PROTOTYPING
Experiment in Public. Prototype with Purpose.
At Columbia DSL, prototyping isn’t just a step in production — it’s how we ask questions, explore the future, and learn by making.
We call it open prototyping: a collaborative, do-it-with-others (DIWO) approach that invites artists, technologists, storytellers, and curious minds of all skill levels to create in public, try things out, and iterate.
The goal isn’t to make perfect things. It’s to create art, experiences, tools, and systems that provoke dialogue, challenge assumptions, and open new ways of thinking.
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Prototype Your Own
You don’t need permission. You don’t need to be an expert.
All you need is a question — and the willingness to explore it through making.
Want to get involved?
Start your own decentralized experiment
Fork one of Columbia DSL’s public prototypes
Remix ideas, make art, tell stories, build tools, — and share what you learn
Have something to contribute? We’d love to see what you make.
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Prototype With Columbia DSL
Anyone can prototype with us.
Here an example of what that can look like:
Last Human
An open generative world project exploring the Dead Internet theory by members of the Columbia DSL.
Last Human is a sprawling, open-world narrative experiment. Set in a collapsing simulation where synthetic identity, deception, and machine hallucinations shape experience, players enter an eerie, post-human world where AI tests your reality — and your role in it. From browser-based games like Human vs Bot to decentralized lore-building and performative NFT minting, The Last Human is an invitation to co-create the end — and rebirth — of the internet.
It’s a prototype in speculative infrastructure: How do we build new worlds while unbuilding the old?
For more info on Last Human check out our art zine meets prototyping journal. Available on Metalabel a collaborative publishing platform.
Last Human is released under a Creative Commons Zero Public Domain license and is a collaboration with MAD ARTS.
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AN EXAMPLE OF A PROJECT THAT BENEFITS FROM PROTOTYPING
Where There’s Smoke
A public art project powered by grief, participation, and blockchain
Created by Lance Weiler (aka culturehacker), Where There’s Smoke blends memoir, ritual, and emerging tech. The latest version — on view at Ryan Lee’s RLWindow along the High Line September 2nd to December 20th — invites passersby to contribute via text. Their reflections are added to a growing collage and recorded on the Solana blockchain as a kind of digital memory trace meets tombstone.
Public interaction + blockchain integration = participatory storytelling at scale.
Previous iterations included:
A 3,000 sq ft installation that generated data for a drop on Code Canvas
Performative mints at Lincoln Center, Portland Art Museum & Art Basel Miami - Solana Residency
This is what prototyping can do: spark connection, invite collaboration, and evolve over time.
Where There’s Smoke will be sharing case study materials, code and interviews to help inspire your next experiment.
Decentralized Futures
is a collaboration between
Columbia DSL & the Solana Foundation