Meditations on "Non-Public" AI
The article explores the philosophical implications of granting agency to humans through the metaphor of Prometheus and fire. It discusses the balance between the benefits of agency and the inherent risks of mortality and suffering. Ultimately, it reflects on the value of human existence despite its challenges.
- ▪The story begins with a metaphor about humans created from clay and their delicate existence.
- ▪Prometheus represents the tension between granting agency and the consequences of mortality.
- ▪The narrative questions the worth of agency when it comes with suffering and death.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Meditations on "non-public" AI Posted 2026-05-20 Like many inadvisable writings, this one started with dinner and a few drinks with friends and took on a life of its own. So with that, here’s a story. Fire Once upon a time, humans were but a weak creation, carved carefully and lovingly out of clay, but with little to hold them together. In spite of the delicate existence, humans lived in harmony and there was no strife between them, even if this life was, at best, balancing on a pinhead—at the whims of the gods and what they deemed to be allowed. They did not die, but could not build; they did not age, but also could not create.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Guille.
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