Ray Svitla's Context Obesity Framework

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Ray Svitla is a fractional CMO and network-state researcher based in Lisbon. Born in Belarus, he fled two dictatorships before building WAKA dating app (100k users), organizing events with Vitalik Buterin, and helping clients raise $25M. Now he runs a 7-year project to accelerate value-based network states through 404 Embassy.

His “Context Obesity” framework explains why AI tools fail to reduce cognitive load. Not burnout. Overloaded working memory.

The Context Obesity Problem

From his HackerNoon article:

“AI doesn’t plug into a system - it plugs into chaos.”

The framework reframes common symptoms:

Symptom	Traditional Diagnosis	Context Obesity Lens
Exhaustion after AI sessions	Burnout	Working memory overflow
Forgetting what AI said	Poor focus	Context never captured
Repeating prompts	AI limitation	No personal system prompt
Decision paralysis	Overthinking	Too many open loops

AI tools amplify whatever system (or lack of system) you already have. Adding Claude to chaos produces faster chaos.

The Three-Step Fix

Svitla’s methodology:

1. Capture

Everything that enters your mind goes into one inbox. Not organized. Just captured.

Daily capture:
- Voice memos
- Screenshots
- Quick notes
- AI conversation exports

2. Structure

Weekly review to process the inbox:

Action	Rule
Delete	No longer relevant
Do	Under 2 minutes
Defer	Add to task list
File	Goes into notes

This is GTD, but applied specifically to AI-generated content and insights.

3. Personal System Prompt

Build a document that represents your current state:

Active projects
Current priorities
Relevant context
Decision criteria

Feed this to AI at session start. Svitla calls this moving from “Personal OS to Founder OS to Civic OS.”

The 404 Embassy Atlas

Svitla’s main project applies similar thinking to governance:

404 Embassy Atlas is an open-source database mapping network states, charter cities, and DAOs using the EPNC (Embassy Protocol for Network Cartography) classification framework.

Layer	Purpose
Data collection	Structured research on governance experiments
Classification	EPNC taxonomy for comparing entities
Visualization	Observable-based interactive maps

Same pattern as personal productivity: capture chaos, apply taxonomy, make it searchable.

Key Quotes

From his writing:

“The right to audit systems that govern your life is THE right.”
“Phones extended our hands; AI extends intent.”

Key Takeaways

Principle	Implementation
Externalize working memory	Capture before organizing
AI amplifies your system	Build system first, add AI second
Weekly review is non-negotiable	Process inbox, update system prompt
Context is compounding	Your personal system prompt grows with you

Links

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