The Pulpit

Humane AI Philosophy & Action

AI should amplify human creativity, not replace human purpose.

The Manifesto

We stand at a crossroads. Artificial intelligence has arrived not as the distant future we imagined, but as the present we must navigate. The question is not whether AI will change everything—it already has. The question is: for whom?

I believe in humane technology—technology that serves human flourishing rather than corporate extraction. Technology that creates opportunities rather than eliminates them. Technology that amplifies what makes us human rather than replacing it.

This is not anti-technology. This is pro-human.

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Core Beliefs

  • AI as amplifier, not replacement. The best use of AI is to make humans more capable, not to make humans unnecessary.
  • Means of production, not means of extraction. AI should be a tool that individuals can wield to create value, not a mechanism for corporations to extract value from fewer workers.
  • Creativity remains human. AI can generate, but humans create. The spark of genuine creativity—the why behind the what—remains irreducibly human.
  • Accessibility over gatekeeping. AI tools should democratize capability, not concentrate it. A self-taught developer in Salmon, Idaho should have access to the same power as a Stanford graduate in San Francisco.
  • Transparency over opacity. We should understand how our tools work, what data they use, and who benefits from our interactions with them.
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AI as Means of Production

There's a narrative being pushed by some in the tech industry: AI will replace workers, and that's progress. Fewer employees, more efficiency, higher profits. The humans who remain will manage the machines.

I reject this narrative.

Instead, I advocate for AI as a means of production for individuals. Just as the printing press didn't eliminate writers but empowered more people to publish, AI should empower more people to create, build, and contribute.

A solo developer with AI assistance can now build what once required a team. A small business owner can create marketing materials that once required an agency. A student can learn at a pace and depth that once required expensive tutoring.

This is the promise of AI: not fewer humans doing more, but more humans doing what was previously impossible.

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Against Job Replacement

When a company announces it's replacing workers with AI, that's not innovation—it's extraction. It's taking the value that humans created and redirecting it to shareholders while discarding the humans themselves.

True innovation would be:

  • Using AI to help existing workers do more meaningful work
  • Creating new roles that combine human judgment with AI capability
  • Sharing productivity gains with the workers who made them possible
  • Investing in retraining rather than replacing

The companies that treat AI as a replacement for humans will find themselves with efficient machines and no soul. The companies that treat AI as an amplifier for humans will find themselves with empowered workers and genuine innovation.

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What You Can Do

  • Learn AI tools yourself. Don't wait for permission. The Library has free resources to get started.
  • Use AI to create, not just consume. Build something. Write something. Make something that didn't exist before.
  • Advocate for humane implementation. When your workplace adopts AI, push for augmentation over replacement.
  • Support human creators. Value the human element in the work you consume and purchase.
  • Stay critical. Question narratives that frame human obsolescence as inevitable or desirable.
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Further Reading

These voices have shaped my thinking on humane technology:

The future is not written. We write it together.