From civilian to steward: working towards human-centered, empowered AI adoption
This space is evolving in unexpected ways…here’s how
AI is being thrust upon us in a deeply intrusive way and at breakneck speeds.
Some folks are excited.
Some are terrified.
Most of us are somewhere in between—civilians caught in an arms race. We recognize the inevitability of AI, though never asked for it. We are curious as impacted stakeholders but often overwhelmed by it.
We risk becoming paralyzed, unable to empower ourselves.
From civilian to steward
We want to learn, but so much of the current dialogue around AI three general positions:
ardent adoption,
ardent rejection, or
passive conformist.
The reality, of course, is much more complex. Many of us can’t neatly package our views on AI. We recognize how messy it is, and we are ambitious enough to exist in its grey areas. Though we may not know how to proceed.
That’s what the AI civilian conundrum is ultimately centered around:
Not whether we use AI, but how we move from passive, inevitability-based acceptance to proactive, empowered stewardship.
We can choose to be passive recipients of a machine-driven world that corporate interests have thrust on us.
Or we can choose to integrate new tools with awareness, discernment, and good ol’ fashioned human empathy.
Becoming an empowered, human-centered AI steward.
That’s my goal for the AI civilian. I hope you’ll join me.
What you’ll find here
Practical steps I’m taking on my pathway to AI stewardship
Continued building and refining of this basic civilian → steward framework
Personal reflections on broader themes around using (and resisting) and accepting (or not accepting) AI
Real-world experiments, tested in public
Stories and insights from people navigating this same transition
My commitment to you is
Weekly articles
Bi-weekly (every two weeks) newsletter
Proactive engagement through posts, messages, and authentic connections
Open calendar to connect 1:1 on anything AI (book here)
We don’t have to follow every trend. We don’t need to have it all figured out.
We just need a place to ask the real questions and engage in meaningful dialogues.
Welcome to that place.
-the AI civilian