Adaptive Human Systems
Exploring technologies designed to make human and group experiences more responsive to changing context.
Explore Wellness →Ephemeral Agents · Wellington 2026
Adaptive intelligence supporting the human experience
Ephemeral Agents is an early-stage technology venture exploring new approaches to human-centered, adaptive and accountable intelligent systems.
Areas of exploration
Intelligence for human-centered systems
Our work spans several connected areas of exploration, each grounded in human agency, privacy and responsible design.
Responsible Agentic AI
Investigating intelligent systems designed around transparency, accountability, privacy and human agency.
Our approach →Long-Horizon Intelligence
Exploring how AI might help organizations understand complex systems, preserve institutional memory and reason across longer time horizons.
Explore the thinking →Our approach
Intelligence designed to sustain & amplify human potential
We develop systems facilitating human perception & understanding the complexities of self and the world without sacrificing privacy or dignity.
Human agency
Providing knowledge & experiences in modes that bolster our understanding of self, our communities, and the systems that affect us.
Privacy by design
Hardware & software minimizing attack surfaces through mechanical, electronic, and architectural design.
Transparency
Delivering validated observation of data flows, reasoning, decisions, and behaviors of intelligent systems and our interactions with them.
Exploration
Exploring liminal regions for novel techniques ameliorating the human condition.
Featured exploration
Ephemeral Agents · WellnessExplore Wellness
Technology illuminating our inner dimensions & inter-group dynamics
Exploring the boundaries of science, psychology, and technology. Deepening our understanding of the signals & dynamics which motivate us, and empowering our capacity to modulate & enhance our performance.
Live experiences & performanceInnovative techniques for observing the interplay of individuals and groups.
Teams & collaborationExamining group synchrony, entrainment, engagement, and interaction by novel means.
Group wellnessUnique experiences fostering a shared sense of calmness as the basis for more immersive engagement & capacity for joy.
Building from Wellington
A new chapter in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Ephemeral Agents is establishing its next chapter in Wellington. The city's unusual proximity between technology, government, research, universities, creative communities and public institutions makes it an exciting environment in which to explore responsible and human-centered applications of artificial intelligence.
We're looking forward to learning from—and contributing to—the community.
Neurodiverse · Empath: AI Builder · Inventor · MusicianFounder
Chand Calnaido
Exploring the intersection of artificial intelligence, human experience and complex adaptive systems.
Current work spans a portfolio of designs, early-stage inventions and experiential systems, with recurring interests in human understanding & agency, privacy, responsible AI, AI governance, government innovation, geopolitics, and understanding of complex systems.
Beginning in 2027, Chand will undertake postgraduate study in artificial intelligence at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington.