About the atlas

Escape velocity is the speed at which a rocket stops falling back. A technology has one too: the point where it works well enough, cheaply enough and reliably enough to carry on by itself.

The model

• A technology is a capability with a measurable target, a statement and a scope.
• Each metric has three numbers: the best value demonstrated so far, the target with its rationale, and the physical limit where one exists.
• Gaps are classified by type, layer and severity. A gap held open by another technology points to it.
• Evidence cards carry every number: the source, a verbatim quote, the conditions and a class (established, reported, extrapolation, speculation).

The full model is in docs/model.md.

Use the data

• atlas.json: the whole atlas in one file, with gap sizes, dependents and citations (format).
• llms.txt and llms-full.txt: the atlas for language models.
• An MCP server for agents, in tools/mcp_server.py: technologies, gaps, dependencies, bottlenecks, evidence and literature search.

Cite

Cite the atlas version you used: this page shows version 65775c8 (2026-10-05). The citation metadata is in CITATION.cff. Data is under CC0 1.0, text under CC BY 4.0 and code under Apache 2.0.

Contribute

One sourced number is a real contribution. Every change, from a person or an agent, is a pull request reviewed by a person. See how to contribute.

Each domain has moderators and each tracked technology has curators. They review the changes to what they look after, and only they mark an evidence card as verified. How the roles work, and how to take one, is in GOVERNANCE.md.

The Alan Machine

The Alan Machine is an open-source book about a hypothetical supercomputer at the physical limits of computation. The atlas shares its metrics and its kinds of claim, and links each technology to the pages that discuss it.

Out of scope: weapons, dual-use research of concern, surveillance aimed at people, investment advice and medical advice.