About the Institute

What We Do

The Active Inference Institute identifies, establishes, scaffolds, and supports the sustainable implementation of: education and research services; participation, communication, advisory, and governance affordances within the Institute and the Active Inference Ecosystem; publishing and licensing protocols that establish open-source, fair-use, and effective dissemination of community products; and ecosystem support services including communications, educational programs, and collaborative projects. We host Institute Programs and Projects, provide visibility for Ecosystem Projects, and steward the information commons for the Active Inference field.

History

The Institute was founded in 2021 as a volunteer-led community dedicated to making Active Inference more accessible and applicable across science, engineering, and practical domains. The community understood from the outset that change is inevitable, that sustainability and growth depend on a willingness to take chances, and that building trust takes time. In 2022 the first Textbook Group cohort began, bringing together learners from diverse backgrounds to study Active Inference collaboratively — multiple cohorts have since completed the program. The Applied Active Inference Symposium launched in 2021 and has grown into an annual gathering, with five completed symposia through 2025 and a sixth planned for 2026. The Institute was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in Delaware, USA, formalizing governance with a Board of Directors, Officers, and Scientific Advisory Board. The Institute and Ecosystem living document — a community-authored survey of the Institute's state and directions — was first published as an academic paper in 2023 and updated annually through 2025, with contributions from over thirty authors worldwide.

Mission, Vision, Values, and Principles

Our mission is to improve the accessibility, rigor, and applicability of Active Inference across science, engineering, education, and practical domains. The Institute operates by the motto Act. Infer. Serve. — a commitment to learning, action, and service. Our values include integrity, open learning, responsible conduct, professional development, research excellence, and practical service. We practice open science: making research reproducible and navigable, publishing under open licenses, and stewarding shared infrastructure. Diversity of background, discipline, and familiarity level is a feature of the community, not a constraint.

Institute Structure

The Institute is governed by a Board of Directors, with day-to-day operations led by Officers and scientific advisory functions served by the Scientific Advisory Board. Two organizational units carry out Institute programs: the EduActive Unit for education and the ReInference Unit for research, each led by Facilitators. Projects, Volunteers, Learners, and Interns operate within this structure and connect outward to the broader Active Inference Ecosystem.

Institute Programs

Institute Programs are the structured pathways for participation: Volunteer, Internship, Mentorship, Fellowship, Partnership, Philanthropy, and Grants. These programs turn interest into contribution and connect individual participation to the Institute's research, education, and ecosystem goals.

Open Science and the Ecosystem

The Institute publishes its work under open licenses and maintains public repositories, video archives, newsletters, an Active Inference Ontology, and a Journal. We participate in and support the broader Active Inference Ecosystem — a growing network of researchers, practitioners, and learners working across disciplines including computational neuroscience, cognitive science, ecology, economics, and engineering.

Directions for the Institute

describe ongoing areas of activity and development at the Institute scale.

The following table lists current developmental and connections with

Directions & Steps

Below, we revisit the outline some

1. Research Advancement and Cross-disciplinary Expansion

1. Seek for cross-disciplinary research

2. Support core Active Inference research ( and educational ( development

3. Explore implications in philosophy, social sciences, and other

4. Facilitate collaboration with other cognitive models and research communities

5. Develop new policy appraisal methodologies with focus on ethical and cognitive security considerations

2. Educational Outreach and Resource Development

1. Develop a full academic curriculum for interdisciplinary audiences

2. Create educational resources ( and Beyond)

3. Provide courses on for industry professionals

4. Increase learning resources for coding Active Inference agents/simulations

5. Develop foundations for trust, ethics, and education in the context of rapid AI advancement

3. Software Development and Practical Applications

1. With development, Improve and visualization capabilities and overall usability

2. Develop real-world across

3. Support multi-agent workflows (e.g. using

4. Create reliable and accurate models for engineers

4. Community Growth and Engagement

1. Facilitate connections with and members

2. Foster edge interactions within the community and

3. Implement automated feedback mechanisms

4. Moderate community discourse to ensure compliance with culture and values

5. Improve onboarding experience for new users

6. Increase awareness and involvement from organizations outside the Institute

5. Public Engagement and Knowledge Dissemination

1. Translate Active Inference concepts for broader public understanding

2. Develop strategies to disseminate knowledge to general public, and professional across areas

3. Explore the intersection of with current global issues (social, economic, geopolitical, technological, environmental)

4. Continue to develop publishing and licensing support systems for contributors

the shared space

Essentially all use the shared space as a document system.

Clicking through links and documentation of you will find many examples of links within and across documents — this was written collaboratively in the shared space, and then exported for snapshot (whereas in 2023 version 1 we used a Google Document linear manuscript co-editing style).

the shared space is the primary platform for knowledge and project management at The Institute, Ecosystem, community, and individual scale. It organizes all information and content related to each project (or sub-project). the shared space is version-controlled and access-restricted, ensuring that all of our data is protected against accidental deletion and inappropriate user access. We use the shared space for storing and organizing important documents, such as policies, procedures, project plans, and meeting notes.

We follow best practices for the shared space, including: (1) creating dedicated the shared space “documents”, or work areas, for different departments or projects to ensure easy access and organization of relevant information, (2) implementing a clear folder and file structure within the shared space to maintain document organization and version control, (3) archiving unnecessary and irrelevant pages, files, and folders, and (4) granting appropriate access permissions to users, allowing them to view, edit, or comment on documents as required.

With adequate future support, the shared space will be upgraded to an Enterprise License and consultants will assist in development of templates and low-code applications for streamlining support, records and knowledge management, and project management functions. Further, an Enterprise License will allow for a variety of new mechanisms for user-access control and permissioning, and for tracking of work activity and community engagement with hosted content.

Communications

Internal Communications Plan

Institute participants, and other roles communicate with one another and with members of the community as follows:

• Email serves as the primary means of communication for internal announcements, updates, sharing important documents, and any other professional communications where record keeping is of interest.
• Regular Synchronous Officer Meetings are held to keep communication lines open, address questions, and discuss progress on projects. The meets regularly in an open discussion format. The meets quarterly to respond to the quarterly roundtable update and address any other issues or concerns.
• Shared Calendars are used to schedule meetings, appointments, and events, ensuring everyone is aware of each other's availability.
• The Institute-operated Server is the primary location for asynchronous discussion and synchronous project meetings. Currently there are over 1000 people in the server, and we strive to keep it an accessible entry point for learning and applying Active Inference.

Organizational Communication

The Institute communicates with potential partners, sponsors, and relevant constituencies through channels including:

• Livestreams and provide exciting avenues for live community engagement.
• Content Announcements via X @inferenceactive, Facebook, LinkedIn, Bluesky @activeinference.bsky.social
• Measurements come from and reflect: completed projects, recent publications, collaboration and other project opportunities, new releases of educational materials and tools, etc

Target Audiences

• Curious and exploratory learners from all backgrounds and levels of familiar with different subjects/skills.
• Professionals and Academics: Individuals with an interest in cognitive science, machine learning, philosophy, physics, linguistics, computer science, and related areas.
• Potential Partners: Government agencies, funding organizations, academic institutions, and other research-focused organizations.
• Active Inference Community: Researchers, academics and professionals who use and reference Active Inference and related approaches in their daily work.
• Broader Scientific Community: Researchers, academics, and professionals in compatible fields.
• Social Change Organisations: International Organisations, NGOs, civil society
• General Public: Individuals who may have a personal interest in cognitive science, machine learning, philosophy, physics, linguistics, computer science, and related areas.
• Research and Educational: Universities and academic institutions.
• Trade Associations and Think Tanks. Organizations which perform research about future industry trends, in addition to other communities of practice.
• Corporate: Companies with employees who would benefit from knowing Active Inference related approaches to business organization and operations.
• Government: Government agencies and funding vehicles.
• Private Donors: Individuals who understand the value and potential impact of this community of practice and its subject matter, and would be willing to help support it.
• Social Change Organisations: Taking basic underlying concepts and translating them into non-technical language and frameworks for organisations involved in change around large scale social issues (e.g., climate change, peace building)

Approach

The goal of our organizational communications plan is to provide the foundation for sustainable and accessible funding, and to work toward making Active Inference a household term, used as widely as “Machine Learning”, reflecting its demonstrable utility and impact in implementation. An ideal next step toward this goal is the professionalization of Active Inference core competencies and techniques and related competency and qualification standards.

Discord

Join the Active Inference Institute (AII) maintains a server as its primary communication hub where all meetings, discussions, and collaborative activities take place. This digital shared spaces serves as the central nexus for the institute's diverse community of researchers, practitioners, and enthusiasts interested in active inference.

Server Structure

Main Categories

• Research and education activities
• Project coordination
• Community discussions
• Voice chat rooms for meetings and livestreams

Key Features

The Discord server facilitates:

• Live voice meetings and discussions
• Project collaboration and coordination
• Access to educational resources
• Community engagement and networking

Participation

As with the Institute overall, the Discord server welcomes participants from:

• All backgrounds and experience levels
• Different time zones
• Various levels of familiarity with

The server can be accessed through the link. It serves as the primary venue for all institute meetings and collaborative activities, making it an essential platform for anyone interested in engaging with the Active Inference community.

Focus Areas for the Institute

Below are some and how those are addressed by

The Focus Areas were developed from feedback from participants, and presented here as a part of the overall milestones/snapshot.

Focus Areas

Information Management

The Institute hosts and disseminates information using YouTube, Github, and other platforms as needed. This stack of platforms streamlines specific levels of access to shared resources, and enhances overall productivity within the organization. We aim to ensure that participants are aware of the platforms being used and understand their purposes and functionalities. We regularly evaluate, communicate, and reinforce best practices for information storage, access, and organization. We implement security measures, such as strong passwords, 2-factor authentication, and appropriate access permission in order to protect sensitive information. We back up important data regularly to prevent loss due to technical issues or accidental deletion. We conduct periodic reviews and audits of the information storage systems to identify areas for improvement and optimization. The specific use of each platform is described below.

YouTube(Live Streaming and Video Hosting)

YouTube is the primary platform for storing audiovisual content created for and by The Institute. Our designated YouTube Channel holds distinct playlists for courses, live streams, symposia, and other content that we host. We share and embed links within internal and external communication channels to provide easy access to relevant content. The content on YouTube is also backed up in a personal cloud storage service as well as in offline hard drives.

(Forum and Instant Messaging)

Discord is our primary platform for engaging with the Active Inference Ecosystem and broader community. We use Discord for real-time communication, informal discussions, and team collaboration. Dedicated channels are used within Discord to categorize discussions based on topics or projects. Participants are encouraged to share relevant files, documents, or links within Discord channels, fostering easy access to shared resources. We regularly monitor and moderate Discord channels to maintain professionalism, and eagerly look to improve our protocols and guidelines here and elsewhere.

Newsletter

Since the initial activities of the Institute ( we have written a monthly

See the archives

Quality, Performance, and Growth Evaluation

The Institute intends to evaluate quality, performance, and growth within community development at three scales, listed below, based on best practices within the community and adapted for our use-cases which include software, videos, and other products.

Participant scale

Evaluation at the level of individuals, with consideration for a plurality of individual priors (i.e., diversity in perspective, experience, culture, language, preferences, discipline, and level of expertise) and a focus on accessibility and onboarding. Objectives include quality of participant and user experience, plurality of educational mediums and formats (i.e., accessibility), networking and collaboration opportunities, and professional development. Pending grant or donor funding, The Institute will work with user experience, communications, and requirements engineering professionals to improve current and establish new feedback mechanisms and implement best practices for aforementioned evaluations. The following tools serve as a basis for evaluation:

• Individual feedback forms and surveys
• Participation (e.g., number of projects completed and contributed to)
• Continuing Professional Development (e.g., courses completed, certifications)

Institute scale

Evaluation at the level of The Institute will consider various areas such as sustainability of personal and collective efforts, support reliability, and user experience quality, and Institute quality control and improvement. Objectives include increasing collaboration opportunities, ensuring consistency and rapid handling of inconsistency in documentation, and supporting and facilitating projects. Specific metrics of quality, performance, and growth at The Institute scale may include:

• Number of participants and commits in open source projects
• Number of responses to our and Internship forms
• Number of signups
• Statistics on projects facilitated by The Institute (e.g., total completed, ongoing, and dissolved)
• Offered and completed Internships
• Frequency of discovery and resolution of inconsistencies in research, documentation, tools.
• Frequency of discovery and resolution of gaps in implementation (i.e., frequently questioned answers and frequently asked questions)
• Number of facilitators, stewards, and volunteers and related turnover and activity
• Aggregation of individual feedback forms and surveys

Ecosystem scale

Evaluation at the level of the Ecosystem and community scale with consideration for impact and relationship management, and a focus on impact. Objectives include minimizing turnover rate in educational courses, increasing the number of participants, and maintaining and adding partnerships. Metrics of quality, performance, and growth at the community scale may include:

• Quality and quantity of connected with or not.
• Frequency and number of edits and engagements with the shared space pages
• Number of participants in General Channel
• Number of participants contributing to facilitated projects
• Turnover rate in engagement and participation (e.g., direct participant engagement with Institute releases and material, and annual involvement in collaborative activities)
• Number of individuals enrolled in educational courses
• Turnover and completion rate in educational courses
• Turnover rate in partnerships (e.g., research and education partnership decisions to renew, maintain, or dissolve)
• Social media analytics (e.g., views, watch time, audience diversity)

2025

January

• and begin for the year
• is now hosted at the Institute.

February

• New with, collaborating on the elsewhere.

March

• March 28 — 2025 Quarterly Roundtable #1

April

May

June

• June 27 — 2025 Quarterly Roundtable #2

July

• Summer break!
• Complete to have stay in active state.

August

September

• September 26 — 2025 Quarterly Roundtable #3

October

November

• November 12-14th — 5th
• Recruitment for next year and
• mostly finish up after the

December

• December 19 — 2025 Quarterly Roundtable #4
• We continue to review and more.
• We select the for
• We have applications open for the for

2026

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Past in

January

• and begin!
• clarified.
• Work ongoing with and related to and more.

February

March

• 2026 Quarterly Roundtable #1

April

History of The Institute

2020

The begins in the co-founder team meeting in 2020 around a common interest in This resulted in productive collaboration and the publication “Active Inference & Behavior Engineering for Teams” in September 2020 (Vyatkin et al. 2020). The group was then known as “Team Comm”. Check out our first livestream, ActInf Livestream #001.1 ~ “Narrative as active inference", on July 28, 2020.

Following the 2020 publication, discussions turned towards exploring approaches that could catalyze the accessibility, rigor, and applicability of Active Inference, and how to merge the developing framework with the Out of these discussions an “Active Inference Lab” (or ActInfLab) was formed and began operations in 2021.

2021

Over the first year of our operations, dozens of individuals from around the world engaged with ActInfLab through various projects such as educational, publishing, collaborative research projects, focused learning groups, and initial developments of the

Since the first quarter of operations in 2021, the ActInfLab hosted Quarterly Roundtable livestreams for communicating quarterly expectations and results to the community, a tradition that we continue to this day.

2022

Beginning in 2022, a cohort-based (SAB) was established to connect the ActInfLab to cutting-edge theoretical work as well as various domain-specific applications. As interest in both the ActInfLab’s activities and Active Inference itself began to grow, ActInfLab soon emerged as a key facilitating organization in what was then a primarily academic community working on the underlying theory and potential implications for Active Inference.

The first Active Inference textbook comes out in 2022 (Parr, Pezzulo, Friston 2022), and the Institute begins hosting a (ongoing through 7 cohorts in 2024). The Textbook Group is an important ecosystem service, as there are few academic/institutional locations where learners can be supported through the curriculum of the textbook and beyond. Additionally, the Institute has curated and categorized learning materials that learners create while participating in the group, including questions and discourse.

The Institute begins the program to scaffold and support the learning journey of learners. Interns come from different backgrounds — including high school, college, and graduate students on academic tracks, as well as professionals and others outside of academia. Interns, with their mentors, develop a personalized education and research curriculum which lasts months-years.

In mid-2022, ActInfLab made the developmental leap to become a non-profit organization registered in Delaware, USA with the intention of making its facilitatory role in the community impactful and sustainable. As part of the requirements for a non-profit, we also laid out the comprised of the

At the end of 2022, the has its first meeting. The Board continues to meet on a quarterly basis.

2023

and continue, including the first two full course offerings: and These courses span months, and include office hours with the lecturer and teaching assistants.

In addition to continuing livestream on YouTube (GuestStream, ModelStream, PaperStream, etc), the Institute hosts the popular Active Inference Insights podcast.

During the year, we begin researching and applying for private and government

2024

Organizationally, the Institute receives official recognition as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, supporting our efforts. We were able to achieve this milestone with the pro bono support of the Fried Frank law firm.

The largest cohort to date of the makes many diverse contributions across projects.

The program begins to highlight and scaffold the work of Ecosystem member. As of November 2024, there are 5 Research Fellows have joined. Fellows represent members of the Ecosystem who have contributed substantially to the ecosystem through publications and presentations.

To meet the needs of trainees and Interns for one-on-one guidance with projects, we introduced the program. Members of the select other individuals, volunteer to mentor and connect with individual trainees.

Following the Quantum Active Inference Prepare-Measure cycle described by Chris Fields in the 2023 we implemented a “Prepare and Measure” system for and Prepare and Measure allows people to set goals and report back when they have reached them. can be provided by anyone about different for In contrast describes what someone is preparing to do, whether they are just letting us know,

These always-open reporting systems are used to gauge the ongoing projects and work done by community members, and provide visibility to these updates in the newsletter.

Work during this year remains all-volunteer. support begins to come in, supporting some operational software costs. We applied for several (such as and related to AI safety with the collaborated on this leading up to the 4th on November 13th, 2024.

• 5th
• is our first funded

See for all information from 2025!

• See for all information on the ongoing year.

Code of Conduct

1. Context

• Understand the AII · Mission, Vision, Values, and Principles and AII · History of The Institute, and take this into thoughtful account with your engagement (e.g. in terms of what is relevant to do for or with the Institute, especially for those with informal or formal responsibilities to an organizational mission).
• Understand the open source context of the Institute, and take it into account when determining how you will make contributions to Institute projects and share information about your own projects (e.g. by not sharing proprietary information).

1. Respect and Integrity:

• Treat all members of the community with respect, dignity, and professionalism.
• Conduct work and communication with honesty, integrity, and transparency.
• Foster an engaging environment that values multiple perspectives, backgrounds, and identities and ensures opportunity for all.

1. Collaboration and Collegiality:

• Promote collaboration, teamwork, and mutual support among researchers, learners, and staff.
• Foster a culture of open communication, constructive feedback, and academic freedom, where ideas can be freely exchanged and challenged in a collaborative manner.

1. Safety and Well-being:

• Prioritize the safety, health, and well-being of all members of the community.
• Provide a supportive environment that promotes mental and physical health, work-life balance, and personal development.

1. Epistemic Norms:

• Uphold high standards of academic integrity and intellectual property rights in all research activities.
• Avoid plagiarism, data fabrication, falsification, and other forms of misconduct, ensuring the credibility and reliability of the scientific product and process.

1. Professional Conduct:

• Conduct research in accordance with applicable laws, regulations, and institutional policies (recognizing the global context of Institute participation).
• Maintain professional conduct in interactions with colleagues, collaborators, funders, and the broader community, avoiding conflicts of interest and maintaining confidentiality where required.

1. Accountability and Responsibility:

• Take responsibility for one's actions and decisions, acknowledging and addressing any mistakes or errors.
• Hold oneself and others accountable for upholding the principles of this code of conduct, and report any violations or concerns through email to.

1. Continuous Learning and Improvement:

• Commit to continuous learning, professional development, and the pursuit of excellence in research, teaching, and service.
• Embrace feedback, reflect on experiences, and adapt practices to contribute positively to the advancement of knowledge of adjacent ecosystems and communities affiliated with the Institute.

By adhering to this code of conduct, members of our academic and research driven institution contribute to a culture of excellence, integrity, and collaboration, fostering a positive and inclusive environment for the pursuit of knowledge and innovation.

Mission, Vision, Values, and Principles

Our Mission

To support the accessibility, rigor, and applicability of Active Inference.

Act. Infer. Serve.

The formal mission

The formal mission statement of the Institute only scratches the surface of the goals and aspirations of its members and the many parties in its broad ecosystem.

This is screenshot/text from our Form 1023 (this is from the IRS 501(c)(3) status application), submitted in 2023.

The formal mission of the Institute, seen in the screenshot to the left, is:

> Active Inference Institute, Inc. (the Institute) is dedicated to developing, supporting, and promoting open science and integrative frameworks such as active inference. In furtherance of its mission, the Institute will conduct the following activities: (1) education, (2) research, (3) grantmaking, and (4) administration.

&

&

Our Vision

The Active Inference Institute serves as a scaffold for stabilizing and connecting myriad fields around a central tradition and approach of

The Institute aims to make the Active Inference framework and the Ecosystem we serve more accessible, applicable, rigorous, and integrated.

We facilitate educational, theoretical, and applied engagement with Active Inference, promoting awareness of the field within the lay, academic, public-sector, and professional communities.

We envision a future in which the term “Active Inference” is used as widely as “Machine Learning”, as a result of its demonstrated utility and impact in a variety of

Our Values and Principles

We are committed to fostering a culture of excellence, collaboration, and innovation. Our values and principles serve as the guiding principles that shape our and define our organization's character.

• and Exploration. At The Institute, we embrace the principle of Active Inference, and open-ended exploration as a fundamental driving force. We cultivate a culture of curiosity and continuous learning. Through engaging in endeavors across multiple scales (person, project, Institute, Ecosystem), we enrich our understanding and make relevant contributions to our niche.
• Integrity. We strive to uphold and promote honesty, accountability, professionalism, as well as responsible conduct in research, education, and facilitation among members of The Institute, Ecosystem, and communities we serve. We foster diversity, respect, and global inclusion through community engagement. We treat differences in perspective and understanding as a wellspring of valuable creative and productive potential, driving breakthroughs and strengthening collaborative research outcomes.
• Towards Institute- and Ecosystem-Scale Generative Modeling: At The Institute, we aim to use model-based approaches towards organizational design and operation. Informally we use the where possible, and looking towards more sophisticated computational modeling in the future. We support shared informational niches for different scales, spanning the Ecosystem, Institute, Organizational Units, and We continuously develop and refine hierarchical models, drawing on sensory information, exploiting data, and gathering feedback. Our dynamic self-modeling enables efficient resource allocation.
• Anticipatory Behavior: The Institute's commitment to anticipatory behavior equips us to excel in uncertain environments. Leveraging our internal models, we generate predictions at various scales and time horizons, empowering us to take initiative and adapt our policies accordingly. This forward-thinking approach enables us to plan strategically and make informed decisions, thus remaining at the forefront of our fields.
• Continuous Development: Embodying the ideas of open-endedness and techno-evolution, we wholeheartedly embrace the principle of continuous development at The Institute. Recognizing the dynamic nature of our environment and the constant advancements in science and technology, we continually evolve our internal models and approaches. This perpetual learning and evolution enable us to remain adaptive and at the cutting edge of our fields, driving impactful research that contributes significantly to the scientific community. In the spirit of action and perception, we encourage learners to produce and share artifacts, then receive feedback: informally and formally (through Prepare and Measure).
• Participatory Engagement: At the Institute, we encourage collaborative active learning through artifacts. Digital, stigmergic modifications of our online environment are the central method for engagement. Projects are enacted through preparation and periodic measurements that trace development through time. We support the accessibility, applicability, and inclusivity of Active Inference by seeking (and related: Open Science, approaches where possible.

Strategy

Active Inference Institute (AII) is on the path of open-endedness.

Our considers learning and applying Active Inference for changes in the niche over multiple nested scales. Through time we increase the degree of hierarchical organizational complexity to overcome competing interactions and frustrated states.

We engage in policy selection across multiple scales, reducing our uncertainty about realizing our expectations and preferences. We learn, finding epistemic value along the way, while pragmatically ensuring Institute persistence and development.

The three scales that Active Inference Institute modifies and interact with:

• Participant as an agent. The Institute provides affordances and updates participants’ generative model via niche modification and offering of affordances.
• Institute as the agent. This is where we engage in Institute-level policies selection and evolve our shared generative model.
• as our epistemic niche.