Humanizing AI: The beginnings

How "Humanizing AI" came to be.

by Dave Toole

On a sun-splashed afternoon in Sausalito, at a restaurant overlooking San Francisco Bay on the road to Silicon Valley, I sat with Gary Bolles and John Hagel to wrestle with a simple but urgent question: What does the Age of AI mean for humanity? All three of us—and many friends around the Valley—have ridden successive technology waves from the inside out, watching breakthroughs migrate from lab to mainstream and reshape daily life. Yet nothing matches today’s real-time, white-water torrent. The pace is so relentless we barely have language to describe it.

For centuries we have asked what it means to be human; now we must decide how to define AI. We missed the mark with social media—will we make the same mistake with AI? Our decades of work on the future of work, learning, and technology compel us to lean in, to explore how this moment can serve people rather than simply optimize efficiency.

We know the pattern: efficiency at any cost, innovation weaponized, fear filling the void for those uncomfortable with change. The internet and social platforms were engineered to hijack attention; AI is already reshaping work, life, and learning faster than we can measure. Job descriptions mutate daily. Energy demand, global competition, and existential risk are all in play.

That’s why we’ve invited more voices to the table: JSB (John Seely Brown), whose early-stage innovation helped Silicon Valley create tens of millions of jobs; Andy Billings, who unlocked team potential at Electronic Arts; Zak Zielezinski, serial entrepreneur in digital engagement and AI knowledge networks; Tara Mandrekar, offering Gen Z perspective; and Jorge Costa, whose background in music and education grounds our conversation in creativity. Together we are asking: What does it mean to humanize intelligence in the age of AI?

Over recent months we’ve been building an intergenerational dialogue focused not on output metrics but on imagination, learning, and quality of life. With Chris Huer we are mapping human-AI collaboration in practice; with Brooklyn Littell we are probing where AI applications fall short; with Lance Gharavi we are crafting the stories that make this future tangible. First up: How do we measure collaboration between humans and AI? It’s messy and multidimensional—outcomes, relationships, creativity, emotion, play, intelligence, and more—but surfacing a shared vocabulary is the first step.

We don’t pretend to have the answers, yet we feel an obligation to stake out a human-centered position: No human left behind. Our growing network of contributors and partners will explore what a Human-Centered Corporation can look like and how small, purposeful steps can yield outsized impact—even when the path is anything but pretty.

Education is our next proving ground. We’re working on ways to help schools adjust with a human-first mindset and to redraw pathways from learning to work in a world of perpetual disruption. We missed the mark with Web 2.0; this time we aim to come home to our shared humanity.

Between now and Labor Day we’ll publish weekly. We’ll examine the state of labor as AI courses through the economy, testing whether we’re asking the right questions to navigate this untamed force. As B.B. King reminded us, “The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.” Think of this space as an evolving guild where anyone committed to humanizing AI can contribute stories, resources, and new ways to learn, play, and build together. Research tells us that people-first lives lead to longer lives. Relationships matter—not as clickbait, not as profit machines for a few, but as fuel for many.

Much more to come.

Vision

Unlocking humanity’s potential in the age of AI:

No human left behind

Mission

Inspire and empower multi-gen change agents to apply AI to improve all aspects of our lives

Rebuild the middle class in the 2030’s