The name

It is the sibling of adsum, "I am present," one step further out: not merely here, but here as a participant in something larger.

Read in English it becomes inter + sum, the sum that lies between. It puts the value in the relationship rather than in either party, which is the thesis we work from. The same root gives English its word interest: that which is between us, and therefore matters.

What we believe

A human-machine team needs the person as an active, thinking participant. When people and machines communicate, collaborate, and learn from each other, the team can do more than either can alone. Most systems are built as if the person were optional. We think that is the mistake.