Computing technology is one of the greatest levers humanity has ever created. We’ve built nanometer scale circuitry that operates in units of billionths of a second. Networks connect people around the globe (and beyond) at near-lightspeed. Almost our entire culture from foundational scientific papers to family photographs can be brought up on little glass panels we carry in our pockets. Recent breakthroughs in artificial intelligence allow us to engage this technology not just through strict symbolic means but informally, and conversationally.
In spite of all this technology (or perhaps because of it), as a species we still face many challenges. Climate change threatens the global ecosystem. Scientific progress is in the throes of a reproducibility crisis. Bedrock civic institutions such as journalism and democracy are struggling around the world. LLM hallucinations have been cited in court rooms and scientific journals.
What role then, might technologists play in a troubled world?
We believe that we can harness our unique skills to serve others. Our mission is to seek out the problem solvers in society and help turn this great revolution towards serving their needs, and not the needs of advertisers or salespeople. Among the people we’ve helped are astronomers who watch for planet-killing asteroids, educators teaching youth skills to secure their future, and mathematicians building foundations for safer AI.
We pursue this work without boundaries, without the limitations of industry or academia, and without cease. For ten years, now, we’ve bent our shoulders against the wheel of progress and joined so many others who push towards a better world.
We’ve written papers, published open source software, advised startups, consulted with companies, and spoken at heaps of conferences all around the world. Sometimes… sometimes it’s tiring.
First of all, we want to thank each and every one of you who have helped us along the way. We’ve worked with so many incredible people. This work isn’t easy but we’re glad we’re doing it with you.
If you’re following along from home, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you! We’re here to imagine a better world, but we sure can’t build it alone. Let’s go make it.
But it’s not enough to work! Sometimes you have to throw a little party, and if you’re going to throw a party, you’d better send everyone a card.
To celebrate this moment, we made you something fun: Tenfold. It’s an interactive art project made with contributions from everyone on our team, our past collaborators, and many friends in our community. Tenfold was built using technology from our research, and echoes a love of graphic design and the expressive power of code that has quietly hummed beneath all our work over the past decade.
Tenfold is now live on our website — go play!
Our resident designer extraordinaire Todd Matthews has written a lab note telling the story of how Tenfold came to be.
Finally, if you love the look of Tenfold as much as we do, you can add it to your wardrobe.
Oh, what was that about a party? Ink & Switch is going to Berlin to celebrate Lab Day at Local-First Conf. More on that later. See you there?
The Ink & Switch Dispatch
Keep up-to-date with the lab's latest findings, appearances, and happenings by subscribing to our newsletter. For a sneak peek, browse the archive.
Instagram Engineering
Shopify Engineering