Iliad / Textbook from the Future
Can a communal TOC plus research automation scale theory faster than artisanal research—and without substituting shared canon for adversarial verification?
Introduction
Iliad runs the ILIAD conference series, Iliad Intensive and Fellowship programs, Alignment Journal, and the Textbook from the Future megaproject—a communal, living textbook meant to sketch foundational alignment theory before the answers are known. The FAQ frames it as a coordination instrument and selective synthesis of theory-driven agendas (ARC, Timaeus/devInterp, debate, Simplex, agent foundations, and others), explicitly focused on alignment rather than control. Like other field-building efforts, shared canon and onboarding do not by themselves discharge typed bridge assumptions.
Who carries it: Iliad (Principles of Intelligence affiliate)
What they aim to do. Establish coherent shared context for foundational alignment research—onboarding researchers, experts from other fields, and AIs—through a communal textbook skeleton and field-building programs.
The hard question. Can a communal TOC plus research automation scale theory faster than artisanal research—and without substituting shared canon for adversarial verification?
What they produce. The Textbook from the Future—a communal table of contents and research-automation programme for foundational alignment theory, plus Iliad Intensive curriculum, fellowship, and conference infrastructure.
Key terms. Textbook from the future (Yudkowsky metaphor), selective synthesis, coordination instrument, megaproject, theory-driven research programme, Iliad Intensive, ILIAD conference.
What they contribute. Field coordination infrastructure: conference series, intensive curriculum, fellowship pipeline, and a breadth-first synthesis agenda cataloguing major theory lines.
How this project treats it. Selective synthesis and shared context are not typed bridge discharge; coordination instruments can succeed while certification under manipulation and named bridge cruxes remain open. Contrast This project - TSA: depth-first measurement spine vs breadth-first communal TOC.
Links
- Textbook from the Future
- Textbook from the Future FAQ
- Iliad
- ILIAD Conference
- Principles of Intelligence
Map clustering
AISafety.com map listings that roll up to this agenda:
See the coverage matrix for evidence tagged to this agenda, and the glossary for shared terms.