Ethics

We frequently mention ethics and sustainability as core principles of our platform for several key reasons:

Ethical Foundation

Ethics is a fundamental aspect of our approach to decision intelligence and strategic foresight. Out focus on ethics stems from:

• Responsibility in AI development: As an AI-driven platform, we recognize the importance of ethical considerations in developing and deploying AI technologies.
• Stakeholder inclusivity: Our platform aims to engage all stakeholders in collaborative problem-solving, which requires ethical practices to ensure fair representation and participation.
• Long-term vision: By incorporating ethical principles, we seek to create sustainable solutions that benefit humanity and the environment in the long run.

Defining Ethical Standards

Our definition of ethical standards encompasses:

• Human-centric approach: Prioritizing human agency, privacy, and individual well-being in AI development and deployment.
• Fairness and non-discrimination: Ensuring AI systems are designed to avoid bias and promote equitable outcomes.
• Transparency and accountability: Maintaining clear lines of responsibility and providing explanations for AI-assisted decisions.
• Data protection: Adhering to principles of data minimization, accuracy, and user consent in handling personal information.
• Sustainability considerations: Incorporating environmental and social impact assessments into decision-making processes.

Ethics Framework

Ethical frameworks’ practicality and implementation ability in AI development face a significant challenge rooted in the mismatch between our evolutionary predispositions and the complexity of modern technologies. Humans often prioritize immediate, tangible benefits ("stomach over the head") due to evolutionary biases that favor survival and immediate gratification over long-term considerations.

The Challenge: Human Nature vs. Ethical AI

• Evolutionary Mismatch: Human cognition evolved for environments vastly different from the current technological landscape. Our instincts are geared toward immediate survival and social cohesion in small, observable groups, not the abstract complexities of global digital systems.
• Rapid Technological Acceleration: The exponential growth of AI technologies outpaces the evolution of governance and regulatory frameworks, leaving ethical considerations as reactive rather than proactive measures.
• Digital Water and Constructal Flow: AI's role in information flow mirrors the "digital water" analogy, where information flows dynamically but can become polluted with misinformation or restricted by inequitable access. This exacerbates the divide between those with and without ethical technology applications.

Pragmatic Use of AI to Support Ethical Frameworks at PreEmpt

Our AI is designed to be instrumental in overcoming these challenges and we have embedded these ethical practices into our ecosystem. Our approaches include:

• Symbiotic AI Models: Symbiotic Decision Intelligence (SDI) emphasizes cooperation between human and AI capabilities. By leveraging AI's computational power and humans' contextual understanding, this approach ensures decisions are aligned with ethical considerations.
• Expert Reviews: We have 200+ human reviewers built into our system. The reviewers are synthetic versions of famous experts from diverse fields such as futurists, strategists, designers, thinkers and writers contributing their views on where we should improve Alexis's responses. We pay close attention to their recommendations and are seeking to always optimize their ratings.
• Scenario Planning Tools: AI-enabled scenario planning allows stakeholders to explore the ramifications of technology adoption before implementation. This can include modeling unintended consequences or ethical violations to inform better design and deployments.
• AI-Assisted Ethical Audits: Our AI can analyze algorithms for biases, transparency, and ethical adherence. For instance, regular audits conducted by our systems identify and mitigate discriminatory patterns or opaque decision-making.
• Adaptive Ethics Integration: Using frameworks like the Constructal Law, our AI is designed to evolve decision-making processes to enhance ethical flow and reduce barriers to equitable outcomes. This means our system dynamically adjusts algorithms to maintain fairness and inclusivity.
• Education and Empowerment: Our AI also plays a role in democratizing access to ethical considerations by creating platforms that educate users, policymakers, and developers about the principles of fairness, transparency, and accountability. This combats the inherent "ignorance acceleration" seen in rapidly evolving technological systems.
• In-built Ethics Framework: Our framework includes all of the above, plus we have trained our AI to review: "Which legacies have created, and are likely to create, new ethical and moral dilemmas. How will they manifest themselves and with what effects? How can they best be mitigated or avoided, particularly in terms of long-term consequences of operations in sensitive ecosystems, the importance of transparency in international relations, and human dignity and respect.

Eliminating Bias

All of our AI-based systems are designed and tested for unfair bias, with a focus on all protected characteristics including age, race, diversity, ethnicity, nationality, abilities, disabilities, gender, religions, cultures, sexual orientations, and lived experiences.

How: We use a hidden prompt to govern to avoid unfairness and discrimination, and test the AI’s sensitivity to protected characteristics in every run.

We continuously audit AI systems for potential biases and take corrective actions when identified.

How: We use AI self-audits and human audit oversight to spot bias, recommend improvement, and take immediate action, where appropriate.

We promote diversity in AI development teams by incorporating team members with diverse varied gender, race, and life experience perspectives.

How: Ensuring our teams are international, diverse, and inclusive.

We develop AI systems that clearly explain their decisions and actions.

How: We employ five independent machine-learning algorithms to produce Explainable AI, to rate the quality of our service and suggest improvements that are on our development list.

We make AI algorithms and decision-making processes as transparent as possible to users and stakeholders.

How: We describe our policies and processes clearly and through Frequently Answered Questions, providing documentation on the limitations and potential risks of AI systems.

We implement robust data protection measures to safeguard personal information.

How: We separate personal identification data from all other human inputs and never share personal data or inputs with anyone except in the anonymized form, without express permission.

We adhere to privacy-by-design principles in AI development.

How: This is the bedrock of our service. All team members and our decisions are made on this basis. We obtain informed consent for data collection and use, with clear opt-in/out mechanisms.

We establish clear lines of responsibility for AI system outcomes.

How: Our lines of responsibility are short and flat, and can be seen on our About Us, Team page. We work as a team with no silos or fixed reporting lines. Anyone can work with anyone else with no permissions needed.

We implement action mechanisms when AI systems cause harm or make errors.

How: We pride ourselves on excellent customer service and work diligently to solve issues quickly.

We conduct regular audits and impact assessments of AI systems.

How: We use a battery of processes to continuously audit our AI systems, including self-audits, Explainable ASI checks, internal and external human feedback.

We prioritize the safety and security of AI systems to prevent misuse or unintended consequences.

How: Limited access to only a few authorized staff who agree in writing annually as to their responsibilities and who have signed non-disclosure agreements.

We implement robust cybersecurity measures to protect AI systems from external threats.

How: We have robust and best-practice cybersecurity measures in place, audited annually by an independent expert.

We maintain meaningful human oversight in critical AI decision-making processes.

How: We daily critique and improve the AI's performance, take on board feedback from clients, partners, staff, workshop interactions, prospects, and from our AI's suggestions. We also read avidly for new ways to include humans in, and at the center of, the loop.

We ensure that humans can override AI decisions when necessary.

How: We delineate the roles of humans and AI in decision-making processes and give every opportunity for humans to modify or ignore the AI answers.

We develop AI systems that align with human values and promote societal well-being and prioritize AI applications that address pressing societal challenges.

How: Through our hidden prompt and individual prompt instructions.

We assess and mitigate potential negative impacts of AI on society, including job displacement.

How: Through the AI’s ability to recognize these in any Challenge and to provide suggested mitigation actions.

We design AI systems to be energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable and consider the environmental impact of AI throughout its lifecycle, from development to deployment and maintenance.

How: We endeavor to reduce energy and environmental impacts by working remotely, using our home equipment, keeping travel to a minimum, and managing server use by keeping our prompting efficient. We operate a zero-waste policy.

We ensure AI systems are accessible to diverse user groups, including those with disabilities.

How: We make our services available for free or at ultra-low cost to serve all user groups, including those with disabilities.

We design AI to be culturally sensitive and adaptable to different contexts.

How: Our prompting system is designed to be culturally aware, sensitive, and adaptable. We offer the ability for members to state their desired nationality when asking our AI questions, and it responds accordingly.

We implement continuous monitoring systems to track AI performance and impacts.

How: We have a battery of measurement systems in place behind the scenes that enable us to control the AI and its impacts.

We regularly update ethical guidelines to address emerging challenges and technological advancements.

How: We not only regularly update our ethical guidelines but also our strategy at least every six months and use our AI's recommendations to do so.

We participate in cross-industry collaborations to share best practices and address common ethical challenges.

How: This is currently a work in progress and will begin in earnest in 2025.

We engage with policymakers, academics, and the public to inform AI governance frameworks.

How: This is currently a work in progress and will begin in earnest in 2025.

We provide comprehensive ethics training for all AI development and deployment staff.

How: This is currently a work in progress and will begin in earnest in 2025.

We promote public awareness and understanding of AI capabilities, limitations, and ethical implications.

How: This is currently a work in progress and will begin in earnest in 2025.

We ensure AI systems respect and uphold fundamental human rights, as defined by international standards.

How: This is done through specific instructions in our hidden prompt.

We conduct human rights impact assessments for AI applications in sensitive domains.

How: Our AI self-auditing assessments are designed to report any issues with each report run.

We implement ethical data collection, storage, and usage practices.

How: We collect no data on our members and clients other than that visible in their profiles and any anonymized commentary or public feedback that they may give.

We ensure data used in AI training is diverse, representative, and ethically sourced.

How: We publish our policies on ethical data use openly and have trained our AI to the standards required.

We ensure the use of AI is proportional to the task at hand and necessary for achieving the intended goals.

How: We endeavor never to overreach or underreach tasks at hand and adjust if and when we are alerted to such.

We avoid over-reliance on AI when human judgment is more appropriate or ethical.

How: Our AI is designed to take almost all drudge work out of strategic foresight, but critical thinking by our subscribers is essential. We make this point and provide surveys and tools to ensure AI and human thinking is in balance.

By adhering to these comprehensive ethical guidelines, we develop and deploy AI systems that are not only technologically advanced but also ethically sound and socially responsible. We regularly review and update these guidelines to keep pace with the rapidly evolving AI landscape and emerging ethical challenges.

First produced: November 2024

Next review: November 2025

Sustainable Values

Rationale

Our emphasis on sustainability can be understood through several lenses:

• Financial sustainability: Ensuring the long-term viability of our solutions and services.
• Operational sustainability: Developing systems and practices that can be maintained and scaled over time.
• Ecological sustainability: Considering the environmental impact of our technologies and promoting solutions that address climate change and environmental challenges.

As concerned, global citizens, we prioritize the common good, focusing on:

• Long-term strategy over short-term gains
• Best practice corporate governance
• Using our service to help others become fully sustainable and regenerative by design
• Sound risk-mitigation practices

We support The Earth Charter Initiative for sustainable living and a global ethical framework, promoting:

• Respect and care for all life
• Quality education
• Ecological integrity
• Gender equality
• Universal human rights
• Partnerships and diversity
• Economic justice, democracy, and peace
• Decent work for all
• Regeneration and decolonialisation

We operate a near-zero carbon emission and water-use policy through a virtual business model including:

• Operating without company offices, company cars, minimizing energy use or equipment
• Constantly looking to run PreEmpt at no cost
• Running PreEmpt virtually from our homes with only twice a year, local face-to-face, meetings of the Board of Directors
• Monthly Virtual Board and management meetings
• Reducing server use
• Using public transport and avoiding domestic flights
• Avoiding overseas travel to satisfy essential client needs and key conferences wherever possible in favor of online attendance
• Minimizing water and paper use; promoting electronic publishing
• Utilizing telepresence services for meetings, conferences, and training
• Partnering with online suppliers committed to sustainability
• Enforcing fair labor practices throughout our supply chain
• Encouraging contributors to work as equals, fostering innovation and efficiency without hierarchy