Building technology in service of humanity.
Ambient Intelligence designed for the human experience.
The Symbiotic Foundation is a nonprofit advancing the field of Symbiotics.
Symbiotics is the science of adaptive and ambient systems aimed around the human experience, building technology in service of humanity by protecting human agency and empowering communities through systems that evolve with us.
Our Origin Story
Established by Dr. Khizer Khaderi, a renowned neuro-ophthalmic surgeon, technologist, pragmatic futurist, and the founder of the field of Symbiotics; the Foundation anchors a global ecosystem of research, education, and innovation. Dr. Khaderi also serves as Director of the Human Perception Lab at Stanford University, where his work is shaping the future of human–machine collaboration. He is building technology in the service of humanity through ambient intelligence designed for the human experience — from smart cities to immersive learning environments.
The Foundation’s work spans research, innovation, and application, brought to life through its Education and Community programs. From curriculum design to immersive technologies, these efforts turn frontier science into real-world impact, empowering learners, shaping ethical systems, and advancing human-centered, adaptive solutions.
Community & Education
The Human Perception Project
Inspired by the Human Genome Project — a global effort to understand the makeup of humans — the Human Perception Project evolves this idea to understand how humans connect. It focuses on how people connect to themselves, to each other, and to the worlds around them: virtual, augmented, physical, and extra-planetary.
At its core, the Project centers on creating adaptive human experiences. It is building the world’s first citizen-owned neurodata infrastructure (psychometric and biometric) — protecting human agency and aligning with the Laws of Symbiotics to empower systems that evolve with us and optimize the human experience.
Gaming for Global Health
As the first flagship initiative of the Human Perception Project, Gaming for Global Health leverages the video games people already play to generate meaningful signals about human wellbeing — engaging a global community of 3.7+ billion gamers.
The program advances global research across four domains: brain health, mental health, childhood development, and healthspan. Its work spans conditions including Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia, Parkinson’s, traumatic brain injury, PTSD, depression, anxiety, ADHD, autism, and long-term human performance and healthy aging.
In partnership with the Stanford Human Perception Lab and collaborators worldwide, data generated through everyday gameplay is donated voluntarily, giving people agency over their neurodata, and providing researchers with ethically sourced data.
Centers for Symbiotics
The Foundation’s education efforts are anchored by the Center for Symbiotics at Stanford University’s Human Perception Lab, which will expand into a global network across 13 cities in partnership with universities and regional hubs worldwide.
These centers will help address the digital divide affecting 6.5 billion people (the majority of which are in the Global South) and open pathways for global participation. They will provide communities with skills to build and work with emerging ambient intelligent technologies outside of traditional tech hubs.
By scaling innovation hubs across the countries regions affected by the digital divide, the centers will empower new leaders to participate in and help build the future of Symbiotics.
“Symbiotics enables unprecedented advances in how we live, learn, and connect.”
— Dr. Khizer Khaderi MD, MPH, Founder of the Symbiotic Foundation
Join and Support
We’re building a global community committed to protecting human agency and shaping the next era of adaptive, ambient intelligence. If you’d like to partner, support our initiatives, or stay connected to the Foundation’s work, we invite you to get in touch.