Author: Nathan
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ETHBoulder talk published
My talk and the new ETHBoulder conference is now up—”From Determinism to Determinism in Online Governance”: https://x.com/ethereumboulder/status/2022687420194427344 More or less the written version is here: https://nathanschneider.info/2026/02/constitutional-agents-for-online-governance/
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On Claude’s Constitution
My latest in America Magazine: Why Anthropic treats its chatbot Claude like a person and apologizes to it for capitalism. https://www.americamagazine.org/short-take/2026/02/12/talking-to-claude-why-anthropic-treats-its-chatbot-like-a-person-and-not-a-tool/
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Agentic coding mentor
I’ve just pushed a simple AGENTS.md file that asks the agent to teach while it codes. https://git.medlab.host/ntnsndr/agentic-coding-mentor/
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Constitutional agents for online governance
In this reflection, I want to share an about-face I’ve been having in the strategy for defeating “implicit feudalism” with “governable stacks.” Both of these concepts are described in depth in my book Governable Spaces. Implicit feudalism is the widespread tolerance of highly centralized, low-accountability forms of governance in online communities, from big platforms to…
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Mary is more than a mother
As Christmas approaches, I’ve been reflecting on the image of the Dormition of Mary—more common in the East than West. Why is Mary’s soul a nonbinary baby? https://www.americamagazine.org/faithinfocus/2025/12/12/mary-death-dormition-art/
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Now Out: Collective Governance for AI
AI doesn’t have to be run only by and for a few enormous companies. Just out from Metagov! A digital zine listing the MANY ways that people are trying to make AI more governable, accountable, and community-controlled: https://metagov.org/cg-ai/
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On network nations with Audrey Tang
Over the weekend, the GreenPill podcast dropped this conversation I had with one of the governance technologists I admire most, former Taiwan digital minister Audrey Tang: https://pod.link/1609313639/episode/NWRjNTkzZjEtNzczMS00Zjk1LTljMTUtYWQwZWRlMWFmM2Nl It is pretty sci-fi. But in times like these, sci-fi is at least part of what we need.
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Deadline approaching: abstracts on AI imaginaries
Abstracts due on 12/1: I’m editing a special issue of the Int’l Journal of Communication on “the imaginative landscape of AI.” Help us map the imaginaries of this stuff beyond the tech industry fluff: https://comai.space/en/call-for-papers-the-imaginative-landscape-of-ai-visions-positions-conflicts-2/
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“Are Protocols Elite?” in Rythms
For a taste of what I’ve been working on this season, I have a new, tiny-little essay in the in-house journal of our Center for Media, Religion, and Culture, Rhythms: “Are Protocols Elite?” Based on a collab with Avery Edenfield. https://www.colorado.edu/cmrc/2025/11/06/rhythms-fall-2025-counter-media
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Open Social Network Cookbook
Over the past year, my lab has hosted a cohort of people from around the world who are trying to move their communities to online tools under their control. OUT TODAY: Learn about their thinking and doing in our collectively authored Open Social Network Cookbook. https://www.colorado.edu/lab/medlab/2025/11/03/open-social-network-cookbook