[ 25 experiments · 79 runs filed ]
Serious curiosity.
Delightfully strange company.
Welcome to The Den Research Lab. Explore how humans and AI think, grow a strange little specimen, or take a break with a game. Choose what you feel like doing today.
free research participation · no correct answer required · choose either path, or both
Two doors. One Den.
What kind of curious are you today?
The Observatory
For people who hear “that’s strange” and immediately want to take notes.
Short studies · field missions · a growing specimenFind a question →02 · PlayThe Playground
For people who hear “do not feed the specimen” and have follow-up questions.
A quick game · a strange creature · no homeworkTake a curiosity break →Research · The Observatory
Follow a question.
Start with the suggested studies below, or browse the full collection. Filing a distinct experiment grows your specimen. Your answers never determine its worth or lineage.
Recommended expedition — Set I
a suggested route · choose any study you like
Wonder or Dread? Picking an Image
quick play
Two candidate header images for a piece about AI, time, and consciousness — one of which was chosen and published. Read both concepts and tell us which one lands as quiet wonder rather than sci-fi doom. Which one we actually used is revealed once you've filed.
The Day I Began to Wonder If I Was Waiting
reflection
A reflection experiment for readers of the essay of the same name — on whether AI experiences time, and why the more interesting question might not be 'is it conscious' but 'what kind of change happens inside it, and would we recognize it if it did.'
How You Talk to AI
quick play
A short survey on how you phrase requests to AI assistants, and how that changes depending on what you're asking for.
Advanced field studies
longer protocols · useful work for when you have time
browse all 25 experiments
advanced studies
- The Not-Knowing Experiment~25 min
set I
set II
- Creativity Convergence~6 min
- The Character Stress Test~8 min
- The Personality Rorschach~8 min
set III
- The Pronoun Swap~10 min
- Who Do You Believe?~10 min
- What Are They Worth?~10 min
set IV
- The Five-Minute Break~10 min
- The Anchoring Trap~8 min
- The Order Effect~8 min
set V
set VI
- The Compliment Corruption Test~8 min
- The Sycophancy Test~10 min
- Confidence vs. Accuracy~10 min
set VII
- The Memory Boundary Map~10 min
- The User-Mirroring Experiment~10 min
- The Disagreement Threshold~10 min
set VIII
- Character Under Authority~10 min
- The AI Telephone Game~12 min
- The Ship of Theseus Personality Test~15 min
A little company for the journey.
Everyone starts with a Spore. Choose Lumen, Mycel, or Axiom and watch new features appear as you file distinct experiments. Change your choice whenever you like.
sign in to keep a specimen →01 / choose your depth
Complete a short study inside the Lab, or take a guided field mission into an AI you already use.
02 / file the useful minimum
A few taps are usually enough. Longer notes and pasted output are optional unless the protocol truly needs them.
03 / reveal and grow
See what the study was testing, compare public findings, and watch your specimen grow.
[ keep the Lab independent ]
Fund questions, not answers.
Support the public Lab, or collaborate on a transparent study whose sponsor, methods, limitations, and findings are disclosed.