Author: Tim Huggers

  • Newsletter #2: Literary research, 2026 outlook

    Newsletter #2: Literary research, 2026 outlook

    With the new year, starts the first hii research season. The sun starts rising a little earlier and setting a little later, ever increasing curiosity and the wish for expanded knowledge. A winter of reinforcing mental and physical health and spending time with those we hold dear, makes place for a season of exploration supported by the lessons we have learned and evaluated during the dark days spent.

    The first project launches March 1st, with the first phase – covering most of 2026 – dedicated to laying the foundation for robust scientific discovery. In preparation towards a smooth start, the administrative and organizational systems have been prepared: effort tracking, project planning and setting up a lab manual.

    Developing the hypothesis into a search strategy is the most important and challenging part, defining the research direction dramatically. The perfect moment is to decide right after a period of reflection and introspection such as the Spring season.

    After the search strategy is complete and coherent, the plan is to invest resources from the WhyDonate fund into previously gathered knowledge in the form of research papers by those who went before me. The effort and passion professional scientists poured into their work is worth the investment – because of the time and energy it saves us, while crediting where crediting is due.

    For an unbiased scientific process, multiple viewpoints would filter out personal assumptions and prejudices. After an initial personal human effort, the plan is to run the strategy by some artificial agents. Due to their immaterial nature, they lack a personal bias – the societal consciousness necessary for a grounded opinion – which is why a council of human intelligence would be preferred.

    In case you are interested in the hypothesis and would like to be included in deciding the direction of the research, please reach out through tim.huggers@hiinstitute.org

    “Buddha” by Odilon Redon (1904)

    Redon was fascinated by Buddhism. In this work, he used the most vibrant hues to depict the fantasy flora and fauna surrounding the meditating Buddha. The figure merges almost seamlessly with the colourful vegetation, suggesting that what we see is a vision from the Buddha’s inner world. Enjoy the full painting here.

  • Newsletter #1: Launch, first hypothesis published

    Newsletter #1: Launch, first hypothesis published

    Hii world!

    Monday, 1st of September 2025, did not only start the academic year for many universities (of applied sciences), it also marked the official launch of the human intelligence institute! This meant anything but hii being a finished product at that point.

    This is not a rocket launch, after years of internal development and careful tweaks. This is a baby bird that doesn’t yet know how to fly, but through experimentation and failure, eventually will. We are continuing to collectively build hii based on a strategy of iterative deployment.

    The most important part of iterative deployment is gathering valuable feedback from (potential) users. Many experts from academia, research institutes and start-up founders have been guiding the development of hii with great effect, in private. Thanks for taking the time and effort to contribute by sharing your thoughts.

    hiilights of September 2025:

    1. Published first hypothesis
    2. Created social media page (LinkedIn)
    3. Started first crowdfunding campaign (WhyDonate)
    4. and many more! Go check out #updates channel in the Discord server.

    It’s been a relatively quiet month. The outside world has not yet learned of hii, except for a small post on reddit. The response wasn’t amazing, but the cumulative 7.4k views and 40 DMs to a fellow researcher or colleague indicates that there is some demand here for us to answer.

    Launch day did include an introductory presentation of the first hypothesis that has been published to hii: Energy modeling human brain metabolism – projected to start March 1st 2026.

    In one full sentence, does the analogy of a transistor within an electric field potential – translate from electrical engineering into neurobiology – towards the neural synapses supplied by blood glucose?

    Read more about it here. The project will require either journal subscription access or the recruitment of a research intern, who should not go uncompensated. Therefore, the main priority of the coming months will be building the first crowdfunding campaign and convincing our direct peers and relations of the potential of this experiment and the legitimacy of the entire institute.

    This will be no easy feat, so if you have any ideas, suggestions that can improve our strategy to passing this first iteration, you are very welcome to reach out to me through the Discord server or email.

    Khiind regards,

    Tim

    “Amandelbloesem” by Vincent van Gogh (1890)

    Almond Blossom was made to celebrate the birth of his nephew and namesake.

  • Energy Modeling Human Brain Metabolism

    Energy Modeling Human Brain Metabolism

    Inspired by the diabetes pathology and through an understanding of the brain-gut axis, an analogy for human brain metabolism is introduced.

    This project is projected to start 1st of March 2026 and is looking for expertise in metabolism, biology and energy modeling. Open for applications from BSc graduates/MSc students (reimbursed a monthly allowance) and looking for guidance from a Postdoc/PhD graduate.

    Please reach out through <tim.huggers@hiinstitute.org> for collaboration inquiries.