About
About Us
The University of Oregon’s IF Lab brings together innovators, creatives, and researchers to examine the impact of emerging technologies on the future of work, organizations, and society. The IF Lab’s interdisciplinary mission is three-fold.
First, we inquire.
We delve into cutting-edge technological innovations to understand their disruptive capacity and brainstorm possible use cases.
Next, we build.
In collaboration with external partners, we develop AI and blockchain applications to address real-world problems faced by businesses, universities, and government entities.
Finally, we experiment.
To inform theory and practice, we deploy novel technological applications and assess their implications across four focal areas:
Agentic Representation
We explore the development of AI agents that can autonomously reason, adapt, and interact with their environments. Projects focus on advancing decision-making, autonomy, and ethics in agent-driven systems.
Decentralized Governance
We investigate how blockchain and distributed systems enable transparent, efficient, and community-driven governance. Projects emphasize smart contracts, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), and collective decision-making.
Human-AI Interaction
We study the dynamics of collaboration between humans and AI, with a focus on critical thinking, trust, and ethical considerations. Projects cover conversational AI, augmented intelligence, interactive machine learning, and how AI systems can be designed for meaningful human engagement.
Blockchain & Business
We examine the impact of blockchain technology across a range of industries, including finance, supply chains, and digital identity. Projects explore tokenization, decentralized platforms, and strategies for real-world business adoption and scalability.
Moving Forward
At the IF Lab, we embrace curiosity and ponder the unexpected. We push the boundaries of existing theory and develop novel frameworks to explain the implications of emerging technologies on business and society. Whether inquiring, building, or experimenting, we aim to document and share our journey at each step along the way. We hope you’ll ask “what if” and partake as the process unfolds.
