The Human-Centered Systems Manifesto
Designing economic and technological systems that make dignity the default.
Executive Summary
The Human-Centered Systems Manifesto articulates a set of design principles for building economic and technological systems that prioritize human dignity, transparency, and long-term resilience. It begins from the premise that persistent inequality, economic fragility, and technological displacement are not primarily moral failures of individuals, but outcomes of incentive structures embedded in modern systems. The manifesto argues that ethics must be designed into systems at the level of incentives, governance, and infrastructure, rather than applied after the fact. It advocates for asset-based economic models and human-centered approaches to artificial intelligence that augment human capability rather than replace it. These principles are implemented across community practice, institutional frameworks, AI governance efforts, and automation infrastructure, demonstrating how bottom-up practice and top-down design can reinforce each other.
Why This Manifesto Exists
Modern systems shape behavior at scale. When their incentives are misaligned, even capable and ethical people are pushed toward dependency, compromise, or disposability.
This manifesto exists to make system design explicit. It does not attempt to prescribe behavior or ideology. Instead, it provides a set of design principles that can be used to evaluate, build, and govern systems so that ethical outcomes are structurally supported rather than personally costly.
Core Design Principles
The manifesto is grounded in a small number of principles that apply across economics, technology, and institutions.
Dignity Before Efficiency
Efficiency matters, but never at the expense of human dignity or agency.
Incentives Over Intentions
Systems produce outcomes based on incentives, not stated values.
Asset-Based, Not Debt-Driven
Long-term resilience is built on real assets, shared ownership, and productive capacity.
Transparency Creates Trust
Clear rules and visible processes distribute accountability and confidence.
Humans Remain Central
Technology should extend human capability, not remove people from economic life.
From Principles to Practice
These principles are not theoretical. They are implemented through four complementary systems.
BangNano
A bottom-up, community-driven economic system demonstrating asset-based, collaborative economics in practice.
FAIR Economy
A formal economic framework translating ethical principles into institutional and policy-level design.
HAIAL
The Human-Centered AI Alliance, establishing governance standards and local chapters to ensure AI adoption strengthens human economic participation.
RoboHen
Human-centered AI workflow automation infrastructure designed to keep humans in the loop while enabling scalable execution.
Together, these efforts show how ethical design can move from community experimentation to institutional adoption.
How This Manifesto Is Intended to Be Used
This manifesto is designed as a reference document.
- Individuals may use it to sharpen their understanding of how systems shape outcomes.
- Communities may use it to guide local experimentation.
- Institutions and policymakers may use it to evaluate governance, incentives, and long-term resilience.
- Technologists may use it as a design lens when building AI and automation systems.
It is intentionally open to adaptation and critique.
Scope and Limits
This manifesto does not attempt to address every economic, political, or technological question. It focuses specifically on system design, incentives, and governance.
It is not a political program, legal framework, or operational manual. It is a foundation upon which others can build.
Full Manifesto
The complete text expands on these principles, explores their implications, and documents how they are being implemented in practice.
Attribution
This manifesto was authored as part of ongoing work on ethical economic systems, human-centered artificial intelligence, and institutional design.
It is intended to be referenced, adapted, and carried forward by others.