How the ex-NIHILO research hierarchy works

In science, there has long been a system of roles that determines who participates in research and how. These are not just positions - these are levels of responsibility, competence and contribution to the overall result. It is this logic that we took as the basis of the platformex NIHILO.

We didn't come up with the structure from scratch. We adapted the academic model to the reality of consciousness research - living, practical, verifiable through data.

Why academic hierarchy

In classical science, research groups are built on the principle of nested responsibility: there are those who ask the question and are responsible for it, and those who help answer it. Each level knows its role, its tasks and its boundaries.

This structure solves a specific problem: when data is collected by hundreds of people with varying levels of experience, you need a system that ensures the quality and integrity of that data. This is why research institutes have Principal Investigators, Co-Investigators, Research Associates and Participants.

The ex NIHILO platform has the same logic. Only instead of laboratories there is practice. Instead of devices there are neural interfaces and biometric trackers. Instead of hypotheses about the external world - research into one’s own consciousness.

Platform as an institution

Before talking about individual roles, it is important to understand what stands above the entire hierarchy.

ex NIHILOis not just an application or service. This is a research environment: it sets measurement protocols, data verification standards, ethical standards and a methodological frame. All participants - from the newly registered newcomer to the platform founder - operate within this environment and contribute to a single research base.

The platform is an institution in the same sense that a university is an institution for its researchers.

Roles and their verification

Six layers - from the entry point to the source of the entire network. Each with their own task, their own boundaries and their own way of confirmation. Further - in order, from bottom to top.

Research Participant - research participant

This is the entry point. A person registers on the platform, connects the device, and becomes a participant in the study. Not in a metaphorical sense, but in a literal sense: from this moment the platform begins to record its basic indicators, formingpoint A.

Verification here is minimal on purpose. The barrier to entry should be low because exploration begins with a simple decision: start observing yourself.

Research Participant can remain at this level for as long as desired. For many, this is an independent and full-fledged format: personal monitoring of physiological and psychological indicators without inclusion in anyone else’s program. For others, it's the first step toward deeper exploration.

Research Associate - researcher

A Research Associate is the same research participant, but included in the program of a specific master. The difference is not in the level of access or in the set of tools. The difference is in context: data is now collected not simply for introspection, but through a structured research process with time points, protocols and feedback.

Verification is simple: the master (PI) adds the participant to his research group on the platform. This is a conscious two-way action - the master takes responsibility for support, the participant agrees to a structured path.

A Research Associate is a person who has made the decision to go deeper. Not just observe, but explore.

Co-Investigator - co-researcher

Co-Investigator occupies a special place in the structure of the platform. This is not a master with students and not an ordinary participant. This is a consulting researcher: he is deeply immersed in methodology, works with his own data, but does not maintain his own method.

Its role is to diagnose, verify and support. Co-Investigator helps PIs understand the data, interpret the results, and more accurately structure their work with participants. He is also the driving force behind the growth of the platform: Co-Investigators are the ones most often bringing new artists into the ecosystem.

Verification at this level has two paths.

The first one is external:a person purchases one of the platform’s neural interfaces and signs a partnership agreement. The presence of the device is fundamental here: Co-Investigator must work with real data, and not theoretically.

The second is internal:a master (PI) can connect his advanced student as a Co-Investigator to participate in his own research. This occurs when a participant has grown beyond the RA role but is not yet ready or willing to launch their own method.

Each Co-Investigator is connected on the platform with one partner - the same Co-I. This pair works together: they see each other's data, can conduct joint sessions and - importantly - serve as a living example of what research looks like from the inside. For a potential master who still has doubts, such a pair is the best demonstration of the platform in action.

Principal Investigator - chief researcher

Principal Investigator is a master. A person who leads his own author's method on the platform and accompanies others in their research.

Verification here is different from previous levels. There is no need to pass an exam or undergo certification in the classical sense. Instead, there is structured onboarding: the master registers his method on the platform, follows the connection protocol and starts working. There are instructions, the path is clear.

This is a fundamental decision. We proceed from the fact that a person who comes to the PI level is already a specialist in his field - a psychologist, coach, somatic therapist, practitioner. The platform does not evaluate his competence from scratch. It provides him with a tool to make his work measurable, verifiable, and embedded in a broader research context.

Principal Investigator is responsible for its participants: for the quality of their data, for the correctness of the protocols, for the interpretation of the results. This is the essence of the role of the principal investigator - not just leading people through the practice, but doing it within a scientific frame.

Senior Investigator - senior researcher

Senior Investigator is the level that occurs when a master grows beyond his own research group and begins to build a network. He doesn't just lead the participants - he leads other masters.

At the current stage of the platform, this status is assigned personally: these are people whose methodological contributions and experience with the platform have already been verified by history. Senior Investigator works in direct contact with Chief Investigator, participates in the development of methodology and ensures the quality of research processes within its PI network.

Chief Investigator - chief research manager

This is the founder of the program. The person who formulated the research question, created the methodology, and is ultimately responsible for the scientific frame of the platform.

In classical academic science, the Chief Investigator is the one who stands behind the grant, behind the program, behind the publication of the results. On the ex NIHILO platform this role is occupied byKonstantin Shelis a practitioner and researcher who has developed the ONTO NOTHING methodology for over 16 years, verified it through EEG and built a research ecosystem around it with over a thousand participants.

Chief Investigator is not part of the referral network - it is its source.

What unites all levels?

Despite all the differences in roles, there is one thing that remains unchanged at each level of the hierarchy:data.

Each platform participant - from Research Participant to Chief Investigator - works with real biometric indicators. This is not a metaphor or a marketing image. This is literally: EEG, heart rate variability, sleep indicators, neural interface data.

Data is what makes hierarchy real. Not titles or statuses in themselves - but the fact that behind each level there is a verifiable reality: measured, recorded, accessible for analysis.

This is the essence of the research platform.