Trajectory
Where we want to go
Allostatic Labs is a research lab that studies software-based state regulation.
We are working towards a future in which software adapts to people — not the other way around.
Most technology today demands constant attention and responsiveness from people. We reverse that direction: systems that recognise for themselves when they should hold back or offer support, without anyone having to operate them.
The path there
Our path runs in three phases that overlap in time rather than following strictly one after another:
Understand
Foundational research into how states such as focus, overload, flow and depletion can be recognised reliably and without invasive methods.
Validate
Careful validation of what actually works — and equally careful documentation of what does not (yet) work.
Apply
Software that emerges from these findings and genuinely accompanies people in everyday life — calm, local, without judgment.
Where we currently stand on this path is described on the home page under “Current status”.
Constants
What does not change along the way
No matter how far this path leads: three things are not up for debate for us. Processing stays local, even if a server model would scale faster. States remain observations, not judgments, even if a scoring system would be easier to market. And results are published as they are — including the ones that are not (yet) convincing. For us these are not promises for later, but the conditions under which we continue at all. More on the “Principles” and “Transparency” pages.
Measurability
How we make progress visible
We do not communicate announcements without substance behind them. Progress shows itself for us at verifiable points — a published evaluation, a first external validation result, a collaboration with a research institution — rather than at dates we set for ourselves. This page will be updated as soon as such points actually exist, not before.
Timing
Why now is the right time
Software today is usually built to capture attention, not to spare it. At the same time, it has become technically possible to recognise and regulate states directly on the device, without data ever having to leave it. This need and this technical maturity together are the reason we are building Allostatic Labs now.