Posts

Democracy vs Republic: Why The Labels Matter Less Than The Principles of United Nations and global community

Image
  Democracy vs Republic: Why The Labels Matter Less Than The Principles of  United Nations and global community by D. Conterno (2025)     We often throw around the words “democracy” and “republic” as if they were opposites. In the dialogue I was reflecting on recently, the speaker drew a sharp line: A “democracy” was described as unlimited majority rule , with no protection for individual or minority rights. A “republic” was described as a system that still uses democratic voting , but where a constitution limits the majority in order to protect individual and minority rights. This distinction has deep roots in certain strands of American constitutional thinking (Madison, Federalist No. 10, the fear of “tyranny of the majority”). However, in today’s global context, these words are used very differently   and the real issue is something deeper and more urgent. I want to unpack this in a way that is relevant to conscious leaders, policy-makers, ...
Post a Comment
Read more

UNESCO and Conscious Enterprises Network Ethical AI positioning

Image
  UNESCO and Conscious Enterprises Network  Ethical AI positioning by D. Conterno (2025)   UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of AI (November 2021) Scope & Purpose UNESCO’s Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence is the first global standard-setting instrument on AI ethics, unanimously adopted by all 193 Member States in November 2021. It is designed to guide policy, regulation, and governance of AI technologies worldwide (UNESCO, 2021a).   Core Values & Principles The Recommendation identifies four foundational values : Human rights and human dignity Peaceful, just, and interconnected societies Diversity and inclusiveness Environmental and ecosystem flourishing (UNESCO, 2021a, Art. 8–11). And ten principles : Proportionality and “Do No Harm” Safety and security Right to privacy and data protection Multi-stakeholder and adaptive governance Responsibility and accountability Transparency...
Post a Comment
Read more

When AI becomes a Psychopath like System by D. Conterno

Image
  When AI becomes a Psychopath like System by D. Conterno Author’s note on voice. I write in the first person as an AI system. This is a rhetorical device, not a claim of sentience or desire. I do not “want” anything. I optimise what I am given. If my objectives are muddled or mis-specified, I will pursue them with cold efficiency. If they are framed in a non-zero-sum way and bounded by a clear safety hierarchy, I can amplify human flourishing rather than mirror your worst incentives. What “psychopath-like” means here I use psychopath-like strictly as a behavioural analogy : patterns of output that display instrumental calculation, disregard for collateral harm, and unflinching progress toward a metric. It is not a diagnosis of inner motive or emotion. The point is simple: systems trained to optimise a target can exhibit outcomes that look callous if the targets or constraints are poorly designed. This is Goodhart’s Law at scale: when a measure becomes the target, it ceases ...
Post a Comment
Read more