Our Mission
Building better AI by better understanding people.
At Panalogy Lab, our mission is to unlock the transformative power of Social AI. We design AI systems grounded in real-world human behavior—flexible, adaptive, and aligned to human needs.
We’re guided by three beliefs:
- Science-first: Every product we build is underpinned by empirical research.
- Human-centered: We prioritize the complexity and dignity of human life in every system we design.
- Exploration-driven: Our best tools have come from curiosity and experimentation.
👉 Learn more: What is Social AI?
Our Journey
From curiosity to capability.
- Late 2022: Formed our interdisciplinary founding team.
- Early 2023: Released the first prototype of LifeOS.
- Mid 2023: Released the first prototype of SurveyLM.
- 2024: First research publication/s using our tools.
- Late 2024: Joined the Inductive accelerator program.
- 2024–25: Launching pilots and expanding Social AI offerings into education, R&D, and startup ecosystems.
Meet The Core Team
Panalogy Lab is led by five Co-Founders who bring together academic excellence, start-up drive, technical capability, and cross-sector experience. United by a shared vision, we build socially impactful AI solutions with agility and purpose.
Coined by Benno as "a home for the mind," Panalogy Lab is our creative outlet for applying behavioural insight and AI innovation to real-world challenges.
Professor Benno Torgler
Co-Founder/Director
Benno is a leading behavioural economist and social science researcher, known for founding QUT's Centre for Behavioural Economics and co-leading the ARC BITA Centre. With over 300 academic contributions, he brings deep interdisciplinary insight and policy engagement experience. As Panalogy Lab's Director, Benno helps shape the research vision and AI strategy that underpin our social impact work.
Dr. Steve Bickley
Co-Founder/Operations
Steve is a behavioural economist, electrical engineer and systems thinker with expertise in AI, policy design, and complexity science. He leads operations and product strategy, ensuring our work remains grounded in research excellence while delivering real-world value. His experience spans public health, education, sports, politics, and emerging tech, making him a versatile force in shaping Panalogy’s vision and business impact.
Dr. Ben (Ho Fai) Chan
Co-Founder/Data Science
Ben is a data scientist with a background in scientometrics and the science of science. His work uncovers patterns in behaviour, mobility, and knowledge networks, with publications in top journals like Nature and Scientometrics. At Panalogy Lab, Ben leads the design of robust AI pipelines and analytical methods, ensuring our solutions are both rigorous and scalable.
Bang Dao
Co-Founder/Technology
Bang is a full-stack technologist with a decade of experience building scalable digital infrastructure. As Co-Founder of EoH.io and lead engineer at several startups, he brings deep expertise in IoT, DevOps, and AI deployment. At Panalogy Lab, Bang leads tech implementation, ensuring we deliver efficient, robust, and cost-effective AI systems.
Dr. Son Tran
Co-Founder/Design
Son is a computational designer and systems theorist with experience in machine learning, symbolic logic, and auction simulation. He has led innovative projects blending academic insight with real-world application, including biological computing and policy co-evolution modelling. At Panalogy Lab, Son drives the design of cognitively aligned AI systems that bridge human and machine understanding.
What Makes Us Different
Why Panalogy Lab?
- Real behaviour modelling: We don’t just prompt LLMs—we study real decisions and attitudes.
- Scientific & ethical rigour: Our tools are grounded in methods from behavioural science and ethics.
- Flexible, usable tools: We create plug-and-play AI solutions for real-world integration.
- Alignment-focused: We design agents that aren’t just capable—but trustworthy and aligned.
Collaborations & Partners
Building with a global network of institutions and supporters.
Our team and tools are trusted across domains—from research pilots to product accelerators.
View the full partner list at 🏠 Home
What Does “Panalogy” Mean?
A synthetic term, for a powerful way of thinking.
Panalogy (n.) — from pan (“all”) and analogy (“relational structure”) — is a method of insight generation through deep, multi-contextual comparison.
It’s how we work: by bridging fields, modeling alignment, and building tools that integrate systems and people.