Dembrane Newsletter: Celebrating our first half of 2024

Dear Dembrane Community,

We're excited to share our progress on shaping the future of participation in the first half of 2024. It's been a period of significant growth, innovation, and impact for Dembrane. Here's a snapshot of our journey so far:

🚀 Explosive Growth

Dembrane is pioneering AI-enhanced participatory democracy tools that make large-scale, meaningful civic engagement possible and accessible. We've experienced 5x growth in our customer base compared to last year, serving 20 new clients across various sectors including government, housing, healthcare, and education. This expansion has allowed us to give voice to people participating in one of the 450+ conversations using our participatory processes.

👥 Team Expansion

We've grown from 2 to 5 team members, enabling us to better serve our clients and push our mission forward. We’ve had a blast together, and we are looking forward to expanding the team more in the second half of this year. Know anyone or want to join yourself? Check out our vacancies!

🏆 Recognition and Funding

🎤 Spreading the Word

“I feel like we really want to have these conversations with people because they’re so rich, and there are these hidden nuggets that you might not find in your survey.” Evelien - on the PlayPod podcast

🛠️ Product Development

🌱 Responsible Innovation

As we grow, we remain committed to responsible innovation in AI-enhanced participation. Our approach focuses on harnessing AI's benefits while actively mitigating risks:

• Data Privacy: We process audio in-house and provide powerful anonymisation tools, helping you prioritise ideas over identities.

• AI Influence: Our system is designed to record and summarise discussions, with clear labeling of AI-generated content.

Spotlight: BrainWaves Project

Our recent project in Eindhoven demonstrated how technology can enhance civic engagement while preserving human agency. In one evening, we facilitated AI-assisted discussions among 50+ participants, collecting 20 hours of conversation. The result? 96% of participants reported a positive experience!

"This form of communication, with AI interventions providing suggestions, ideas, and potential solutions, could become very important in 'connecting' people and also in making discussions more accessible to everyone." - BrainWaves participant

To learn more about our approach to ethical AI and participation innovation, visit our ethical AI page.

🔬 Ongoing Research

While we're gearing up for our upcoming product release, our team remains committed to pushing the boundaries of AI in democratic processes. Here's a glimpse into our ongoing and future research:

Excited about these research directions? Whether you're interested in joining our team, partnering on a project, or contributing in other ways, we'd love to hear from you. Contact bram@dembrane.com to get involved.

🔮 Looking Ahead

As we move into the second half of 2024, we're focused on refining our product, expanding our reach, and continuing to innovate in the space of AI-enhanced democracy. We're also super excited to further develop our responsible AI practices, ensuring our growth aligns with our commitment to ethical innovation in participatory processes. Stay tuned for more updates!

Thank you for your continued support and interest in Dembrane.

Together, we're shaping the future of participation.

Best regards, The Dembrane Team

Want to learn more or get involved? Visit our website at www.dembrane.com or follow us on LinkedIn for the latest updates.