Applications are open for SFI’s 2026 Undergraduate Complexity Research (UCR) program. Are you fascinated by questions that transcend or combine disciplines? UCR is a fully funded, 10-week summer research experience for undergraduates curious about complexity science. Collaborate

Can we build a definitive science of stories? This week, a transdisciplinary group at SFI is asking: What if we treated stories as data? As networks? As science? “Stories are storehouses of knowledge, but they are also instruments of power,” says Peter Dodds, SFI External

Why guess when you can know?

How likely are you to invest in a new business? Go back to school? Ask your partner to marry you? Move to a new country? Your answers are likely to depend on your age, culture, and socioeconomic background. A new model by SFI External Professor Paul Smaldino and colleagues

Applications are open for SFI’s 2026 summer education programs.  Three residential programs in Santa Fe, NM, offering research and training opportunities in complexity science: – Undergraduate Complexity Research (UCR) / Ten-week research experience for undergraduates. Apply by

Applications open for SFI’s 2026 CSSS Journalism Fellowship. Each year, two accomplished journalists join the Complex Systems Summer School for an immersive, residential experience in complexity science. Fellows attend lectures, take part in group projects, and put routine

AI agents are moving from demos to teammates. Part I of our playbook covers the foundations: what an agent is, how it’s structured (objective, instructions, tools, content grounding), and how to spot high-impact use cases—so you can ship secure, reliable agents at scale.

SFI welcomes Postdoctoral Fellow Max Jerdee Jerdee focuses on building interpretable, unbiased methods for analyzing network data. Using tools such as Bayesian inference and related probabilistic approaches, he develops models that identify network structures while rigorously

A cell is fundamentally a container—a vessel that encapsulates life at the most basic level. Biologists believe encapsulation of chemicals may have been necessary for life to originate. But how does encapsulation occur? Is it achieved easily—or is it elusive? SFI Professor Chris

A new special issue of Philosophical Transactions B takes on one of science’s biggest questions: how life begins. Rather than retracing Earth’s history, the authors look for the universal conditions — energy, chemistry, information — that could make life possible anywhere. The

If you missed any of this year’s SFI Community Lectures, remember you can stream them anytime on our YouTube channel. The 2025 series covered diverse topics, ranging from computation and artificial intelligence to molecular biology, history, philosophy, and cognitive science.

This January

As an undergraduate researcher at SFI in 2018, Sahana Subramanyam encountered a place where ideas moved freely between disciplines and mentors encouraged exploration. Her experience in the Undergraduate Complexity Research (UCR) program helped shape her path to a Ph.D. at

Applications are now open for SFI’s 2026 CSSS Journalism Fellowship. Each year, two accomplished journalists join the Complex Systems Summer School for an immersive, residential experience in complexity science. Fellows attend lectures, take part in group projects, and put

The latest issue of SFI's monthly e-newsletter is now available. Catch up on recent research, events, and news from the Santa Fe Institute. Read it here:   https://t.co/ZWfr1QLIBV Subscribe to receive future issues: https://t.co/Lmc6lcm4Q1

SFI Resident Professor Sam Bowles has co-authored a new book of problem sets and solutions based on the new microeconomics, with applications to inequality, climate change, and other pressing issues in today’s world. Available now.

These cozy knitted stockings are perfect for keeping your feet warm on chilly winter nights. Whether you’re lounging around the house, watching TV, or wearing slippers or shoes, they add comfort and style to your everyday moments.

SFI welcomes Program Postdoctoral Fellow Shuhao Fu. Artificial-intelligence systems have made remarkable progress in recent years, but they still struggle with the kind of flexible, relational reasoning that comes naturally to humans. Fu studies how to bridge that gap. With a

What if one model could realistically predict the economy of an entire country? The entire world? A month-long working group, co-organized by SFI External Professor Doyne Farmer, made the case that agent-based models may bring this vision to life:  https://t.co/GjWz7NWcY6

SFI welcomes Complexity Postdoctoral Fellow Maike Morrison. @MaikeMorrison develops mathematical tools to quantify and compare biological variation — from species in ecosystems, to microbes in the gut, to ancestral lineages in humans. Her work draws on ecology, population

Congratulations to SFI Professor Melanie Mitchell (@MelMitchell1), a winner of the 2025 National Academies Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications (@SciCommAwards). Mitchell is recognized for her writing and podcasting on topics related to AI and

Small space, big comfort. Wayfair has stylish tables and seating that make every corner count.

Do people always act in their best interest? A new working group meeting examines how context influences people's decisions—and how seemingly irrational choices can be rational in certain contexts.  These insights could help policymakers design societal interventions that enable

Catch up on our most recent Community Lecture: “Transmission Versus Truth: What Will It Take to Make an AI as Smart as a 4-Year-Old?” with Alison Gopnik.  This was the last of six community lectures for 2025, and all are available to watch on SFI’s YouTube channel. Watch here:

Tomorrow: the final event in SFI’s 2025 Community Lecture Series! Join us for Alison Gopnik's lecture, “Transmission Versus Truth: What Will It Take to Make an AI as Smart as a 4-Year-Old?” —  7:30 pm at  The Lensic Performing Arts Center. Gopnik explores how childhood,