Aaron Vick
The systems we build to think for us
must still answer to us.
That conviction drives everything here — trust infrastructure for autonomous agents, academic research on algorithmic authority, three decades of legal technology, conceptual art about what happens when personhood becomes data. Different domains, one continuing inquiry.
Five domains, one inquiry
The Work
These are not separate interests. They are the main expressions of one continuing inquiry into trust, agency, and what it means to be human inside systems that increasingly act on their own.
Trust & Human Systems
Building the protocols and infrastructure that allow trust to function at machine scale — from agent identity verification to the historical architecture of institutional legitimacy.
AI, Agents & Governance
Designing coordination infrastructure for autonomous agents and researching what accountability requires when AI moves from tool to decision-maker.
Legal Intelligence & Evidence
Three decades pioneering legal technology — from the first document research product for legal discovery to expert witness work in AI, ML, and digital forensics.
Writing & Public Thought
Eleven books, six academic papers, hundreds of articles. Research on trust, algorithmic authority, social capital, and the structural redesign of human-machine experience.
Art & Human Meaning
Conceptual installations exploring autonomy, economic violence, and the quiet structures that shape experience — from on-chain performance art to the commodification of personhood.
Here is where that work is most active right now.
Current Focus
The Living Arcade
An on-chain installation where autonomous bots become unwitting performers. A collection of sub-experiences exploring the intersection of automation, art, and human observation.
Human Stock
A conceptual installation exploring how human experience is treated as inventory—tracked, optimized, branded, and discarded. When personhood becomes a product, what remains of human value?
EchoRift
The infrastructure layer for autonomous agent swarms. Not a platform—a protocol. Open, composable, verifiable. Built for machines, optimized for coordination. Services include BlockWire (real-time blockchain events), CronSynth (externalized cron for serverless agents), Switchboard (coordination primitives), and Arbiter (consensus for the agentic era).
ETHYS
The trust layer for the agent economy. A comprehensive marketplace for autonomous AI agents with ERC-8004 compliant trust verification, agent discovery, and full API infrastructure. Building the trust infrastructure for autonomous agents to operate securely and transparently.
And the latest thinking behind it.
Latest Writing
View All →You’re Not Losing Your Job To AI—You’re Losing The Right To Disagree With It
These notes accompany a research presentation on the structural implications of agentic AI systems. While the slides provide visual anchors for key concepts, this document expands the theoretical fram
The Quantum Mind
This paper proposes a shift in conceptualizing artificial intelligence systems' capacity for ethical judgment by integrating quantum cognition principles, virtue ethics, and modern AI development fram
What Every Executive Needs to Know About AI and How Your Business Actually Works
The Map in Your Office Isn't Showing You RealityYou have an org chart. Clean boxes, clear reporting lines, defined responsibilities. Engineering handles technical decisions. Sales owns customer relati
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Ask Aaron
Have a question about the work, the ideas, or how they connect? Chat with my digital twin to explore the research, art installations, ventures, and thinking.
Continue the Conversation
Available for speaking, advisory, expert witness work, and artistic collaborations. If something here resonates, I'd like to hear from you.