How do you think we can align humans with their own best values? is it more of a outside of the AI space societal work or is it also tied to the AI space?
I think they are both connected and we should work on both, and we really need a new story as a species for us to be able to rise up to this challenge.
Thank you so much for engaging with the post — I really appreciate your thoughtful comment.
You’re absolutely right: this is a deeply interconnected issue. Aligning humans with their own best values isn’t separate from the AI alignment agenda — it’s part of the same challenge. I see it as a complex socio-technical problem that spans both cultural evolution and technological design.
On one side, we face deeply ingrained psychological and societal dynamics — present bias, moral licensing, systemic incentives. On the other, we’re building AI systems that increasingly shape those very dynamics: they mediate what we see, amplify certain behaviors, and normalize patterns of interaction.
So I believe we need to work in parallel:
On the AI side, to ensure systems are not naïvely trained on our contradictions, but instead scaffold better ethical reasoning.
On the human side, to address the root misalignments within ourselves — through education, norm-shaping, institutional design, and narrative work.
I also resonate with your point about needing a new story — a shared narrative that can unify these efforts and help us rise to the moment. It’s a huge challenge, and I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but I’ve been exploring directions and would love to share more concrete ideas with the community soon.
How do you think we can align humans with their own best values? is it more of a outside of the AI space societal work or is it also tied to the AI space?
I think they are both connected and we should work on both, and we really need a new story as a species for us to be able to rise up to this challenge.
Thank you so much for engaging with the post — I really appreciate your thoughtful comment.
You’re absolutely right: this is a deeply interconnected issue. Aligning humans with their own best values isn’t separate from the AI alignment agenda — it’s part of the same challenge. I see it as a complex socio-technical problem that spans both cultural evolution and technological design.
On one side, we face deeply ingrained psychological and societal dynamics — present bias, moral licensing, systemic incentives. On the other, we’re building AI systems that increasingly shape those very dynamics: they mediate what we see, amplify certain behaviors, and normalize patterns of interaction.
So I believe we need to work in parallel:
On the AI side, to ensure systems are not naïvely trained on our contradictions, but instead scaffold better ethical reasoning.
On the human side, to address the root misalignments within ourselves — through education, norm-shaping, institutional design, and narrative work.
I also resonate with your point about needing a new story — a shared narrative that can unify these efforts and help us rise to the moment. It’s a huge challenge, and I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but I’ve been exploring directions and would love to share more concrete ideas with the community soon.