To advance Quantic Humanism—a socio-philosophical theoretical framework developed at the University of Miami, USA—into the realm of human preference aggregation, reasoning about philosophical problems, and formal robustness criteria for foundational problems. During the last 15+ years—with UM-Professor John W. Murphy, the PI of this proposal, has been investigating what is to be human, to be authentic, to be multicultural within diversity. In sum, how someone can act in a humane way, being humanistic. The research was done using Dusselian philosophy—alterity and Otherness, paired with holistic psychology—Maslow & Jung, and intertwining with quantum mechanics—Heisenberg, Bohm, Lupasco, Zohar, among others. We strongly believe that using quantic humanism to develop formal mathematical criteria to embed AI-agents will help develop a novel approach of AI-categorizing and algorithm making.
One of the causes of some of the global crisis today is the inability of human beings of having a dialogue with another actor—human, partner, spouse, group, city of nation-state. Transactional communication is a linear one. Relational dialogue is a complex one. Complex thinking has the same problem that ethics. It is not about knowing about ethics; the challenge is to be ethical. Some people argue that social problems need innovative, creative solutions, but they are trying to develop those new ideas from a linear mindset. We need not only to talk, write, research and publish about non-linear or complex theories, we need to—epistemologically and ontologically speaking—be complex beings, language-meaning beings. This is the closest to our deepest ‘nature’ of what is to be human. To feel, to talk, to touch and experience reality from a quantum perspective. We need to co-create a quantum world, not just to imagine it. We need to walk that talk. Artificial Intelligence can help a lot in this aim. By doing it, it is our belief, we can use AI for societal flourishing, not to have a more developed but less civilized society.
For example, multiculturalism has not been able to solve social problems—i.e. Quebecois, Catalonia, etc. This was thoroughly researched and published in Quantic Humanism (see Largacha-Martinez, 2011). Canadian philosopher Bill Kymlicka (2004) couldn´t make it. Only quantum or radical multiculturalism has been able to achieve reasonable successes (see Fals-Borda, 1998). Quantic Humanism thoroughly researched the social structures that impede society to thrive, so it can leverage projects towards a safe and beneficial AI for humanity.
In a short paragraph, the main objective of this research project is:
Facilitate AI & AGI-working teams globally with a social psychological framework—quantic humanism—within Machine-Computer Interactions, Affective Computing, and/or Social Robotics that would leverage human preference aggregation, reasoning about philosophical problems, and formal robustness criteria for foundational problems. The expected outcomes are twofold: one, we could have AI and AGI in the future that will fully help the emergence of social & human flourishing and self-actualization; and two, we could give personal AI-assistants—like Alexa, Siri—the needed categorizations to potentiate human reflection towards human flourishing.
RELEVANCE WITH AI
This proposal is intentionally aligned with three Asilomar AI Principles: # 10, 11, 23—Value Alignment, Human Values, and Common Good. It is intended to ensure goal stability, tackling the ‘ontological crisis’, as presented in the article ‘A survey of research questions for robust and beneficial AI’, so goals can be safely articulated in terms of people—from a quantum approach: understanding behavioral parameters within value-aligned probabilities of being. It is also intended to reflect on the [in]competent civilizations, mainly deconstructing Modernity as the current epistemology, obtaining the positive and negative paradigmatic mindsets/beliefs/habits and actions. AGI systems would know how to replicate the positive and erode as much as possible the negative ones. This regarding the goal one.
With respect of goal two, research has steadily shown that people is more open to self-reflection towards emergence of humanness when talking to AI-agents (see Dreyfus & Dreyfus, 1986; Turkle, 2011). Personal AI-assistants could be programmed with self-reflection tools to help its users to have the courage to self-awareness and contemplation as a path of human flourishing and self-actualization. It is our strongly belief—based on theory and action—that authenticity is one of the, if not the, most important element in humanness emergence.
Having a transdisciplinary experts team that would help the PI in his research is another positive element of this proposal. Four experts, both genders, with an affective computer AI-expert, a social-philosopher with research in man-machine reality, a neurologist to have the mind-perspective, and a humanistic manager with avant-garde projects is, to our perspective, a great team to make the PI ask the right questions and not to lose in the difficulties of ‘what is good’ for society in terms of decision making, social choice theory, robust optimization, value alignment—machine learning with human interests (see Soares & Fallenstein, 2017), naturalized agency—based in part with Demski-MIRI research, 2017).
Brief description of role and background
John Murphy
Dr. Murphy is a social-philosopher that has worked in theory development and applied research in several topics, including technology, computers and human interaction, and health. He is Professor at the Sociology Department of the Univesity of Miami. The anti-dualistic epistemological maneuver made by quantum theory has influenced most of his work, particularly his current projects related to community-based interventions. The basic idea is that various knowledge bases are possible, including the local knowledge that individuals and communities and social groups use to guide their behavior and decisions. Specifically important is that this [g]local information, in the form of narratives, is especially significant in terms of developing pertinent and sustainable projects.
He is the founder of ‘Quantum Sociology’. From this perspective, and having supported and guided Dr. Largacha-Martinez’s Quantic Humanism development, his role is to help the PI tackle the profound questions embedded in reasoning about philosophical problems and value aggregation.
- Caro, MJ & Murphy, JW, (eds.). 2002. The World of Quantum Culture. Westport, CT:Praeger.
- Murphy, JW. 2014. Community-based Interventions: Philosophy and Action. NY:Springer.
- Murphy,JW. 2012. Contemporary Social Theory: Key Themes and Analysis. New York:Nova Science Publishers.
- Berdayes, V, Murphy, JW. (eds). 2000. Computers, Human Interaction, and Organizations. Westport, CT:Praeger.
Julia Mossbridge
Dr. Mossbridge is the Director of the Innovation Lab at the Institute of Noetic Sciences, the Lead Robot Psychologist at Hanson Robotics, a Visiting Scholar in the Psychology Department at Northwestern University, the Science Director at Focus@Will Labs, and an Associated Professor in Integral and Transpersonal Psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies. Her focus is on teaching and learning about love and time, and she pursues this focus by speaking about love and time, leading projects, conducting research, and coaching technology executives and engineers.
LovingAI is one of her current projects. Loving AI is a research project addressing how AI agents can communicate unconditional love to humans through conversations that adapt to the unique needs of each user while supporting integrative personal and relational development. Thus her role in this project is to instill in this research project all her experience in vanguard research, AI research and development, and most important, to support the link between AI & AGI social-platform research and human emotions—like love.
Steven Allder
Dr. Allder is a neurologist that works at Re: Cognition Health in London, using his clinical experience to focus primarily on the evaluation of patients with traumatic brain injury and medically unexplained neurological symptoms. He is doing research in both these areas.
Steve is currently working with two of the best think tanks in health in the UK: the King’s Fund, as a member of the General Advisory Board, and the Nuffield Trust. Dr. Allder currently holds informal consultancies with The Health Foundation, as well as with the Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management.
Dr. Allder became a Partner and Senior Executive of Generon International, working with Joseph Jaworski and his executive team to study where tactical and strategic intuition comes from, and how it can be taught to leaders in a clear and accessible manner. For several years he has been working to unite the theories of leadership with neuroscience, in order to have more authentic companies that promote a more just and harmonious society.
His role will be to use neuroscience to better understand human behavior, and add this information to the project. Dr. Allder and Dr. Largacha have been working for more than a year to write a UK health case study within Dr. Largacha’s new construct ‘immaterial communciation’, based on neuroplasticity, quantum mechanics, and biofields.
Ernst von Kimakowitz
Dr. von Kimakowitz is founding Director of the Humanistic Management Center, an independent think tank and advisory firm on business ethics and sustainability as well as the executive education provider Ethics First. He is also a lecturer at the University of St.Gallen, Switzerland, the University of Tübingen, Germany and was visiting professor at Soka University, Tokyo, Japan in 2016. He developed the three stepped approach to Humanistic Management on the basis that we are currently experiencing an ‘economization’ of every aspect of life that is counterproductive to individual and societal wellbeing.
The success story of market economies has produced negative side effects that have become to grave to be ignored by simply claiming that the pro’s outweigh the con’s. We are hence called to action in order to become smarter in using market economies in service of a more equitable and more sustainable planet.
His role will be to embed this approach into the project, so human flourishing has a holistic, systemic, life-conducive market economy approach.
Dr. Kimakowitz is also the leader and co-founder of the Humanistic Management Network, a global scholarly network working towards protecting human dignity, promoting human wellbeing and fostering human flourishing. Visit www.humanetwork.org
The Future Society
Incubated at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, The Future Society is a non-profit which aims at addressing the profound consequences of the current technological explosion. Our mission is to help build a future that preserves humanity while harnessing the upsides of technology.
The posts that appear in the ‘Perspectives’ section of The Future of Society website are:
http://www.thefuturesociety.org/human-flourishing-takeoff-vis-vis-artificial-intelligence-takeoff/