CURSED HELM is an independent artificial intelligence research lab based in Aotearoa New Zealand, founded by Fraser Austin. We develop experimental frameworks for autonomous AI agents, persistent memory, and multimodal information retrieval, with a focus on local-first systems and information sovereignty. We also provide specialist research and advisory services.
Research & Projects
- omniSpectral multimodal exploratory search framework using spectral graph topology to expose relationships, communities, and unexpected associations across large corpora. Combines hybrid retrieval with navigable, multiscale graph visualisation, allowing researchers to explore without knowing what they're looking for. Currently working with NZ National Library's Papers Past collections to uncover cultural and historical connections through improved OCR and cross-modal discovery. Includes an Electron playground, MCP tools, agent skills, and an HTTP API. #ragisdead
- defaultMODE persistent AI cognitive architecture with novel pressure based self-pruning memory, emergent attention, associative reasoning, and autonomous reflection. A memory system for LLMs to allow daydreaming consolidation of their expereinces. hooks exposed for easy integration into any platform. cli, tui, web, discord etc etc. #daydreamcompute #rsi
- aderpy browser-native metaTOOLS for lossy media manipulation and generation. An alt. timeline for creative software. #ripadobe
- qBERT buzzy generative chatbot built from a bidirectional BERT model, using speculative masked-token generation, semantic scoring, and dialogue fine-tuning. #BERT as a chatbot.
