¶ Overview
Following a 2021 blog post called Crypto-Cities and another about Network States by Vitalik Buterin, Zuzalu was an experiment in co-living established in 2023 in Montenegro, combining elements of tech conferences, hacker houses, and intentional communities. The project hosted 200 residents from diverse regions and fields for a two-month period "to blend a variety of cultures fostering an environment where innovative experiments could make positive impacts on the world."
¶ Legacy
Vitalik wrote about his Zuzalu experience in an article, Why I Built Zuzalu.
Zuzalu has inspired a series of other Pop-Ups, notably the Chiang Mai Archipelago 2024 which had over a dozen experimental pop-up villages in the same vicinity.
¶ Future
Zuzalu has incorporated as a non-profit providing funding for related projects and is aiming to loosely define what is a ZuVillage.
¶ Content 1
¶ Core Components
¶ Co-creation
- Open shared calendar where any participant can post events such as:
- Technical workshops
- Research presentations
- Physical activities (hikes, cold plunges)
- Cultural events (tea ceremonies, dance parties)
- Skill-sharing sessions (martial arts, parkour)
- Mix of structured and spontaneous activities
- Strong emphasis on wellness and personal growth
- Cross-pollination of ideas and skills
- Formation of lasting friendships and professional networks
- Pet projects (like caring for "Zuzu" the injured puppy)
¶ Coliving
- ~150 long-term residents (matching Dunbar's number)
- Organic formation of "group houses" (2-10 people)
- Shared coworking spaces, meals and social activities
- Movie nights and informal gatherings
- Community facilities
- Focus on holistic well-being (physical, mental, career, community)
- Lasting relationships that extend beyond the event
- Some unique living spaces (including boats as group houses)
- Exposure to diverse perspectives
- Skill-sharing and learning opportunities
- Network building
- Lifestyle experimentation
- Project development opportunities
- Access to feedback and collaboration
- Real-world testing ground for ideas
- Connection to innovation communities
¶ Coworking
- Central quiet co-working space
- Additional work areas in cafes and shared spaces
- Regular hackathons aligned with weekly themes
- Informal collaboration opportunities
- Project incubation environment
¶ Curation
- Referral based invitation system
- 8 core organizers, each inviting ~15 residents
- Each resident can invite 2 guests
- Additional residents chosen through application process
- Track leads influence attendee/speaker selection
- Focus on maintaining community standards
- Balanced approach to conflict resolution
¶ Typical Day
- Morning: Wellness activities
- Daytime: Work and workshops
- Evening: Social events and community gatherings
- Flexible schedule allowing for personal choice
¶ Topics
- Weekly themes
- Synthetic biology, longevity, public goods, zero knowledge, new cities/network-states, AI
- Weekend conferences aligned with weekly themes
- Rotating guests, speakers, and topics
¶ Values
- Authentic Kindness
- Mutual Respect
- Personal Growth
- Freedom
¶ Community Governance
- Informal leadership structures
- Community-driven decision making
- Focus on experimentation with social structures
- Emphasis on personal autonomy
¶ Notable Innovations
- Zupass: Identity system using zero-knowledge proofs
- Community Structure: Blend of planned and bottom-up organization
- Dining: Longevity-focused meal program based on Bryan Johnson's Blueprint
¶ Demographics
- Internationally diverse (no country >33% of attendees)
- Primary demographics: young professionals, digital nomads, focused on innovative tech fields
¶ Challenges and Considerations
- Balancing local integration with temporary community
- Managing group dynamics
- Sustainability of the model
- Accessibility and inclusivity
- Cultural sensitivity in different locations
¶ Recordings
- Yudkowsky vs. Plato: can language models possess knowledge?
- What ZK can do for us: Privately Authenticating Real People (without third parties) and Auditing ML
- SuperNova and Parallelising Nova
- Using the Veil of Ignorance to Align AI Systems with Principles of Justice
- Using Cryptography to prevent human defectors in world war AGI
- Nova / IVC REPL
- How to build with Semaphore
- Manifesting “Humanity 2.0” 🔮 (in the most inclusive and effective way possible)
- Veil of ignorance to pick principles to align AI
- Scaling Ethereum with Zero Knowledge Proofs
- Longevity Zero to One: Bottlenecks to Progress & What You Can Do
- Seaside Chat: Alignment as a Layer in the Stack
- Longevity Zero to One: Computational Bio, Tools & Tech Paths
- Lattice-based crypto 101
- Reform AI Alignment
- Longevity Zero to One - 2023-05-10 1
- Build your own Private Information Retrieval
- It’s Too Late… MEV has Already Achieved AGI
- Discourse on Aging Science
- Longevity Zero to One: Bioengineering / Bioinformatics
- Zupass Builders: Presentations
- Intelligence beyond Commitment Devices
- Targeting aging directly
- Longevity Zero to One: Aging Interventions - Repair
- Ad-Hoc Session on Goblin PLONK + Nova
- CryptoXai.wtf - Vitalik
- Aging clocks, entropy, and the limits of age-reversal
- How to deploy a polygon zkEVM
- Longevity Zero to One: Models and Biomarkers
- CryptoXai.wtf - Daniel Kang
- Biobots and the Future of Biology
- Antibodies for Longevity: Leveraging Industry R&D Investments
- Hacking Zuzalu Passport Workshop #2
- Distributed Biotech for Interstellar Civilisations
- Can artificial intelligence produce art?
- Longevity Zero to One - 2023-05-09 9
- Genome Stability in Aging and Disease: New insights and therapeutic avenues
- Recent Advances in Pairing Based SNARKs
- Medicine 3.0
- Longevity Zero to One - 2023-05-09 8
- An Overview of AI Alignment Research
- Commercializing and Investing in Longevity Biotech
- Intermediate Circom Circuit Writing
- Longevity Zero to One - 2023-05-09 7
- Solving Inefficiencies in Biomanufacturing with Network States
- A Bold Attempt At Aligment: Open Agency Architecture
- Building and Investing in LongBio
- Undirected Salesman: Revealing the Mindmap
- Longevity Zero to One - 2023-05-09 5
- Intro to PPML/ZK for Healthcare
- Synthetic Biology for carbon negative manufacturing of chemicals and materials
- Renewal Bio - Renewing Human Health
- Nova Track Ad-Hoc Session: ZK Week Research Projects Discussion
- [MNE DAY 🇲🇪✨] Panel + Q&A w/ Vitalik (Zuzalu x Montenegro) (@ Dome)
- Longevity Zero to One - 2023-05-09 4
- (ZKML Panel): Accountability & Integrity in AI (via ZKML)
- Engineering Human Cells, Longevity, & the Future of Medicine
- Progressive brain tissue replacement - a key component to defeating aging.
- Blockchain use case in Africa
- Alt-Meat Design and Longevity 🐟
- Longevity Zero to One - 2023-05-09 2
- (ZKML Panel Intro) Zero to Hero on ZKML - DCBuilder
- Biology in the Built Environment: Bio Based Concrete
- Build time
- Stem cells - A reality check on our journey to the promised land
- Longevity Advocacy Talks
- Enterprise Privacy Using ZK
- Longevity Zero to One - 2023-05-09 11
- AI-Risk & Alignment [unpanel with community-curated questions]
- Problems that Organisations in the Public Goods Space are facing, and Possible Solutions
- Fixing a broken drug development pipeline
- Long Term View on Longevity: A Chat with Dave Gobel
- Zuzalu Townhall Activation - 2023-05-02
- Intro to Nova
- Building a Network State
- How crypto people help AI alignment with Nate Soares from MIRI
- Public Good Funding- WTF?
- Reproductive longevity - Opportunities and Importance
- Immunology, Machine Learning and Building a Universal Vaccine
- Zuper Stable Meetup
- Next steps on the Polygon zkEVM
- A Charter City and Digital Freezone in Zanzibar
- Longevity Zero to One: Research and Experimentation
- Alternative Justice system
- Consent Layer for AI Data in Art & Music
- Debate: How to Fund Ethereum Contributors
- Towards real-time, live cell oocyte quality assessments to determine reproductive aging
- Building the Bionetwork state
- Build a ZK circuit in Halo2 - the easy way
- Nate AI-risk pills Vitalik
- New Cities and Network States - Takeaways
- Tech stack: Identity & Citizenships
- Communication, consensus and power: decentralization in the age of GFMs
- Longevity Zero to One: Science Pitfalls
- Retro Public Harms and Behavioral Game Theory
- Introduction to Medical Biostasis
- PLEX: building an operating system for networked scientific organizations
- Zuzalu Townhall
- Crowdfunded Prizes for Public Goods - a De-risked Alternative to Grants
- Gene Therapy Clinical Trials in Honduras
- Technical Stack: Smart Treaties
- Longevity Zero to One - 2023-05-08 9
- Token Registries & AI Gov
- Hypercerts and Impact Certification - Holke Brammer
- Bioelectricity & Aging
- Foundations for Building Network States
- Sociocracy for a Network State Alliance
- Hacking Zuzalu Passport Workshop #1
- From Estonia to Prospera
- Longevity Zero to One - 2023-05-08 8
- BS detection for LLMs with Nicholas Brigham Adams
- Technological guarantees: what does it provide?
- Presenting Michael Smith - Inventor of a revolutionary regenerative technology (Regen AI - DeSci - Blockchain - Public good)
- Longevity Interventions - Which make sense and which don't?
- Connecting Blockchain and Biology
- Intro: Folding Scheme Math Building Blocks
- Why covid is still a problem, and what we can do about it
- Cities and Technology
- A Bold Alignment Attempt: Open Agency & World Simulations
- Longevity Zero to One - 2023-05-08 7
- Digital Communities
- Celebrate Coordination Mechanisms with Kevin Owocki
- Programming Biology and the Biofoundry Model
- The union of Crypto and Longevity
- Deploy your own on-chain zkml models with ezkl
- Zuzalu Townhall Activation - 2023-04-25
- Longevity Zero to One - 2023-05-08 6
- Virtue Ethics & AI with Rob Knight
- Indigenous Self- Determination
- Legal Innovation for new cities
- Public Goods Public Perception
- All Atoms are local: building biotic futures
- The Longevity Molecule
- Fishbowl: How each of us can contribute
- New Jurisdictions for Longevity and Medical Innovation - Day 3 - pitch day 6
- Zuzalu Town Hall Activation
- Intro Trustworthy AI - AI alignment overview
- Longevity Zero to One - 2023-05-08 5
- Charter Cities
- Africa: Tapping the continent's talent - Panel
- Public Goods Funding: the Race to the Bottom
- Introduction to Synthetic Biology
- Immune regulation of senescent cells, the immune-based senotheraputics coming of age
- Biotesting and how to guide your longevity focused actions
- New Jurisdictions for Longevity and Medical Innovation - Day 3 - pitch day 5
- How can we use blockchain and AI to amplify environmental protection for the Tara River?
- Consciousness, Physicalism, Idealism, and AI risk with Hareesh
- Longevity Zero to One - 2023-05-08 4
- Proto-Network State Coordi-Nations: Intentional Communities
- Network unknown
- Protocol Guild: Funding Ethereum's Core Protocol Work
- Damage Repair and Robust Mouse Rejuvenation
- Biology of aging
- New Jurisdictions for Longevity and Medical Innovation - Day 3 - pitch day 4
- Zuzalu Townhall Activation - 2023-04-11
- Honduras' path to decentralization
- Longevity Zero to One - 2023-05-07 9
- Practical Cookbook: how to build a Network State Coordi-Nation?
- Zero Knowledge Machine Learning 201
- Optimism RPGF round 2 recap + learnings
- Longevity Biotech Conference Opening
- Philosophy Part 1
- New Jurisdictions for Longevity and Medical Innovation - Day 3 - pitch day 3
- Network States x Technology (Afropolitics)
- (Extitutional) Synthesis of what we talked about yesterday
- ZKML 101: How I Learned to Start Worrying and Love Use-Cases
- Longevity Zero to One - 2023-05-07 8
- What is a city and how does it work?
- Viruses staying in the human body long-term: drivers of aging
- Sergio Ruiz: Reprogramming
- New Jurisdictions for Longevity and Medical Innovation - Day 3 - pitch day 2
- Waterway Fireside Chat - A Decentralized Society That’s Built with Biology
- Longevity Zero to One - 2023-05-07 7
- Zero Knowledge Machine Learning 101: Under the Hood
- Introduction to Free Cities
- Neuroscience & brain health
- New Jurisdictions for Longevity and Medical Innovation - Day 3 - pitch day 1
- Longevity intro Day 1 - Aubrey de Grey
- Longevity Zero to One - 2023-05-07 3
- Plurality & AI alignment with Divya & Saffron - CIP
- Welcome and Introductions
- The Economics of Network State Coordi-nations: Funding the Network State Coordi-Nations
- Advancing Lifespan: Phased Wave Innovations in Laser and Ultrasound Technologies
- New Jurisdictions for Longevity and Medical Innovation - Day 3 - pitch day
- Longevity intro Day 1 - Elisabeth Roider
- Longevity Zero to One - 2023-05-07 10
- Introduction to ZK and Adjacent Cryptography for Machine Learners
- The Economics of Network State Coordi-Nations: Mutualism and Solidarity
- Open-source Vaccines to Prevent Pandemics and Mitigate The End of Medicine
- New Jurisdictions for Longevity and Medical Innovation - Day 2, part 2
- Longevity intro Day 1 - Adam Gries
- Panel on new governance x Zuzalu’s future
- Longevity Zero to One - 2023-05-07 1
- High Level Overview of (Technical) AI Alignment approaches
- The Economics of Network State Coordi-Nations: Network State Coordi-Nation as Post-capitalist system
- Hoow Plant Based Meals, Movements, & Mindsets Can Cure Disease 🥗
- New Jurisdictions for Longevity and Medical Innovation - Day 2, part 1
- Prepare and Ideate on HackZuzalu projects
- Longevity Zero to One: Longevity Landscape / Industry
- Panel on AI risk with Jaan Tallinn
- Interface with the Commons
- Implementing Collective Intelligence
- How to start a country
- Sense-making Sessions
- Longevity Zero to One: Aging Biology
- Introduction to AI/ML & Decentralizing the Stack
- Interface with the Market
- Why We Need Zero-Knowledge Machine Learning
- New Jurisdictions for Longevity and Medical Innovation - Day 1, part 3
- How digital communities intersect with legacy countries
- Longevity Zero to One: General Biology
- Think beyond the ‘Twitter box’; Reimagine social networks in the age of AI and Network States & coordi-nations
- Interface with the State
- New Jurisdictions for Longevity and Medical Innovation - Day 1, part 2
- New Cities / Communities in the US
- Why Decentralizing AI Matters + Free Access to a No Code AI App Builder
- Where are we now? Civilizational transitions and the role of the commons in cosmolocalism
- Lightning Talk – AI Data Provenance
- New Jurisdictions for Longevity and Medical Innovation - Day 1, part 1
- Conversation with Patri Fridman on actual new cities
- Hack your own genome workshop, part I
- The Future of AI and Crypto with Illia, Co-Founder NEAR
- Talk: Definitions, Taxonomy and Criteria
- The role of crypto infrastructures in the next civilizational transition
- How Meta-Aggregation of Credentails Enables A New Wave of Social Crypto
- Role of Blockchain On Personalized AI Experiences
- Keynote: “The Rise of Network State Coordi-Nations”
- Opening Remarks
- Critique of the Network State, as delineated by Balaji Srinivasen
- The Essence of Crypto Art'
- Artist panel and insights into the creative process
- Demystify ZK panel: ZK and Social Applications
- How Will AI Radically Transform Medicine Within our Lifetimes?
- Walkthrough of the frontier of neurotech (technologies, companies, scientific breakthroughs)
- Artist Talks and Presentations
- Bringing trust online
- How and Why Communities Should Own their AIs
- Why neurotech is maybe the only thing that matters
- Implementing Sumcheck Protocols
- AI Fireside Chat with Vitalik & Juan Benet
- Leveraging Validity Rollups: Building on Starknet Today
- Bringing Proof Singularity with NEBRA
- MACI Workshop
- zkml
- Zuzalu 2024 plans
- Thor: basic zero to "this is a circuit" and why work
- stablishing a Web3 immune system: a Comprehensive Overview of the Security and Attack Vectors in Blockchain
- Opening Remarks
- Why the Science System is Failing Us and How DeSci Offers Hope
- Getting Started With ZK
- Interactive game theory
- Ethereum Alignment and Landscape panel
- Mechanism Design and Community Activation Pathways for Public Goods
- Plasma Workshop
- Zupass
- Trust Matching - decentralised social consensus mechanism for knowledge base by Ethereum Community Fund
- Quadratic Funding and Private, Collusion-Resistant Voting
- Discreetly
- New Forms of Venture Mutualism
- Application & Novel Interfaces
- Proof of Email
- Programmable Attestations Part I
- Fireside Chat: What Can Technologists Do to Fix a Fractured Web?
- Opening Remarks
- Designing ZK Tooling for Community Initiatives
- Decentralzied Social Protocols
- How New ZK App Ideas can Aid the Commons
- How to be Radically social?
- Landscape of public goods funding opportunities
- Chinese Speaking World: An Example of Network Coordination Beyond Nation State
- Reputation and Trust in Open Networks
- Patterns and Mechanic Designs for Digital Public Spaces
- Opening Remarks
¶ Photos
¶ Expand
¶ See also
Zuzalu.city (Zuzalu Software)