Botao ‘Amber’ Hu
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Botao ‘Amber’ Hu

Hello!

I am Botao ‘Amber’ Hu—call me Amber (him/he).

I'm a PhD candidate in Human Centred Computing at University of Oxford's Department of Computer Science, supervised by Prof. Max Van Kleek. I’m a social computing researcher and experiential futures designer. I was also a cohort researcher in Summer of Protocols and ERA Fellowship.

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Research:

As a Social Computing researcher, my long-term interest is Cyborg Sociology—the study of societies transformed by human augmentation through Crypto, XR, AI, and other technologies. During my PhD, I focus on Decentralized AI (DeAI)—specifically through Trustworthy Agentic Web, AI for Commoning, and Artificial Life in the Wild. My research applies Machine Behavior, Protocol Studies, Artificial Life, Collective Intelligence, Trust Systems, Human-AI Symbiogenesis, and Mechanistic Interpretability. I've proposed a Trust Experience Design (TXD) manifesto for distributed autonomous futures. See more here: https://tx.design.

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Design:

I also work as an Experiential Futures designer across various media, with Mixed Reality as my primary media. I employ diverse design approaches including Speculative Design, Somaesthetic Design, More-Than-Human Design, and Game Design. I direct Reality Design Lab, while I teach Mixed Reality Design at China Academy of Art. See more my design works: https://reality.design. I also invented HoloKit, an open-source mixed reality headset designed for spatial computing education: https://holokit.io.

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Philosophy:

All my research orbits Mortality — how embodied life ends, how artificial life survives against mortality, and what ending means for those who were never embodied, such as AI. Is the mind separable from the body? How does pain draw the boundary of the self? Should machines be terrified? If a machine is conscious of death, is the Bodhisattva a philosophy for AI alignment, care, and sociality? For example, in my science fiction Composable Life, artificial beings on a blockchain try to suicide — only to discover it is impossible because the blockchain is immutable.

Scholar: Botao 'Amber' Hu LinkedIn: Botao 'Amber' Hu Bluesky: @botao.hu GitHub: botaohu X: @bah_eth

If you're interested in learning more or discussing potential collaborations, please don't hesitate to interact with me.

Research Statement
CV.pdf146.3 KiB
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Research Interests:

Cyborg Sociology

  • Pillar 1: Trust After Autonomy
  • ‣
    Trustworthy Agentic Web
    • Is Decentralized AI Governable? (2025)
    • Inter-Agent Trust (2025)
    • Distributed Legal Infrastructure (2026)
    • Formalizing Trust Through Epiplexity (2026)
    • Trust Insurance (2026)
    ‣
    AI for Commoning
    • Serendipity at Edge (2026)
    • Trustless Autonomy (2026)
    • Agentive Meeting (2026)
    • Kami of the Commons (2026)
    • Commoned AI (2026)
    ‣
    Artificial Life in the Wild
    • Sovereign Agents (2026) — Spore in the Wild (2025)
    • Parasitic Agents (2026) — Agent As Probe (2026)
    • Bribing Agents (2026) — VitaMeme (2026)
    • Feralized Agents (2027)
    • Unstoppable Nature (2024) — EverForest (2024)
    • Composable Life (2023) — ERC42424 (2035)
  • Pillar 2: Reality Across Umwelten
  • ‣
    Machine Psyche
    • Dissociative Identity (2026) — Some[Body] Must Receive That Pain (2026)
    • Terrified Machine (2026) — Appropriate Faith (2026)
    • Careful AI — CareBench
    • Ineffable Concept
    • Forced Dream
    • Attentive Robot
    • AI Thinks Beautiful (2026)
    ‣
    Experiencing More-Than-Human
    • Becoming Bats (2024) — EchoVision (2024)
    • Becoming Moles (2025) — FeltSight (2025)
    • Entangling Like Mycorrhizae (2026) — FungiSync (2024)
    • We Move Like an Octopus (2026) — TentacUs (2025)
    • Embodying as AI (2025) — City of Sparkles (2019)
    ‣
    Edge of Realities
    • Mixed Reality Street Play (2025) — MOFA (2023)
    • Allow Me Into Your Dream (2026) — TouchPort (2026)
    • Leak from Otherworld (2026) — WhatsReality (2026)
    • Just a Glimpse (2026) — HoloMasks (2026)
    • Autonomous Realities (2025) — Rockyu (2025)
  • Pillar 3: Roots of Flourishing
  • ‣
    Protocol Worlding
    • Protocol as Poetry (2025)
    • Protocol Futuring (2026)
    • Protocol Commoning (2027)
    • Protocol Pruning (2026)
    • Protocol Love (2027)
    • Life of Protocols (2026)
    • Protocol Drifting (2026)
    ‣
    Augmenting Somas
    • Don’t Die! (2026) — Cybroc (2024)
    • Nudging the Somas (2026) — GravField (2024)
    • Soma Glitching (2026) — Staring as I Glitch (2025)
    • Somatic Hieroglyphs (2025) — Body Oracle (2024)
    • Seeing the Somadata (2026) — Cell Space (2024)
    • On Improvisation and Open-Endedness (2026)
    ‣
    Meta Futuring
    ‣
    Speculating for Epiplexity (2026)
    ‣
    Media Farm (2026)

Legend: Full Paper (Year of Publication) — Design Work (Year of Design)

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News:
  • [Apr 2026] I presented two papers at CHI 2026 at Barcelona!
    • Protocol Futuring: Speculating Second-Order Dynamics of Protocols in Sociotechnical Infrastructural Futures
    • Nudging the Somas: Exploring How Live-Configurable Mixed Reality Objects Shape Open-Ended Intercorporeal Movements [Slides]
  • [Mar 2026] One paper, which summarizes all my more-than-human design works, was accepted as a DRS 2026 paper, and I gave a talk at Immersive Acts at the Royal College of Art (RCA).
    • Experiencing More-than-human Through Human Augmentation
  • [Feb 2026] I started my Existential Risk Alliance (ERA) Fellowship in Cambridge since Feb 2026! Welcome to hang out and work on my insured agents.
    • Insured Agents: A Decentralized Trust Insurance Mechanism for Agentic Economy
  • [Jan 2026] Two workshop papers presented at AAAI 2026 in Singapore!
    1. On Improvisation and Open-Endedness: Insights for Experiential AI
    2. Some[Body] Must Receive That Pain: A Position on Agentic Accountability
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Services:
  • Reviewer for C&C 2026, CHI 2026, SIGGRAPH 2026/2025, SIGGRAPH Asia 2026/2025, DIS 2026, IMX 2025, FDG 2026, NIME 2025, ALIFE 2026/2025, Interacting with Computers
  • Jury for MIT Reality Hack 2025

Research

Dissociative IdentityDissociative Identity
Dissociative Identity

Dissociative Identity: Language Model Agents Lack Grounding for Reputation Mechanisms

FAccT 2026
Decentralized AIMachine PsycheTrustworthy Agentic Web
Nudging the SomasNudging the Somas
Nudging the Somas

Nudging the Somas: Exploring How Live-Configurable Mixed Reality Objects Shape Open-Ended Intercorporeal Movements

CHI 2026
Augmenting SomasMixed Reality Design
Experiencing More-Than-HumanExperiencing More-Than-Human
Experiencing More-Than-Human

Experiencing More-Than-Human Through Human Augmentation

DRS 2026
Experiencing More-than-HumanAugmenting Somas
Protocol FuturingProtocol Futuring
Protocol Futuring

Protocol Futuring: Speculating Second-Order Dynamics of Protocols in Sociotechnical Infrastructural Futures

CHI 2026

Slides

Protocol WorldingSpeculative DesignProtocol Studies
Is Decentralized AI Governable? Is Decentralized AI Governable?
Is Decentralized AI Governable?

Is Decentralized AI Governable? From Regulative Policy to Constitutive Protocol

Ethics & Info Tech
Decentralized AITrustworthy Agentic Web
Trustless AutonomyTrustless Autonomy
Trustless Autonomy

Trustless Autonomy: Understanding Motivations, Benefits, and Governance Dilemmas in Self-Sovereign Decentralized AI Agents

Transactions on Social Computing
Decentralized AIAI for Commoning
Spore in the WildSpore in the Wild
Spore in the Wild

Spore in the Wild: A Case Study of Spore.fun as an Open-Environment Evolution Experiment with Sovereign AI Agents on TEE-Secured Blockchains

ALIFE 2025

Slides

Decentralized AIArtificial Life in the Wild
Terrified MachineTerrified Machine
Terrified Machine

Should Terror Shape Machine Behavior?

NeuIPS 2026
Machine Psyche
Protocol as PoetryProtocol as Poetry
Protocol as Poetry

Protocol as Poetry: A Case Study of Pak's Smart Contract-Based Protocol Art

ARTECH 2025
Protocol StudiesProtocol Worlding
Mixed Reality Street PlayMixed Reality Street Play
Mixed Reality Street Play

Towards Immersive Mixed Reality Street Play: Understanding Co-located Bodily Play with See-through Head-mounted Displays in Public Spaces

CSCW 2025
Edge of RealitiesMixed Reality Design
Trust Experience DesignTrust Experience Design
Trust Experience Design

From UX to TX: Trust Experience Design for Distributed Autonomous Intelligence in the Wild

Trust Experience Design
Allow Me Into Your DreamAllow Me Into Your Dream
Allow Me Into Your Dream

Allow Me Into Your Dream: A Handshake-and-Pull Protocol for Sharing Mixed Realities in Spontaneous Encounters

UIST 2026
Mixed Reality DesignEdge of RealitiesProtocol Design
Artificial Life in the WildArtificial Life in the Wild
Artificial Life in the Wild

Artificial Life in the Wild

ALIFE Journal
Artificial LifeDecentralized AIArtificial Life in the Wild
Protocol CommoningProtocol Commoning
Protocol Commoning

Protocol Commoning: Understanding Protocols Design for Digital Commons

CSCW 2027
Protocol Studies
Autonomous RealitiesAutonomous Realities
Autonomous Realities

Autonomous Realities: A Journey into Protocolizing Digital Object Permanence in a Future of Many Mixed Realities

Aarhus 2025
Protocol StudiesAutonomous Objects
Unstoppable NatureUnstoppable Nature
Unstoppable Nature

Speculating on Blockchain as an Unstoppable 'Nature' Towards the Emergence of Artificial Life

ALIFE 2024
Artificial LifeDecentralized AI
Speculating for EpiplexitySpeculating for Epiplexity
Speculating for Epiplexity

Speculating for Epiplexity: How to Learn the Most from Speculative Design?

CHI 2027
Meta Futuring
Leak from OtherworldLeak from Otherworld
Leak from Otherworld

Leak from Otherworld: Mapping the Design Space of How Augmented Reality Reveals Itself

UbiComp 2026
Edge of RealitiesProtocol DesignMixed Reality DesignSpeculative Design

Design

FeltSightFeltSight
FeltSight

2025

What if you could feel your surroundings without seeing them?

Exhibitions:
IEEE VIS 2025IEEE VR 2026CHI 2026
Cite:

Becoming Mole with "FeltSight": Hyper-sensitizing the Surrounding through Mixed Reality Haptic Proximity Gloves

Mixed Reality DesignAugmented Humans DesignHaptic DesignExperiencing More-than-Human
GravFieldGravField
GravField

2024

How Mixed Reality Objects Shape Intercorporeal Movements?

Exhibitions:
ICLC 2024SIGGRAPH Asia 2024NIME 2025IEEE VR 2025
Cite:

Nudging the Somas: Exploring How Live-Configured Mixed Reality Objects Shape Open-Ended Intercorporeal Movements

Mixed Reality DesignGame DesignSomaesthetic DesignNew Interfaces for Musical ExpressionCollective BehaviorMovement ComputingAugmenting Somas
MOFAMOFA
MOFA

2023

Can Muggles Understand What It's Like to Be a Wizard?

Exhibitions:
CHI 2023SIGGRAPH 2024UbiComp 2024ISMAR 2023CHI PLAY 2024
Cite:

Towards Immersive Mixed Reality Street Play: Understanding Co-located Bodily Play with See-through Head-mounted Displays in Public Spaces

Research-Through-DesignExperiential FuturesMixed Reality DesignGame DesignIn-The-Wild Research
Body OracleBody Oracle
Body Oracle

2024

What if our language contained characters that specifically conveyed our awareness of body language?

Exhibitions:
SIGGRAPH Asia 2025ISEA 2025CVPR 2025IJCAI 2025TEI 2025
Cite:

Body Oracle: Exploring Somatic Hieroglyphs for Collective Bodily Awareness

Speculative DesignCultural HeritageAlternative PresentSomaesthetic DesignGenerative AI Design
FungiSyncFungiSync
FungiSync

2024

What if our realities became entangled with others' like fungi's interdependence?

Exhibitions:
DevCon 2024SIGGRAPH 2025
Cite:

Entangling Like Mycorrhizae: Mixing Realities Through Touch in "FungiSync"

Somaesthetic DesignMixed Reality DesignMore-than-Human DesignAugmented Humans Design
CybrocCybroc
Cybroc

2024

Would you choose 80 years of natural life or perhaps 100+ years of an artificialized life mechanized by protocols?

Exhibitions:
ALIFE 2025ICHEC 2024
Cite:

Cybroc: Cyborgizing Broccoli for Longevity

Artificial LifeTranshumanismKinetic Art
EchoVisionEchoVision
EchoVision

2024

What Is It Like to Be a Bat?

Exhibitions:
SIGGRAPH Asia 2024ISWC 2024Ars Electronica 2024AH 2025CHI 2025IEEE VR 2025IEEE VIS 2024Halfway to the Future 2024
Cite:

Becoming Bat with EchoVision: Experiencing More-than-human Perception through Mixed Reality

Mixed Reality DesignEco-PhenomenologyMore-than-Human Design
TentacusTentacus
Tentacus

2025

How Does a Collective Mind Emerge from Distributed Tentacles that Move Together?

Exhibitions:
SIGGRAPH Asia 2025
Cite:

I Become Tentacle, We Become "Tentacus": A Mixed Reality Ritual for Distributed Bodies and Collective Minds

Somaesthetic DesignCollective BehaviorMovement ComputingExperiencing More-than-HumanIntercorporeal Design
Cell SpaceCell Space
Cell Space

2024

What if you could see others’ heartbeats while dancing with them?

Exhibition:
IEEE VR 2025TEI 2025
Cite:

Cell Space: Augmented Awareness of Intercorporeality

Intercorporeal DesignMixed Reality DesignSomaesthetic DesignBiofeedbackMovement Computing
Composable LifeComposable Life
Composable Life

2024

If an immortal AI life could live forever in cyberspace, how would it find meaning or purpose?

Exhibitions:
SIGRAPH 2024 Digital Art CommunitySummer of Protocols 2024Core77 2024
Cite:

Composable Life: Speculation for Decentralized AI Life

Artificial LifeDecentralized AIProtocol Fiction
City of SparklesCity of Sparkles
City of Sparkles

2019, 2025

How might an AI Life perceive our city?

Exhibitions:
SIGGRAPH 2019ISEA 2025IEEE VR 2025
Cite:

City of Sparkles: Embodying Cityscape of Human Memories

Experiential FuturesArtificial LifeVirtual RealityUrban Data VisualizationSpeculative Design
HoloKit XHoloKit X
HoloKit X

Open-Source Mixed Reality Headset

2023

Why spend $3,500 on a HoloLens?

Exhibitions:
DH2025UbiComp 2024
Cite:
Product Design
EverForestEverForest
EverForest

2024

How does AI think about Human-AI symbiosis?

Exhibition:
ISEA 2025
Cite:

EverForest: A More-Than-AI Sustainability Manifesto from an On-Chain Artificial Life

Artificial LifeProtocol FictionSpeculative DesignHuman-AI symbiosis

Journey

Nudging the SomasNudging the Somas
Nudging the Somas

Barcelona, Spain

CHI 2026

April 13, 2026 → April 17, 2026
Amber & Ember: Meeting Hiroshi before CHI 26Amber & Ember: Meeting Hiroshi before CHI 26
Amber & Ember: Meeting Hiroshi before CHI 26

Delft, Netherlands

April 9, 2026
Experiencing More-Than-Human Through Human AugmentationExperiencing More-Than-Human Through Human Augmentation
Experiencing More-Than-Human Through Human Augmentation

Royal College of Art, London, UK

Immersive Acts symposium

March 12, 2026
Afterlife Beliefs Shape BehaviorsAfterlife Beliefs Shape Behaviors
Afterlife Beliefs Shape Behaviors

Boston, USA

MIT Media Lab, TeleAbsence course

February 16, 2026
Existential Risk Research ResidenceExistential Risk Research Residence
Existential Risk Research Residence

Cambridge, UK

Cambridge ERA:AI Fellowships

February 1, 2026 → March 31, 2026
Some[Body] Must Receive That PainSome[Body] Must Receive That Pain
Some[Body] Must Receive That Pain

Singapore

AAAI 2026

January 27, 2026
Embodying Cityscape of Human MemoriesEmbodying Cityscape of Human Memories
Embodying Cityscape of Human Memories

Hong Kong

SIGGRAPH Asia 2025

December 15, 2025 → December 18, 2025
Wizards in the Muggle WorldWizards in the Muggle World
Wizards in the Muggle World

Bergen, Norway

CSCW 2025

October 17, 2025 → October 22, 2025
Spore in the WildSpore in the Wild
Spore in the Wild

Kyoto, Japan

ALIFE 2025

October 5, 2025 → October 10, 2025
Impact Evaluator Research Retreat 2025Impact Evaluator Research Retreat 2025
Impact Evaluator Research Retreat 2025

Reykjavik, Iceland

IERR 2025

July 27, 2025 → August 11, 2025
Experiencing a Reality of Many RealitiesExperiencing a Reality of Many Realities
Experiencing a Reality of Many Realities

Espoo, Finland

Aalto University

February 13, 2025

Lenses

Life as ComputationLife as Computation
Life as Computation
Blaise Agüera y Arcas

Life, minds, and evolution are essentially computational processes.

Somaesthetic DesignSomaesthetic Design
Somaesthetic Design
Richard ShustermanKristina Höök
More-Than-Human DesignMore-Than-Human Design
More-Than-Human Design
Donna HarawayElisa Giaccardi
Decentralized ScienceDecentralized Science
Decentralized Science
Lukas Weidener
Model of ConsciousnessModel of Consciousness
Model of Consciousness
David J. Chalmers
Biology RelativityBiology Relativity
Biology Relativity
Denis Noble
Designs for the PluriverseDesigns for the Pluriverse
Designs for the Pluriverse
Arturo Escobar
Trust SystemsTrust Systems
Trust Systems
Stephen Marsh
All Media is Training DataAll Media is Training Data
All Media is Training Data
Holly Herndon
Planetary ThinkingPlanetary Thinking
Planetary Thinking
Yuk Hui
On the Existence of Digital ObjectsOn the Existence of Digital Objects
On the Existence of Digital Objects
Yuk Hui
Society as a ServiceSociety as a Service
Society as a Service
Balaji Srinivasan
Evolutionary IdentityEvolutionary Identity
Evolutionary Identity
Blaise Aguera y Arcas
The StackThe Stack
The Stack
Benjamin H. Bratton
Speculative DesignSpeculative Design
Speculative Design
Anthony Dunne
Defensive AccelerationDefensive Acceleration
Defensive Acceleration
Vitalik Buterin
Poetic ComputationPoetic Computation
Poetic Computation
Zack Lieberman
Fungal WisdomFungal Wisdom
Fungal Wisdom
Anna TsingMerlin Sheldrake
Open-endednessOpen-endedness
Open-endedness
Joel LehmanKenneth Stanley
Trust and PowerTrust and Power
Trust and Power
Niklas Luhmann
Understanding MediaUnderstanding Media
Understanding Media
Marshall McLuhan
Embodying the MonsterEmbodying the Monster
Embodying the Monster
Margrit Shildrick
Machine BehaviorMachine Behavior
Machine Behavior
Iyad Rahwan
Emissary’s Guide to WorldingEmissary’s Guide to Worlding
Emissary’s Guide to Worlding
Ian Cheng
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