degradation accelerates, and with it, economic and political instability.

A recent event, CyborgCamp, illustrated this criticism of Web3 in its memetic governance experiment with “Lamp DAO”. The project’s creators not only poke fun at the crypto space’s inability thus far to create the deep systemic shifts needed to tackle our planet’s most wicked problems, but ironically, what started as a meme may actually hold promise for that bigger change and possibility.

This piece takes us underground (literally a basement) to the lesser-known pioneering edges of Web3 space exploration, where cyberpunk is making a comeback and creative solutions engineering is based in play. Here, the hope for a brighter future rests in the hands of a neuroversal group of multidisciplinarians whose greatest weapon of revolution just might be - a lamp.

Enter the Lair: CyborgCamp & A World Beyond Techno Feudalism

I'm in a basement painted bright primary green. There's a TV streaming fractal, psychedelic art, while high-intensity electronic dance music pulses in the background. There are lamps of varying shapes and computer chips strewn about on a long, polished wood table. On another desk nearby, electric engineering and soldering equipment rest on the table with a hand-drawn picture of a dead stick figure labeled "danger" in red permanent marker.

Zargham: "Don't f@!* with that one, Isaac already soldered it! Use the fresh breadboards."

Barton: "Breadboards - now that sounds like it's for the people!"

Michael Zargham, Founder and Chief Engineer of BlockScience - a pioneering operations research and complex systems engineering firm - and Barton Rhodes, co-founder of Plurigrid, a visionary research and development exploration simulating and building energy microgrid infrastructure - yell at each other excitedly over the music. They cross the room to a whiteboard, covered in system diagrams, ontology mappings, and new applications of lambda calculus.

"We just have to sniff our Bluetooth signals!"

Zargham says loudly as he draws another diagram.

Janita Chalam, a developer with an advanceddecentralized autonomous organization (DAO) tooling stack, DAO DAO tries not to get distracted from coding, but can’t help laughing.

This is CyborgCamp, an event started by Cyborg Anthropologist, public speaker, author of Calm Technology Amber Case in 2008. This year, it found expression in a suburban Albany, New York neighborhood home. The area, known as Rensselaer, was named after a 17th-century Dutch feudal lord and one of the original founders of the Dutch West India Company.

It is only fitting that 20 engineers and researchers gathered here for CyborgCamp 2023 to discuss technological feudalism and the possibilities for global systemic change amidst increasing overshoot of planetary boundaries. The backdrop - economic, social, and political unrest around the world, aging and underfunded public infrastructure, the rise of AI, and the transition from Web2 to Web3 technologies.

From Feudalism to Commons: Rebuilding the Internet for Resilience in an Era of Collapse

As witnessed in the last few decades, the promise of a democratized and open internet was crushed by the conglomerization and monopolization of internet platforms in Web2. Some critics have likened the role of participants of social networks and ride-sharing platforms to feudal peasants, hooked to dopamine drips and the pittance of wage slave economies. While they toil, the feudal overlords of transnational corporate platforms harvest data and build psychometric profiles to profit from advertising. The system is underpinned by a vast substrate of computation in an accelerating feedback loop of black box algorithms with the power to turn geopolitical tides (heavily documented and outlined in documentary films like “The Great Hack”).

With the introduction of Bitcoin in 2009, there has been a foray into the possibilities of a new “Internet of Value.” Proponents envision not only increased agency and revenue sharing of platform participant’s data via data trusts and cooperative models, but more transparency and expanded collective governance of algorithmic policy. Discussions across crypto communities range from more distributed ownership of network capital, assets, production, and infrastructure to greater resilience through more decentralized infrastructure, to improved pathways for fundraising, democracy, political action, and governance via new organizational structures and voting tools.

This drama is playing out within the four corners of our screens, but if we look up and out, we see another backdrop and frame - environmental and planetary collapse. With this, an even more important purpose of a new internet comes into view - systemic and paradigmatic shifts to reverse the extractive and destructive feedback loops we find ourselves in. A new iteration of the internet with enabling tools for the coordination of self-organized networks for local and global problem-solving, economic diversity and shelter, infrastructure with enhanced adaptive capacity, and overall greater resilience - a regenaissance.

Cyborgers Unite! (Around a Lamp)

The potential of Web3 and planetary collapse were just some of the countless discussions and impromptu talks at the un-conference style salon event. The grid of sticky notes on the living room wall displayed other topics like Metaphysics: How do we formalize and apply it, From Agents to Agency, Xenomodernism: Dreams of a common language, Macro Oriented Programming, Exploring Post-Network Connectivity: Connectivity Fields, and Seizing the Memes of Production: A Memeathon.

In between bagels, sunset-watching breaks, and discussions on language models, the origins of the universe, and constitutions of science and truth, the Cyborgers were primarily focused on a hackathon experiment deemed “Lamp DAO.” The idea had been brewing for some weeks.

Back in the basement, jokingly called “the lair" on the sticky note program grid, the experiment was taking shape.

Jake Hartnell, __Juno network__and DAO DAO co-founder was sitting on an office chair, bent over his computer wearing a blanket strung with LED lights around his shoulders like a cape. The  wires led to a Raspberry Pi, which he was using to test newly created voting tools.

"So the lights on the blanket are blue now, but say we voted to change it to green - green's my favorite color - the vote would execute. I'll sign the transaction. I always love this part."

Why Lamp DAO and What is it?

Lamp DAO is a memetic-inspired cybernetics demonstration, living art installation, and research and development project. The mission: To map, test and develop a DAO that can collectively control the brightness and hue of a lamp.

Chalam and Zeke Medley, another developer, are giggling wildly as they code JSON hue inputs generated from conversations with the conversational agent they build with OpenAI’s GPT-3 model. They query it about vibe preferences, referring to moods such as "dark and gloomy Japanese city in the rain," "bright, bold and glittery,” and “candy-colored hues” to generate a correlating number representing a light brightness and hue.

"It sounds kind of stupid, I mean, it's a lamp. Why are we voting on the state of the lamp?

The point is what it represents, a physical reality that's affecting all of us and we have a way to aggregate our preferences to change the physical reality. We can create a loop where we are reacting to that loop and continually updating it,” Chalam says excitedly.

Event organizer, Case expands on the cybernetic aspects - human-machine assemblages and feedback loops of information and processes - emphasizing the importance of play in creativity and problem-solving.

"By doing these things we create a temporary reality, a temporary autonomous zone, a liminal space betwixt and between the here and there in which people can come together and make something actually interesting.

In this case, a socio-technical cybernetic assemblage that includes lamps, people, networks, DAOs, connectivity, voting, large language models like GPT-3, and other fun tools to demo out what we can do," Case explains.

The lightbulb flicked on for Zargham when he was thinking about how to explain and demonstrate cyber infrastructure - socio-technical systems, with human and tech interfaces and feedback loops - and their power in shaping the "real world." Although cyber-physical infrastructure can include various layers of technology, the CyborgCamp group is well-versed in digital infrastructure design and systems engineering, including blockchain and cryptocurrency technology.

Zargham discussed the idea with Case, Hartnell, colleagues at BlockScience, and the interdisciplinary research collective,MetaGov - who all came to the quick and full consensus that Lamp DAO must happen.

Zargham explains his motivation in experimenting with Lamp DAO: "My dad was an engineer for the state of New York's Department of Transportation, so naturally I am versed in public infrastructure. What I do now involves a new technological substrate, but the same engineering and scientific principles apply.”

“We must find ways to rewire our current systems to account for environmental, economic, and social externalities that have us in this incredibly destructive feedback loop.

One challenge of working with young and smart, but all-too-often inexperienced builders in Web3 is, they're governing their governance to govern; at least lamps are real," laughs Zargham.

The BlockScience founder has a background in electrical and robotics engineering and is particularly interested to see Web3 capacities applied to enhance and control (in the control theory sense) cyber-physical infrastructure. This could be especially useful in outdated systems - like national power grids - in need of upgrades in tech, as well as policies and governance tools that enable quicker response and adaptation to the increasing challenges of the polycrisis.

"It's a great time to apply this new technology to our existing physical systems, and at the same time create new digital public infrastructures – such as practical participatory governance for algorithms, especially in emerging technology like AI", Zargham added.

How Does Lamp DAO Work?

I get a notification from the Lamp DAO Signal chat with several people sending their Juno wallet addresses, and I follow suit. Without even speaking members reply with theirs, the signal that membership NFTs are being minted - the energy in the room - magnetic.

The NFTs represent membership in Lamp DAO. From the DAO dashboard, the members can chat with the conversational agent using GPT-3 (built by Chalam and Medley) to set their preferred lighting aesthetic. The agent can translate between a Lamp DAO member’s preferred aesthetic and a JSON configuration. The DAO members can then stake tokens on their preference, while the back-end aggregates the preferences through a weighted average, and the JSON file feeds the chip wired to the lamp and adjusts the lamp accordingly.

Chalam explains: “The point of this is to demonstrate a way for people to express their preferences in natural language without having to understand the underlying configuration format, thereby "democratizing" the configuration space.

You can imagine using [AI] agents in similar ways to offer people more control and understanding of different governance levers.”

Many aspects of the configuration are customizable (such as how to represent membership, token distribution and vote weighting) and Lamp DAO will continue experimenting with different aspects of the system and governance possibilities.

I ask if the hue could be “rainbow disco” rather than one color. Within seconds, programmer Colten Jackson types a few lines of code, and the blanket - formerly worn by Hartnell now on the table in front of me - flashes wildly in an array of colors.

From Lamp DAO to Energy Grids: Exploring “Real World” Applications

After Jackson codes the disco for me, the hackers break from testing components for Lamp DAO to listen to a talk from one attendee’s father, Carl Paatka, on New York’s energy infrastructure. Energy grids are a fitting example (especially for Lamp DAO) of an infrastructure sector facing several challenges - increased demand from population shifts, global warming, and the switch to more electric vehicles to name a few.

Patka is an energy and environmental lawyer working on climate change policy and tells me energy grids could employ decentralization and more distributed connectivity and supply to give the grid real-time capacity to load balance and respond to shifting needs. He tells me the intergenerational exchange was fruitful for both sides.

“I gained insight from CyborgCamp on how blockchain and automated contracts can provide more tools to achieve climate change goals and actually enhance reliability and transparency of the power system for investors, operators, and customers.

The ability to establish algorithmic markets and contracts will enable a two-way grid where the largest power lines are actively integrated in real-time with microgrids and small distributed energy resources and storage. The potential is huge,” said Patka.

Lucas Chu, a former researcher at Harvard Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society’s metaLAB was especially interested in the grid talk. Chu wasn’t short on puns, but also sees the serious potential of the hackathon experiment as a potential solution to impending infrastructure crises.

"Only at CyborgCamp would you have a room full of PhDs asking Chat GPT whether vanilla was the right vibe for an internet-controlled lamp.

But what we're really asking is, ‘How do we change energy systems? How do we connect smart devices, wisely?’ We're at the door between data and oil, microgrids and markets, and elections and electrons, and we're just opening the door.”

He continues, “Last September, over 1.5 trillion dollars was needed to keep energy trading just in Europe. Bitcoin was created in response to the Great Financial Crisis; we're building Plurigrid as a response to the Great Energy Crisis. Let there be light.”

Seizing the “Memes of Production”

While discussions of energy crises and AI continued, some of the hackers and I are making memes - like “I love lamp!” and “The future is bright” emulating a classic, cartoon-style propaganda poster.

Lamp DAO is not only a cybernetics demonstration, playful experiment, and a larp, but it is also a chance for DAO DAO to build and battle-test new governance tooling. Medley and Zargham are at the whiteboard again, deriving algorithms for a new, DAO DAO version of a real-time voting tool called Conviction Voting that allows people to continuously stream their preferences via a token staking mechanism.

While they work at the board, BlockScience researcher Jeff Emmett talks excitedly about the new voting tool and the need for better governance mechanisms in our existing political systems.

"Right now in most countries, we vote once every four years. Imagine you touched a hot stove and it took four years for you to decide to move your hand.

We need to upgrade our governance systems so they can be more responsive to the existential threats we face as a collective. We have new tools, that when used in the right context, can support more adaptive governance,” said Emmett.

While discussions of governance continue, a new guest arrives - a prominent labor lawyer. She is exploring DAO technology for her organization - a network of unions, cooperatives, mutual aid groups, and faith-based institutions serving communities.

Hartnell gives a walk-through of DAO DAO tooling for her on the TV in the house's child's playroom - the only vacant room in the house. Other Cyborgers join in and discuss various applications. Case participates in the discussion in between minting NFTs, using a Discord bot to blend AI-generated images.

"The DAO tooling can be customized for anything - Delaware BCorps, clubs, coops, municipalities. We don't want to limit what people and DAOs can do with it. To illustrate the point, we have a pretty great larp going - there's a DAO in DAO DAO called 'The Corporation,'" Hartnell continues the walk-through.

Hartnell demos the layers of the DAO, one-click smart contract deployments, and "The  Corporation's" sub-DAOs including "Non-Human Resources" and a board layer with an NFT membership profile of CEO, "Chairman Meow."

The lawyer laughs and the group exchanges more experience, envisioning how and in what contexts this new tooling could be used.

A Dimension Where the Future is Bright

With the hackathon and event nearing an end, __Lamp DAO__is for now, a few smart contracts and 14 $LAMP tokens - one for each participant. The DAO managed to execute only one vote - changing the color of the LED blanket from blue to green. The group, however, has lofty dreams and plans to continue experimentation when possible amidst full-time work on projects and companies.

Lamp DAO member and Research Fellow at Metagov, Isaac Patka, says running tests at graduated levels of risk is a must before actually deploying any of this tech with high-stakes infrastructure.

"Lamp DAO is a tangible experiment that will help us figure out how to design decentralized, resilient infrastructure. Think about the connection between the lamp and the internet, the internet and the state of the DAO, the DAO and the smart contracts that define the behavior, and the validators that run the nodes. There is counterparty risk everywhere. Before we can replace the lamp with real critical infrastructure we need to figure out how to manage this risk, and ideally without traditional centralized regulators," said Patka.

The journey from hackathons and voting on LED lamp colors to power grid deployments and collective governance of major public infrastructure may be a long one, but as CyborgCamp attendees will remind you - the space between digital and physical worlds is shrinking and after all, space and time are relative.

I pass various encampments of air mattresses as I head back to the lair. The basement has quieted as the CyborgCamp hackers had to tend to their “bio” needs (going out to dinner).

The disco blanket, with its lights off, looks just like a regular blanket. Still on - Lamp DAO’s test lamp with the sticker "The future is bright" on its shade, with a "harmony contingent chill" hue, #42 glow.

Acknowledgements

Written by Jessica Zartler with edits and input from Amber Case, Michael Zargham, Jeff Emmett, Kelsie Nabben, Janita Chalam, Jakob Hackel and Scott Moore. Cover image generated with Stable Diffusion.