NextSpace

By experimenting with novel tools and formats across hybrid, in-person, and virtual settings, NextSpace enlivens gatherings where people come together to learn, collaborate, and build consensus. By combining innovative event formats, custom AI tools, and a purpose-built user interface, we aim to transform how people connect and collaborate.

Vision

To become the go-to resource for educators, researchers, and event organizers who want to foster healthier communication and co-create better digital and in-person experiences.

Goals

This project is designed to build inclusive, engaging, and impactful spaces for dialogue by 

• Enabling meaningful conversations through AI-supported tools that make discussions more engaging, interactive, and rewarding
• Providing technical infrastructure for experimentation via our modular facilitation engine, which uses thoughtfully designed, LLM-powered discussion bots to create playful yet purposeful spaces
• Becoming a trusted tool for event facilitators and educators, offering flexible solutions to design more inclusive, creative, and productive group conversations.

Why This Matters

At the Applied Social Media Lab (ASML), part of the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, our mission is to bring people together across differences in experience, perspective, and communication style. We believe that creating a safer, more inclusive internet requires collective effort. Yet too often, traditional educational and academic events fall short—lacking the engagement, participation, and creativity needed to generate new ideas and real change. When audiences have limited opportunities to interact, it becomes harder to spark the connections and insights that drive innovation.

That’s why we created NextSpace, an experimental platform designed to enhance real-world conversations. Powered by AI, NextSpace adds an intelligent layer to discussions, integrating context from event topics and participant contributions. The result produces richer, more dynamic dialogue that fosters creativity, strengthens collaboration, and advances research into how technology can support healthier online and offline discourse.

How It Works

An LLM-mediated backchannel where audience members send messages and an automated agent surfaces insights to either audience members based on their questions or the event moderator. This could include summaries of audience messages and reactions that are interesting, novel, or relevant that guide audience, hosts, and speakers towards the most urgent audience contributions.

These features are powered by the LLM Engine, a flexible backend designed to enable experimentation with LLMs in a range of social environments.

Who Can Benefit

NextSpace is designed to support and drive thoughtful participation in every event:

• Audiences: Enrich the experience for those attending events by deepening learning, growing engagement, and leaving a lasting impact after the event. 
• Speakers: Provide unique audience insights to those delivering the core content of an event—whether a lecture, workshop, book talk, or panel—helping them share ideas, connect with collaborators, and receive meaningful feedback.
• Hosts & Moderators: Help event hosts and moderators curate successful events by providing insight into audience interests and adding richness to both audience and speaker experiences. 

Get Involved

Let us know if you want to try NextSpace in your classrooms or events! Reach out to asml@cyber.harvard.edu.

Team

Zach Deocadiz, Research Assistant