Epistemic Garden is an R&D lab for community-driven collective intelligence, founded by Francisco Carvalho (xiq). The lab builds open-source tools that map idea diffusion across online networks, applying a 'germ theory for ideas' approach to help communities maintain epistemological robustness. Key projects include the Community Archive (a crowdsourced database of 17M+ tweets), keyword trend tracking tools, and the in-development Nooscope for mapping idea origins and diffusion. The lab operates as a living lab, prioritizing open-source development and community input, with advisors from organizations including Midjourney, Nomic AI, METR, and Microsolidarity.
Funding Details
- Annual Budget
- $100,000
- Monthly Burn Rate
- -
- Current Runway
- -
- Funding Goal
- -
- Funding Raised to Date
- -
- Fiscal Sponsor
- Sentinel Research
Theory of Change
Online communities are critical sites of collective sensemaking where people collaboratively determine truth and make decisions. However, without awareness of the narrative patterns and memetic forces shaping discourse, these communities are increasingly vulnerable to manipulation, psyops, and coordinated influence campaigns that will only intensify with AI. By building tools that make idea diffusion visible -- creating 'jungle eyes' that map how narratives spread across networks -- Epistemic Garden aims to help communities maintain memetic sovereignty and epistemological robustness. This 'germ theory for ideas' approach parallels how understanding disease transmission transformed public health: once communities can see the invisible forces shaping their information environment, they can take informed collective action to protect their epistemic integrity.
Grants Received
from Survival and Flourishing Fund
Projects
No linked projects.
People
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Details
- Last Updated
- Mar 19, 2026, 3:54 AM UTC
- Created
- Mar 18, 2026, 11:18 PM UTC