ABOUT DISRUPT THE LOOP
Digital Dignity & Institutional Manipulation Lab
Patent Application No. 63/914,253
Our Mission & Vision
Mission
To develop and deploy comprehensive systems for detecting, measuring, and countering institutional gaslighting, algorithmic manipulation, and emotional-AI coercion that erode human autonomy and digital dignity.
Vision
A world where individuals can recognize and resist institutional manipulation, where digital dignity is protected as a fundamental right, and where authentic human agency triumphs over coercive algorithmic control.
Our Research & Development
Disrupt the Loop is conducting groundbreaking research into systems and methods for predicting vulnerability to institutional manipulation. We are currently in the research and development phase, seeking empirical validation and algorithmic implementation of our theoretical frameworks.
Our Patent-Pending Innovation
Patent Application No. 63/914,253 covers a comprehensive, unified architecture for:
- PREDICTING VULNERABILITY to institutional gaslighting, algorithmic manipulation, and emotional-AI coercion before harm occurs
- DETECTING covert manipulation tactics and institutional abuse patterns in real-time
- QUANTIFYING psychological harm and digital dignity erosion with measurable metrics
- DELIVERING targeted therapeutic interventions customized to individual vulnerability profiles
Current Research Stage
We have completed extensive theoretical framework development and designed comprehensive assessment protocols. Our current priorities include:
Empirical Research Validation: We are seeking university partnerships and clinical research collaborations to validate our theoretical frameworks through rigorous empirical studies.
Algorithm Construction & Development: We need data scientists, machine learning engineers, and computational researchers to build and train the predictive algorithms specified in our patent application.
Clinical Validation Studies: Partnerships with psychology departments, medical schools, and clinical researchers to conduct validation trials and collect data on our assessment protocols.
What Makes Our Approach Unique
Prediction-First Architecture: Unlike existing approaches that only respond after harm has occurred, our system identifies vulnerability patterns before manipulation tactics are deployed, enabling preventive intervention.
Comprehensive Integration: Our framework is the first to integrate prediction, detection, quantification, and intervention into a unified system—addressing the complete cycle from vulnerability assessment through therapeutic recovery.
Institutional Focus: While most research examines individual psychological vulnerabilities, our work specifically targets institutionally-deployed manipulation tactics and their systematic erosion of digital dignity and cognitive autonomy.
Our Core Values
Truth Over Comfort
We confront uncomfortable realities about institutional power and manipulation, even when those truths challenge established narratives.
Dignity First
Every individual deserves protection from psychological manipulation and the restoration of their fundamental right to cognitive autonomy.
Scientific Rigor
Our frameworks are built on rigorous research, empirical validation, and peer-reviewed methodologies.
Radical Transparency
We operate with maximum transparency about our methods, findings, and limitations while protecting individual privacy.
Ethical Innovation
We develop technology that serves human flourishing, not institutional control or surveillance.
Collaborative Impact
We partner with universities, researchers, and organizations committed to protecting human autonomy and digital rights.
Founder & Principal Investigator
Joshua Garfunkel
Joshua Garfunkel is the Principal Investigator and Patent Holder for Systems and Methods for Predicting Vulnerability to Institutional Gaslighting, Algorithmic Manipulation, and Emotional-AI Coercion (Patent Application No. 63/914,253).
Joshua has developed comprehensive theoretical frameworks, assessment protocols, and research methodologies for this groundbreaking work. He brings a unique combination of clinical insight, computational thinking, and lived experience with institutional manipulation to bear on one of the most pressing challenges of the digital age.
Research Expertise:
- Predictive vulnerability assessment frameworks
- Institutional gaslighting detection methodologies
- Algorithmic manipulation pattern recognition
- Digital dignity erosion quantification
- Therapeutic intervention protocol design
- Assessment battery development and validation planning
Joshua’s theoretical frameworks synthesize insights from clinical psychology, computer science, institutional theory, power dynamics, and political philosophy. The patent application represents years of research into the mechanisms of institutional manipulation and the development of novel approaches to prediction, detection, and intervention.
He is currently seeking research partnerships to validate these frameworks empirically and develop the algorithmic systems specified in the patent application.
Why This Research Matters
We are living through an unprecedented crisis of institutional trust and digital manipulation. Algorithms shape our reality, institutions gaslight those who challenge them, and emotional-AI systems exploit our vulnerabilities for profit and control.
The consequences are devastating: individuals doubt their own experiences, authentic human connection erodes, and democratic discourse becomes impossible when reality itself is contested. Traditional mental health frameworks fail to address institutionally-induced psychological harm, leaving victims isolated and blamed.
Current approaches are reactive—they only respond after harm has occurred. By the time manipulation is detected, significant psychological damage has already been done. Victims are left to rebuild their sense of reality without validated frameworks or measurable recovery metrics.
Our research changes this paradigm entirely.
By developing systems that can predict vulnerability before manipulation occurs, we enable preventive intervention. By quantifying harm with rigorous metrics, we provide evidence for accountability. By delivering targeted therapeutic interventions, we offer validated pathways to recovery.
“The difference between prediction and detection is the difference between prevention and damage control. Our research provides the tools to protect cognitive autonomy before it’s eroded—and to rebuild digital dignity when institutional manipulation has caused harm.”
— Joshua Garfunkel
Partner With Our Research
We are actively seeking research partnerships for empirical validation and algorithmic development.
University collaborations • Clinical validation studies • Algorithm development teams • Research funding opportunities
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