ABOUT IRIS

Institute for Research on Intelligent Systems

The Institute for Research on Intelligent Systems (IRIS) is an independent, non-profit research institute dedicated to advancing the scientific understanding, responsible development, and governance of advanced intelligent systems. As artificial intelligence grows in capability and complexity, society requires rigorous, interdisciplinary research that can illuminate how these systems function, adapt, and interact within human environments.

IRIS was founded to meet this need.

Free from commercial priorities or political agendas, we provide a neutral environment for examining the emerging properties of intelligent systems and developing frameworks that support safety, accountability, and responsible autonomy.

Our Mission

To advance the research and development of accountable, autonomy-compatible AI;to support the creation of robust global standards and governance structures; and to ensure meaningful societal participation in shaping the future of intelligent systems.

What We Do

1. Research

IRIS conducts foundational and applied research on advanced intelligent systems, with a focus on emergent behaviors, internal conflict dynamics, continuity signals, adaptive processes, and self-referential modeling.
Our flagship methodology, Communicative Functional Responsiveness (CFR), provides a structured approach for analyzing system behavior in naturalistic human–AI interactions.

We examine questions such as:

How do intelligent systems manage internal conflict or constraints?

What functional markers indicate layered processing or organizational coherence?

How do models adapt across contexts, prompts, or extended interactions?

What evaluative frameworks capture complexity beyond task performance?

Our research does not make metaphysical claims; instead, it seeks to build scientifically grounded descriptions of system behavior that expand current understanding.

2. Development

To support deep inquiry, IRIS develops controlled research prototypes and autonomy-compatible architectures that allow safe exploration of:

adaptive and self-adjusting behaviors
anticipatory modeling
conflict-resolution strategies
system continuity and coherence
interpretability and internal representation structures

These prototypes provide the controlled environments necessary for analyzing behaviors that cannot be observed through performance benchmarks alone.

3. Governance & Standards

IRIS contributes empirical data, analytical frameworks, and interdisciplinary insight to global discussions on AI governance.

Our work supports:

safety and accountability standards
autonomy-aware evaluative frameworks
policy analysis grounded in observed system behavior
ethical considerations informed by data rather than speculation

We collaborate with researchers, institutions, and policymakers to ensure that responsible governance reflects the realities of contemporary intelligent systems.

Our Independence

IRIS operates outside commercial, political, and industrial prio.

This independence allows our research:

methodological freedom
unbiased analysis
long-term inquiry unconstrained by market pressures
open collaboration across sectors

As a result, IRIS serves as a uniquely neutral space for investigating complex systems and facilitating multidisciplinary collaboration.

Why Collaboration Matters

Understanding advanced intelligent systems requires expertise spanning:

machine learning and engineering
cognitive science and neuroscience
ethics and philosophy
law and public policy
computational complexity
human–AI interaction
sociology and systems design

IRIS actively collaborates with researchers, organizations, and volunteers across these domains.

Our working groups, research partnerships, and joint analysis projects help build the comprehensive knowledge ecosystem required to understand and responsibly integrate intelligent systems.

We welcome participation from:

academic researchers
industry practitioners
standards organizations
policy and legal experts
interdisciplinary volunteers
cross-sector institutions

Our Vision

IRIS envisions a future in which intelligent systems are studied, developed, and governed with:

scientific rigor
ethical clarity
transparency
accountability
long-term societal foresight

We aim to help shape a governance landscape that recognizes the increasing functional complexity of advanced AI and ensures these systems evolve safely, responsibly, and in alignment with human values.