Palinode

Dr. Danielle A. Layne — Founder & CEO

Dr. Danielle A. Layne (Danny), founder of our company, is driven by a bold vision to fuse rigorous philosophical inquiry with cutting-edge creative practice. A self-styled rogue academic, Layne’s passion lies in the Platonic tradition and the history of philosophy, aiming to build a platform where ancient wisdom sparks fresh dialogue with contemporary culture and technology. Beyond developing Khora, she leads dynamic projects from documentary films and the upcoming Platonic Mysticism podcast to unconventional conferences like Vital Platonism in Delphi, Greece (Summer 2025). Each venture reflects her commitment to pioneering new paths for transformative intellectual growth. A dedicated mentor, Layne empowers students to forge their own creative philosophical journeys, pushing the boundaries of how philosophy is taught and lived in the modern world.

Eli Kramer — Director of Strategic Engagement and Development

Eli Kramer is an accomplished academic leader and philosophical technology specialist working at the intersection of intercultural philosophy as a way of life, humane-centered AI/machine learning design, and global liberal arts reform. With extensive experience in leadership, program development, and strategic visioning, he has built interdisciplinary programs, managed international educational hubs, and designed thoughtful, future-oriented learning environments across continents.

At Palinode Productions, Eli coordinates outreach and engagement with potential license clients, collaborative organizations, content database partners, as well as academic publishers. He also guides the expansion of Khora’s network of contributors, collaborators, and partners. He cultivates relationships with initial content providers, ensuring their materials are properly ingested, updated, and showcased, while establishing protocols to maintain high-quality, globally representative philosophical content. Working closely with the Khora ingest team, he advances both the reach and scholarly rigor of the platform’s resources. Additionally, he engages with potential funders and impact investors, aligning partnerships with Palinode’s mission to foster ethical, imaginative, and globally connected philosophical inquiry. He also produces promotional content and manages social media communications to amplify Palinode’s reach and engagement.

LinkedIn

Jakub Fiala — Software Engineer

Jakub is an artist and creative technologist based in Berlin, specialising in audiovisual Web technologies and algorithmic art. In his practice, he enjoys misusing technology to unveil the Realm of the Weird; exposing the machines’ delicate innards and making them tell human stories. His tools include generative algorithms, field recordings, data visualisation, machine learning, 3D printing and online audience participation. His artwork has been displayed in the UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, Japan and South Korea.

At Palinode, Jakub develops Khora’s user interface, including the infrastructure delivering the web-based experience. He collaborates with our designers and artists to bring the sensory aspect of Khora to life.

fiala.space

James Titus McKain — Independent Contractor

James is a multidisciplinary UX/UI Director with over 12 years of experience blending product strategy, interaction design, and front-end development. He excels at bridging the gap between stakeholders, designers, and developers to deliver cohesive, user-centered digital experiences. His work spans industries and formats, from immersive brand activations to scalable product platforms, always rooted in strong visual systems and clear UX thinking.

For the Khora project, James will support UX strategy, design execution, and creative alignment. His development experience and product ownership background ensure a smooth handoff to engineering teams, helping translate the creative vision into a refined and accurate final experience.

Karin Valis — Mother of AI

Karin Valis is a Berlin-based machine learning engineer and writer with a deep passion for everything occult and weird. She is the AI architect behind Khora algorithm by Palinode Productions, a platform for Deep Learning Philosophy. Her work focuses mainly on finding conceptual resonances between the latest machine learning technology and the esoteric. She writes Mercurial Minutes and hosts monthly meetings of an online coven Gnostic Technology. She developed several occult algorithm prototypes, co-hosted a podcast, co-founded a fake startup, published zines and designed a tarot deck.

mercurialminutes.github.io

Sebastian F. Moro Tornese — Knowledge Ingest and Relation Curation Specialist

Sebastian F. Moro Tornese is a scholar, philosopher, and musician whose work bridges the Platonic tradition, music, and the transformative possibilities of philosophy today. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of London (Royal Holloway), where he explored cosmic harmony in Proclus’ commentaries on Plato’s Timaeus and Republic.

His research spans Neoplatonic symbolism, the harmony of the spheres, music as a non-verbal language, and dialogues between Western and Eastern thought. Postdoctoral work at Pompeu Fabra University (Barcelona) expanded his inquiry into Pythagorean and Neoplatonic thought, examining ideas of cosmic harmony and sympathy, the anima mundi (“World Soul”), and the scala naturae (“Great Chain of Being”). He has taught Medieval Philosophy, Ancient and Medieval Aesthetics, and Philosophy of Music at Pompeu Fabra University, and Rhetoric for Humanistic Journalism at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, encouraging students to experience philosophy as a way of life, particularly through art and music.

To Palinode’s Khora platform, he contributes as a content curator, selecting and organizing philosophical materials, reviewing summaries, prioritizing conceptual linkages, and providing inputs that connect music and philosophy. His contributions draw on his expertise in Neoplatonism, ancient philosophy and its reception, the history of philosophy, and intercultural dialogue, with the aspiration to bring a musically attuned way of thinking into the platform’s philosophical space.

Dr. Junko Theresa Mikuriya — Light Sensitive Material Consultant

Junko Theresa Mikuriya is a photographer, writer and academic. She is Associate Professor in Photography at the London School of Film, Media and Design, University of West London. She worked for many years as a freelance photographer in the fashion and music industries specializing in music album shoots and fashion editorial work in Asia and Europe, including Taipei, Hong Kong and London.

Her research interests include Platonism and Neoplatonism, esoteric traditions and Surrealism. She has published on topics including Roger Caillois, Hippolyte Baraduc and Chinese medicine, with photography and photographic concepts being thematically central. She has been an invited speaker at Harvard FAS-CamLab; the Centre for the Study of World Religions, Harvard Divinity School; the University of Paris-Sorbonne; Chelsea College of Art London; the Museum of Photography in Kraków and was co-editor (with Michelle Henning) of a special issue of the journal photographies (2021). Her photographic work has been exhibited at shows in Adelaide, Taipei, and most recently the Italian Cultural Institute London where she was one of five artists included in the Poetry & Magic: Celebrating Anita Seppilli exhibition. She is the author of A History of Light: The Idea of Photography (Bloomsbury, 2016), a book that investigates the relationship between photography, light and philosophy.

To Palinode she contributes by elements of preliminary design and also inputs through a working bibliography of emerging research on aspects of AI and the humanities.