_CONNOR
a lab
at the intersection of science, culture,
and capital
We identify the principles of independent thinking.
Then we teach them to AI natives.
Co-Existing with AI
01
THE CHALLENGE
AI doesn’t democratize opportunity.
It gives infinite leverage to experts and renders beginners obsolete.
By automating entry-level tasks, AI removes the training grounds for beginners.
It also greatly reduces the motivation to obtain knowledge in the first place.
-> How is this affecting those still learning to think?
Gen Alpha already had a difficult start due to Covid-19. We are now witnessing a decline of cognition and mental health, hitting them hardest.
Reddit post by a teacher (Oct 13, 2026)
02
THE RESULT
The "side-effects" of AI-supported thinking
Cognitive Offloading
What are the longterm effects on our cognitive abilities when we fully rely on AI to provide a starting point and/or the solution?
Contrarian Thinking
Will we still be able to hold a belief, judgment or worldview without AI confirming it? When every decision is made with AI, at what point will we officially stop owning the decisions we make?
Uncertainty & Discomfort
How does constantly available AI assistance affect our tolerance for struggle and operating around uncertainty? If we learn to avoid friction, how will we learn at all?
We've been here before
-> We had to invent the gym.
When we stopped doing physical labor we had to start using artificial weights to keep our bodies healthy.
Will we need gyms for our brains?
Meet .connor
a think tank and launchpad
-> Our goal:
Finding the formulas behind intelligence and independent thinking. Preserving and progressing them in the age of AI.
Apollo 17 Think Tank for the Moon Landing | Credit: NASA
03
THE THINK TANK
Our Method
#1 - We study the best
We bring together world-class innovators who excel at innovative thinking. We dissect their approach and search for shared patterns.
We look at both; top-performing students from leading schools (in conversation with Pepperdine) and at-risk students.
We observe how their thinking patterns compares to the experts’, which steps they struggle with most, and where they rely on generative AI.
#2 - We make the AI gap visible
We host a final round table with outstanding thinkers, futurists, and macroeconomists to explore the trajectory, based on our findings.
We search for black-swan events, blind spots, and unexpected consequences, 5, 10 and 100 years from now.
#3 - We define the trajectory
04
CULTURE
We then ask artists to tell the story for us.
A Creative Platform
We publish all work produced from the brief. The most defining pieces are showcased at an annual flagship event.
We turn the findings into a creative brief for creatives in film/tv, gaming, fiction, and advertising. We also partner with studios and publishers.
The goal is to create stories, PSAs and games that reach GenAlpha. We need communicate our formula for independent thinking, the AI gap, and the trajectory in a way that is appealing to those affected by it.
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05
CAPITAL
We brief entrepreneurs to build tools that protect and leverage our thinking.
We translate the findings into a strategic brief for emerging founders. We partner with accelerators and run design-thinking sprints with selected EIRs to build solutions addressing the challenges.
