About

What I Write About

Right now, the AI conversation is divided into a false dichotomy: build faster or pause everything. But there’s a third way, a better way: we put AI in a box. How? The same way we put black bears in a box.

In my village, we neither battle our black bears nor worship them. What we do is put them in a box — a behavioral box — and so keep them at a healthy distance.

This box is made up of our behavior, not theirs; we cannot change the bears. However, we are perfectly capable of choosing to constrain ourselves, to put the box around ourselves. We know this works because black bears have not in fact overrun my village despite their annual infiltration.

If we can put AI in a box of our own self-constraints, we can keep it at a healthy distance. If not, we’re its dinner.

AI’s Oughtful Question

What ought AI be doing for us? We were never asked. What would we have answered? The same as any other era!

AI ought to infuse us with activation energy. It’s all we’ve ever needed. So let’s make it do that for us.

Practicing choice

A person self-constrains by choice, by perceived necessity, or by neglect. By our own choice is by far the best way to be constrained, and we are obligated to practice it.

Far Westernism

Growth is all that matters. Far Westernism is a strategy by which humans may flourish in the shade of strong AI.

It’s the best way of being for the 21st century, beginning with a wisp of philosophy and ending with a tinge of technology.

A Bicycle For The Modern Mind

I’ve developed a type of technology that pushes us toward other people instead of toward machinehood. To maintain our own healthy distance from AI, we’ll need a strong pull in the opposite direction.

Who I Am

I’m Steve Hazel, a West Coast Canadian philosopher-builder. I spent years building technology before realizing that the interesting questions aren’t about what we can build, but what we should build—and more importantly, how we keep living like humans while building it.

I’m not anti-technology. I’m pro-human. There’s a difference.

Stay Connected

If you’d like to connect or have questions about my work, feel free to reach out through any of the links below.