June 18, 2025

L.I.L. "Phoenix Fan Fusion" panels: Outreach to curious and creative members of the public

Lab contributors joined our Arizona friends, ASU colleagues, and members of nonprofits such as SCIENCEtheEARTH and the WASTEfreeSOCIETY for another round of Science and Education panels for RealTimeSteam at Phoenix Fan Fusion (June 6, 7, 8) in 2025. The RealTimeSteam directors shared the insights below afterwards. We at "L.I.L." ask you to pay special attention to the final paragraph. ---Dr. Davis:

"As promised here is the close-out email for PFF 2025. I'll start by sharing some numbers:

"Over the course of the weekend we counted 2844 people in our panels, an average of 44 each. In addition to this, one of our exhibitors counted at least 5170 engagements at their display in the Discovery Lab, meaning at least 8014 people interacted in some manner with science during Phoenix Fan Fusion! Given the caliber of guests, events, and activities we were competing with, this is phenomenal! ...

"Our peak was Saturday 4:30-5:30pm, with 293 people in our three panel rooms!

"Survey responses were also excellent

78% Strongly Agreed that they learned a lot from the science programming

78% Strongly Agreed that the panels were interesting and engaging

67% Strongly Agreed that they were more likely to attend Phoenix Fan Fusion because of the science programming!

"41 Educators claimed 139 hours of Professional Development

"Overall I think this year may have been our smoothest yet. I am especially grateful to the veteran panelists; several first-time-panelists have expressed how supportive their co-panelists were in helping them prepare. I'm thrilled to collaborate with such an awesome community! Many thanks to first-timers as well; I hope you had a blast and will come back next year. ...

"A final thought before I close out. This has been an extremely challenging year for the scientific community, and virtually all of us have been impacted in some manner by policy changes and cuts, with the threat of more on the way. In this environment STEAM outreach is more important than ever, not only to educate the public but also to put a friendly and enthusiastic face on the STEAM professionals who are so often vilified. In this light I wholly believe that the work we are doing at PFF, as fun and silly as it can be at times, is incredibly important."

May-June 2025

L.I.L. "Phoenix Fan Fusion" action!

Lab contributors are joining in another round of Science and Education panels for RealTimeSteam at Phoenix Fan Fusion (June 6, 7, 8) in 2025.

Check out Dr. Davis's "5-minute" lecture on HOW WE KNOW THE EARTH IS ROUND (which he is including on an anti-conspiracy theory panel). Public outreach and zippy presentations like this are fun and fascinating bits of Science-Leadership INNOVATION for the lifelong education (and professional development credits) of K-12 educators and the general public!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iK7CAf3RtDzVX1INlOPdypeXVxMLP74C/view?usp=sharing

And... below, enjoy photos from Phoenix Fan Fusion's June 6, 7, 8 REALtimeSTEAM panels (featuring our L.I.L. contributors and fellows, with friends)!

PFF "Earth ... Conspiracy Theory" panel

L.I.L. friends at PFF!

PFF Science of Friendship panel

The PFF magic carried onto the Phoenix LIGHT RAIL!

PFF "Future of Meat!" panel

Chef Krystal's PFF spotlight!

Special thanks to Chef Krystal for contributing unique images and insights to our PFF panels!

L.I.L. "Thought Partnership" with the ASU Circle of Omicron Delta Kappa: The Arizona State University circle of the national leadership honor society.

February 2025

The Leadership Innovations Lab (LIL) is proud to be a thought partner and supporter of the "Sun Devil's Circle" of ODK (ASU-ODK), which has entered its 7th year in Arizona as a promoter of community engagement, service, and leadership wherever ASU students, faculty, staff, and alumni find themselves living or working, throughout the state of Arizona, the United States, and the communities throughout the world.

Recent ASU-ODK initiatives have included:

-- "Center for the Study of Race and Democracy" Community Fair and Supporter of the Spike Lee "DELIVERING DEMOCRACY" lecture (scheduled for March 1, 2025). https://csrd.asu.edu/dd2025

-- Support and promotion of Martin Luther King Days of Service (in the City of Surprise, Arizona, and other communities).

-- Global "Virtual" Blood Drive.

-- Volunteering at Phoenix's Saint Mary's Food Bank.

-- Networking and inspiring community service and ethics-based leadership throughout the world.

Public Outreach: Dr. Davis's invited lectures on Coffee History for members of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI), hosted by Tempe Public Library

January - February 2025

Activism for Animal Ethics and Public Health: Anthropological Research is key to our Thought Partnership on the FOIE GRAS (pronounced "fwah grah") campaign

December 2024

The Leadership Innovations Lab has established a framework for ethnographic research and thought partnerships with Social Justice activists in Arizona, and we are now officially launching a research project on community leaders and activists dedicated to Animal Welfare, Public Health, and Environmental concerns. Most of the activists involved live and work in Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa, Tempe, and other surrounding communities in the Central Valley of Arizona, the state's largest and most populous metropolitan area.

Since October 2024 we have observed a marked ramping up of efforts dedicated to protesting the use of FOIE GRAS in Phoenix-area restaurants -- and in cities, hotel chains, and restaurants across the nation. The activists we have observed are dedicated to "Foie Gras Free" policies, i.e., removing it from menus everywhere. This usually greasy menu item (which literally means "Fat Liver") still has its defenders, however, although even in France, whence it originated as a declicacy for social elites, the movement to ban foie gras has been picking up steam.

Research will involve hundreds of hours of participant observation with local community organizers dedicated to raising awareness of public health and environmental issues, animal abuse, and related social justice campaigns, including the myriad activists and anti-foie gras campaigners in Phoenix and in other U.S. cities and states, where dozens of restaurants have been pressured into foie-gras-free policies in recent years.

According to organizers in Duck Alliance, one of the nation's leading anti-foie-gras groups, the campaign is completely non-violent at its heart but is also determined to be disruptive, loud, and insistent on change. The primary targets of protesters' informational marches, speak outs in front of businesses and in shopping malls, and disruptive protests will be specific restaurants that serve foie gras (or "foie gras paste") as well as hotel chains that support such restaurants. Secondary targets of their protests have included businesses linked to those restaurants through corporate ownership and partnerships, in addition to the residences of CEOs, restaurant chefs, and investors that serve "foie gras paste" or other kinds of foie gras.

Public Health: Delicacy or Disease?

Foie gras is a French term that means "fat liver"; the name is now applied to a questionably labeled delicacy that is served in some high-end restaurants except in those states, cities, and countries where it has been banned by law, owing to concerns over human health and animal abuse.

Because the animal livers in question are "fattened" or engorged through several weeks of force-feeding, which involves excessive caloric intake and a buildup of unhealthy layers of tissue in the animals involved, critics describe foie gras as "diseased liver" rather than merely "fat liver." It is a logic step to referring the unnaturally enlarged and negatively affected tissue that results from several weeks of force-feeding as a form of liver disease, which is then most often served to humans as a pate -- i.e., a greasy paste or fatty mush smeared onto an entree or appetizer.

But what is FOIE GRAS?

Foie gras is produced through a painful, labor-intensive, and difficult process of force-feeding ducks or geese through the use of abbrasive pipes or tubes for several weeks --- to induce caloric intake far beyond healthy, natural levels. This force-feeding process is technically called "##," and it is illegal in many countries.

Some activists have described this as "force-feeding birds by ramming pipes down their throats. This practice makes their livers grow far beyond their normal size, which is devastingly cruel." They consistently label the process as "horrific animal cruelty" and "animal abuse" far beyond what is permitted in other forms of industrial agriculture.

About 85 percent of the calories in a foie gras dish are from fat, i.e., grease, which is also a concentrated source of cholesterol. These combinations have been flagged by medical professionals as unhealthy and increasing the risk of diabetes and heart disease, among other diseases.

Photo Source: https://animalequality.org/blog/2024/06/26/changing-the-world-for-ducks-and-geese-used-for-foie-gras/

The anti foie gras campaign so far

Activists have protested within restaurants and hotels, and on public property in front of businesses and residential addresses linked to restaurants serving the item. Dozens of restaurants have dropped the item from their menus --- sometimes after only an email or phone call, whereas others have attempted to resist the growing protests (and the harm to their client base and their reputations) for months before agreeing to the protestor's demands.

Non-violent methods are at the core of all the protestors' training sessions and meetings, yet they also learn to speak out forcefully if restaurant workers or others push or strike them --- yelling "That's Assault" to ensure others to not bring violence into the equation. At the same time, video recordings are made to protect everyone involved from any form of physical violence. Videos can be instantly uploaded to cloud servers.

Activists have also sent out emails, social media posts, letters, and telephone calls to associated businesses and investors noting that they are "complicit in ... animal cruelty" and therefore asking them to "do the right thing and sever your relationship with" restaurants and hotels that serve foie gras.

Increasingly, calls to "end animal abuse" are interspersed with details about public health concerns, that is, the diseases that have been linked to foie gras in animals and in humans that eat foie gras beyond liver disease, including diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimers, lactic acid bacteria, and, if exposed to feces or vomit in production and shipping facilities, the known risk of e-coli and other bacteria which can cause severe cases of food poisoning.

An article by Medical Daily notes that the Animal Legal Defense Fund recently filed a legal petition with the USDA stating that foie gras "should have a warning label that reads 'NOTICE: Foie gras products are derived from diseased birds.'" Also according to Medical Daily, "People who are prone to inflammatory diseases are at higher risk of developing secondary amyloidosis if they regularly consume the bird dish. Since a high concentration of amyloid is found in force-fed birds, it is best for those who have Alzheimer's, rheumatoid arthritis, type 2 diabetes or other amyloid-related diseases to avoid foie gras consumption."

"ARTivism" has also been part of the campaign to end foie gras consumption, as protestors put on duck masks and hold tubes to demonstrate the ways force-feeding occurs. Sound recordings from the suffering of the birds are also sometimes heard, although most cannot bear to hear their anguished cries of pain for long. Some activists have even painted white pants and shirts to look as if they are smeared with the feces, fetid pus, and multicolored vomit that spills over the previously white feathers of the animals that are force-fed like this for weeks.

FOOD IN SPACE : Connecting public imaginations with scientific planning.
September - December 2024

The Leadership Innovations Lab sponsors lectures on "Foooooood iiiiiiin spaaaaaaace"! Recently we had a BLAST (yes, pun intended) presenting at the STE(A)M-friendly Waste-Free Market on Saturday, December 14.

Launching the Lab's mad-scientist-inspired Food in Space project!

September 2024

As friends and colleagues pitch ideas to NASA, SpaceX, and the European Space Agency involving the future of "Space Agriculture" as a vital component to a long-term human base on the Moon / Luna or on Mars, we at the Leadership Innovations Lab are jumping into the public arena to encourage thought partnerships focused on ethical and efficient uses of resources, inviting public engagement via citizen science and STE(A)M initiatives.

Lab fellows and contributors will join in the October 12 "Waste Free Market" (sponsored by the WasteFree Society (501 c3)) to provide an early, interactive intro to our FOOD IN SPACE project, with media and an opportunity for BRAINSKETCHING to be done by "kids of all ages" --- i.e., sketches envisioning efficient, ethical agriculture on a future Lunar Base 🪴 🦋 🏡 .

Some questions to consider (among MANY many others to come...):

What of the MICROBIOTA we are alread bringing into space? Can they be "grown" or managed in a more sustainable way?

You say you like coffee or beer? How can we manage growing and producing FERMENTED beverages in space, which might convert a lot of oxygen into carbon dioxide?

Or, for those of you stuck on the idea of fish tanks and hydroponics, what would you do when the fish get sick, or get sick and die? And what of the ethics of bringing other species (unwillingly) into space?

If this image of Astronaut Don Pettit is typically what we see in today's space capsules and space stations, how can we bring in organic matter into such a corridor that would THRIVE and GROW, rather than merely porting in pre-packaged or chemically re-constituted foods?

(Image source: NASA, public domain: https://www.nasa.gov/missions/station/iss-research/nasa-astronaut-don-pettits-science-of-opportunity-on-space-station/)

Or, if we start to rely on 3-D printers for everything, to what extent might we need plants just for our MENTAL HEALTH in space?

Check out this article from the MIT Technology Review:

https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/05/18/1073303/nasa-space-food-competition/

WasteFree Society Thought-Partnership

August 2024

The WasteFree Society (501 c3), is a local nonprofit organization led by recent college graduates and other youth entrepreneurs, dedicated to providing guidance and assistance to schools and businesses on composting and zero-waste certifications.

"In the United States alone, it is estimated that more than 133 million pounds of edible food is thrown away each year, sent to a landfill where these resources are wasted.

"Food is grown from soil, meant to be returned to soil to replace nutrients and create more soil. Without nutrient dense soil, we lose our ability to produce nutrient dense crops.

" @growersbestorganics_wormfarm and @wastefreesociety_org are teaming up to be part of the solution. We are all on the same team- team Earth. We need billions of people on board to compost if there is hope of sustaining crop yields for current and future generations. Who’s on board?

"Stay tuned for more info on how you can create your own backyard fruits/veggie composting system, as well as how meat/dairy waste can be composted through our program.

"There are many amazing organizations out there offering this service, but not nearly enough. We need so many more to step up to the plate with us and create opportunities for equitable access to composting.

"If you live in the East Valley and are interested in learning more about how to compost your food waste with us, please send us a message or email info@wastefreesociety.org."

Upcoming WasteFree Society events in the Phoenix area:

OCTOBER 12, 2024: Save the Date! Our Waste Free Community Market returns on October 12th. We still have space for vendor booths, so if you are an artist or musician, would like to host a workshop, or have an eco-conscious business - reach out to us about setting up your space!

Recent WasteFree Society projects:

June 14, 2024:
We're celebrating our first anniversary! Thank you all for being here with us this first year and we are so excited to grow with you in the upcoming months. If you ever want to contribute to our cause, you can find more information on that here: https://linktr.ee/wastefreesociety and we will have our website launched soon!
---==---

June 23, 2024:
How can we help our pollinator population?

Garden 🪴 with native plants and wildflowers. *If you see bites out of your plant leaves, these might be caterpillars 🐛 in which case leave them to turn into butterflies! 🦋 Most of the time, your plant will grow back healthier because they naturally prune for you! For other less beneficial pests, do your research and identify a pollinator friendly solution.

House 🏡 them by providing a safe space free of pesticides.

Support your local organic nurseries and beekeepers. 🐝

Together, we can make a difference. Our lives are intricately tied to our pollinators and ecosystems- without them, we cannot survive. Being friendly to pollinators means a more productive garden and bigger harvest too! Let’s show them some love as we close out #PollinatorWeek2024

#PollinatorWeek #SaveTheButterflies #SavethePollinators #OrganicPestControl #OrganicGarden #NativeGarden #Wildflowers #InstaGood #DoYourPart

*Though we are not sponsored by them in any way, if you live in Arizona try contacting @simplygreenpest for your organic pest control needs- they have been fantastic for keeping our lovely little friends outdoors.

https://linktr.ee/wastefreesociety

For the Love of "Trash Pandas," Sustainable Communities, and Ethical Innovations

January 2024

The "Panda" in the title is admittedly whimsical, referencing not the Chinese teddy bears but, more specifically, North American racoons (nicknamed "Trash Pandas" by enthusiasts). It is the alter ego of Chef Krystal and the name of her first rolling food business in Phoenix: Trash Panda Vegan. She is now the proud owner of two fixed locations of Early Bird Vegan restaurant, as well as the anime-like Panda food trucks. One of the restaurants is situated just inside the campus of health-conscious Sonoran University in Tempe, Arizona, and the other brings community verve and healthy food options to South Phoenix -- where some neighborhoods might be in danger of becoming food deserts. In full knowledge of the positive impact she can have on a better future for humans and nonhumans alike, Krystal has been sharing a vision of healthier, happier, and more sustainable communities.

This is a vision which combines ethical business practices with a view of humans as subjects and not as mere consumers --- a mindset which many local businesses in the central valley of Arizona share, though they are under relentless pressure from the ethically challenged large corporations (fast-food and excess-calorie chain stores) around them.

As the newest (and highly productive!) Fellow of our Leadership Innovations Lab community, Krystal has impressed scholars, activists, and entrepreneurs alike with her dedication to community service and healthy eating. She has embraced both the Tempe Chamber of Commerce and nonprofits guided by environmental activists, artists, nutritionists, and other leaders wishing for only the healthiest and happiest of futures for us all.

City of Surprise, AZ: Local Government Partners

December 2023

The Leadership Innovations Lab is (triple!) partnering with the City of Surprise and with ASU's Circle of the national leadership honors society Omicron Delta Kappa (ODK) to support lifelong learning, celebrations of diversity, and networking for inclusion!

We have begun collaborating with the City of Surprise, Arizona (in the Phoenix-Tempe-Mesa metro area) as city officials and community leaders are dedicating their time, talent, and energy to planning their upcoming (January 2024) Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration!

https://surpriseaz.gov/486/MLK-Day-of-Celebration

Both the L.I.L. network and the ASU branch of ODK are excited to be of service in these celebrations of history, inclusivity, and lifelong learning!

Talks have also begun re. ways both L.I.L. and ODK can support next year's City of Surprise "SciTech Festival" which brings STE(A)M to all ages, both for residents of Surprise and all other visitors (as all are welcome there).

Spotlighting "Innovation without Ethics" (and other topics in the history of racism) in New Orleans

November 2023

Dr. Davis gave two presentations at the Mid-South Sociological Association's annual meeting, held this year on the campus of historic Dillard University in New Orleans, Louisiana. The first lecture was part of the "Race and Inequality" paper session, and the second was part of the "Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Progress" panel.

The Leadership Innovations Lab is proud to partner with institutions and individuals collaborating to develop anti-racist curricula and inclusive pathways to knowledge creation.

https://www.midsouthsoc.org/mssa/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/MSSA-2023-Final-Program.pdf

Arizona Science Center: Public Outreach

October 24, 2023: The Leadership Innovations Lab joined forces with Science the Earth volunteers for an inspiring panel at the SciTech / Arizona Science Center's 2023 STEM INNOVATION SUMMIT!

A high-energy multimedia presentation "Sci-CAFEs, ComicCons, and Sciencing the Earth: Bringing Science to the General Public" formed the heart of the panel's talk by Stephen P. Davis, Jada Ach, Michael Skerbec, and Larry Henley.

The event's sponsors and presenters aimed to reinforce Arizona’s STEM and STEAM Ecosystem by:

▪ Sharing best practices and resources for Arizona opportunities in STEM

▪ Building unique and diverse STEM networks online or in person

▪ Discussing how we can work as a statewide connected ecosystem

▪ Sharing suggestions to improve public STEM awareness and improve workforce readiness

▪ Experiencing activities for hands-on learning and hybrid environments

▪ Watching LIVE science demonstrations

https://scitechinstitute.org/2023_stem__innovation_summit/

L.I.L. Talk (a Lab symposium): "Tech-topias in Education and Organizational Leadership"

October 19, 2023

In the current A.I. media-frenzy, everyone is either deeply excited or worried, or both. The "Tech-topia" we face might be a future utopia or a dystopia, or... something else entirely.

(Thus, the alternative title for this symposium might have been "Future Matrix/Shock: Possible future career directions for our students, and how we are trying to prepare them.")

Re. "L.I.L. Talks" (formerly known as "I.L.L. Talks"): It has been our experience at national and regional conferences that the best moments --- the most memorable conversations and interactions --- have been at lunches, in hallways, and in those "watercooler moments" where only a few interesting folks start up a conversation. Thus, the "I.L.L. Talks" were born, to Zoom right ahead to THOSE moments without worrying about all the rest. In previous years we tackled a wide array of fascinating topics, and we are looking forward to MANY MORE in the 2023-2024 academic year!

SciFe / Science the Earth: Public Outreach

April - September 2023

Wicked public problems and the "sick" state of popular-science education merit I.L.L. solutions!

For science to help lead the way toward brighter futures, in the United States and globally-- and for scientists to be guided by more ethical questions, practices, and goals -- the American public needs to develop a deeper understanding and appreciation of scientific processes and principles. New kinds and styles of public involvement are therefore urgently needed, especially from institutions like ASU whose University Charter calls for community engagement at a comprehensive level. With public outreach as a shared goal, Science the Earth, a nonprofit dedicated to public outreach and lifelong learning through the physical and social sciences (www.sciencetheearth.com), has become one of the Innovation Leadership Lab's most inspirational thought partners. Lab fellows have begun collaborating with Science the Earth board members, invited speakers, media producers, and presenters on highly engaging public-education presentations and (in the works!) new initiatives with national and international audiences in mind.

This I.L.L.-Science thought partnership is also a media-production partnership. It builds on earlier collaborations with SciFe ("Science Cafe") in Surprise, Arizona, where Dr. Davis presented a popular lecture titled "Captain Marvel and Avenging Women in Film" and its accompanying video "Thelma & Louise, Passing the Bechdel-Wallace Test" -- available to the public at https://www.sciencetheearth.com/apr-06-captain-marvel--avenging-women-in-film.html -- and then joined with SciencetheEarth's CEO, Dr. Bradley Lusk, as well as the nonprofit's board members Larry Henley and Michael Kurtz to contribute to Arizona "ComicCon" (Phoenix Fan Fusion) panels on film, new media, science, and education.

The fellows and contributors to the Innovations Leadership Lab are honored to be part of SciFe and Science the Earth's continuing efforts to foster and transform lifelong learning.

Assisting with an Educational Startup

January 26, 2023

The Innovations Leadership Lab is pleased to be advising and assisting an Arizona State University alumnus in the early stages of an ed-tech startup, designed to help students better engage with, and more comprehensively critically and creatively examine and critique, select literary works.

(Further details are not being published at the moment, in order to protect the intellectual property [I.P.] of this new venture, but we are encouraged and excited about the brainstorming and networking that has been occuring so far.)

It is our purpose as an ASU Lab and our calling as professors to serve these kinds of innovators and scholastic communities --- as a reflection of our dedication to the ASU Charter --- and it is a distinct honor to support ASU alumni whose entrepreneurial dreams might ultimately serve communities of lifelong learners.

Supporting an ASU Student's Dream of Nutritional Innovations

October 20, 2022

Food apps? Yes, using new tech in support of better nutrition!

The staff and contributors to the Innovations Leadership Lab have been honored to mentor and network with colleagues, entrepreneurs throughout Arizona, and leaders in nonprofit institutions in support of a current ASU student's dream of developing an app that would offer innovations to numerous kinds of food providers.

As this project is still in the developmental stage, we need to refrain from giving out details here, but we anticipate many fruitful interactions (no pun intended) between this health-oriented app and our I.L.L. network (pun actually intended there) in the near future!

As educators and dreamers of better futures, we are always excited to offer our time and energy to ASU student-entrepreneurs in their efforts to bring about positive change.

Haitian Communities are a priority for ASU's Innovations Leadership Lab, thanks to a visionary Thought Partnership with the nonprofit L’Ouverture Institute.

December 12, 2021

The nonprofit L’Ouverture Institute, headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, has joined forces with the Innovations Leadership Lab at Arizona State University, to help Haitian communities and Haitian leaders --- at home and in the diaspora --- to lead the way toward community-based, Earth-friendly, and tech-supported solutions.

This growing and engaging Thought Partnership is anticipated to be the first step in a long and fruitful collaboration between the Lab and the Institute, as we develop ethically centered technologies and visionary projects to serve marginalized communities in Haiti.

The director of the Institute, Dr. Guy Aristide (MD), has contributed to numerous "I.L.L. (Innovations Leadership Lab) Talks" with Lab Fellows, affiliated scholars, and entrepreneurs, paving the way for a broad and capable network of experts dedicated to helping Haitian communities lead the way in the 21st century in terms of enhanced community leadership, sustainable solutions, emergency response protocols, and civic responsibility.

Extended reality pioneer VergenceXR enters into Thought Partnership with ASU's Innovations Leadership Lab

October 2021
An interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary partnership has been formed between Arizona State University's College of Integrative Sciences and Arts (CISA) and private industry, with a unique collaboration dedicated toward bridging the ethical, individual, and community-minded aspects of digital leadership: this alliance for knowledge-creation and digital sensemaking is a mutual creation of ASU's Innovations Leadership Lab and the iconoclastic tech company VergenceXR.

Academic life and real-world applications are too often separated from one another, owing to the tendency to revert to "silo-building" within academic disciplines (think "the old ivory tower mentality") as well as similar business-as-usual ("inside the box") thinking in industry, where even the leaders of high-tech companies have failed to escape the biases and limitations that contradict the great potential of our digital age.

But that situation can be remedied with a shared vision for the future coupled with what Lab Co-Director Stephen P. Davis has called "a relentless optimism" and "a determination to build anti-fragile, resilient digital and real-world communities." Both the Lab and VergenceXR are inspired by ASU's Charter, which specifies that we -- meaning collectively, the faculty, students, and staff of the university and its subordinate colleges -- are sworn to assuming fundamental responsibility for the communities that we serve, in terms of economic, social, cultural, and ecological wellbeing. This is a promise to current and future generations, to develop previously unimagined ways forward, to face "wicked problems" in society and the environment, and to apply new knowledge for the common good.

According to VergenceXR spokespersons, the path forward involves challenging and reinventing the old ways --- a kind of "silo busting" that is one born of necessity as well as a desire to create, to rebel against "business as usual," and to provide new opportunities for public and private partnerships that benefit the entire world:

"The internet and social media were supposed to connect us; instead they challenge our focus to the point where things are losing meaning, credibility, and authenticity. It’s very disorienting for people to depend on something and have a deep relationship with it but not trust it." And yet, when the previous generation of tech companies were confronted with these challenges, their preferred stance -- in lieu of truly ethical technological innovation -- has been, “trust us on this.”

"AI and machine-learning have been steadily increasing the pace of market-driven approaches to the redress of the challenges associated with communal sensemaking. Those gains have not come without a cost. Within the last 20+ years alone, we’ve witnessed a stark shift in the ownership of value, of information, and of credibility.

"Given current trends of accelerationist dynamics, communities are ill-equipped to recognize and shield themselves from the onslaught of market-driven externalities. This makes them susceptible to entropic forces.

"Central points of failure are bottlenecks in governance. Those failures often leave devastating impacts and gaping vulnerabilities. The impacts are not evenly distributed and the vulnerabilities have often left embattled communities that lie at the margins exposed.

"Although it is recognized that a lack of collective sensemaking is a major direct contributor to the bottle-necking, we have yet to find a sensemaking solution that is accessible to everyone. In response to this challenge VergenceXR founder Phalan Granthier is designing "an integrative approach towards terraforming the metaverse."

With the need to seek alternatives to accelerationist and extravist norms, combined with the desire to develop paths for the good of the commons, and for individual digital data security while still privileging collective sensemaking, ASU's Innovations Leadership Lab has joined knowledge-creating forces with VergenceXR to help develop a more ethically centered metaverse that reinforces both individual and community sovereignty.

Learn more about VergenceXR and The Path at the Pathmaker website.

Supporting innovation and anti-fragile initiatives

Where we are... and where we are going

The Innovations Leadership Lab at ASU integrates and applies academic insights, science and humanities research, and next-gen sensemaking in alliance with communities, enterprise partners, social and industrial entrepreneurs, and initiatives to serve the global commons.

CISA's I.L.L. had the honor of participating in the November 9-11, 2021 A.W.E. Conference in California's Silicon Valley -- a showcase and symposium for next-gen advances in Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality. New "thought partnerships" with academic and private enterprises, and new Lab symposia are forming as a result of this exciting conference.

Kudos for another insightful "I.L.L. Talk": A roundtable conversation on "Environmental Humanities" including an outline of the history of U.S. national parks was led by Jada Ach, PhD.

I.L.L. joined forces with the CISA Research Dojo, led by Dr. Mai Trinh, and VergenceXR's Phalan Granthier in October 2021 to present the dojo round-table: "Confronting Silos with Voodoo A.I."

November 8, 2021: The political scientist Patience Akpan, PhD, was the invited speaker for an engaging "I.L.L. Talk" on Technology in Developing Countries.

I.L.L. has announced support for thought partners designing Augmented Reality and Wise (not only 'Smart') City programs

The Innovations Leadership Lab is scheduling additional "I.L.L. Talks" on digital pedagogy, community innovations, and syncretistic neo alchemy for November and December 2021.

Navigate to our Lab Home Page and
learn about our LAB TEAM (Fellows, Affiliates, and Contributors to the Lab)

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