How to Advance 'Human Flourishing' in the GOP's Approach to AI

The 2024 Republican Platform calls for replacing Biden’s executive order on artificial intelligence with “AI Development rooted in Free Speech and Human Flourishing.” What exactly does human flourishing mean? Despite giving one of the longest acceptance speeches in history, President Trump did not clarify the meaning of this phrase. 

Two possible sources are the Vatican and the Chicago School of Economics.

The Vatican on AI

The Vatican has offered thoughtful statements in support of prosocial goals for advanced AI. For example, Friar Michael Baggot said, “When we're talking about technology, our goal should be to use the tools to serve human flourishing, to help people and communities really become what they were made to be.”

At a May 2024 conference of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Catholic scholars repeatedly stressed the need for advanced AI to promote human flourishing. Father Philip Larrey, a professor of philosophy at Boston College, described human flourishing as “the framework to evaluate whether or not AI is being used correctly.” Keyun Ruan, the chief information security officer for Alphabet, agreed, noting that the huge monetary investment in advanced AI is not being matched by “investments and funding in alignment, in ethics, in human flourishing…we want to get the equation balanced before we race into AGI."

The Pope himself seems to strongly agree. At the Group of Seven summit last month, Pope Francis “stressed that establishing an ethical framework for any technology, and in particular AI, entails ‘opening the black box’ in order to make known the mechanisms that underpin their behavior for users.” In his address for the World Day of Peace, Pope Francis added, “Nor is it sufficient simply to presume a commitment on the part of those who design algorithms and digital technologies to act ethically and responsibly. There is a need to strengthen or, if necessary, to establish bodies charged with examining the ethical issues arising in this field and protecting the rights of those who employ forms of artificial intelligence or are affected by them.”

Chicago Economists on AI

Another group that uses the phrase “human flourishing” is the Chicago School of Economics, especially Nobel laureate Professor James Heckman. He has called for policymakers to look beyond financial statistics and “focus on flourishing.” As he explains, “This would entail a focus on physical and mental health, positive social relationships, freedom, meaning, agency, and an ability to live with respect and dignity to pursue goals and aspirations.”

Gonzalo Schwarz, President of the Archbridge Institute, elaborates: “Flourishing also relies on a wide range of other factors that AI cannot replace or replicate. Some of the most important literature in the social mobility field has shown the importance of family structure and parental engagement at a young age.” As AI-curated and even AI-generated lists of videos monopolize the attention of ever-younger toddlers, it’s worth asking whether increasingly advanced AI tools are meeting our immediate desires while failing to give us what we actually need.

Next Steps

If these are the kinds of concerns motivating the Republican Party, then the Center for AI Policy (CAIP) wholeheartedly approves. We absolutely need more investment in AI alignment, a way to convert black box technologies into transparent systems, and more emphasis on how AI can support freedom, meaning, and healthy families. 

Just because a company can make a profit by selling a new AI tool doesn’t mean that tool is safe or consistent with human flourishing. CAIP hopes the Republican Party will develop this short phrase in its platform into more detailed policy proposals for requiring safe AI. We look forward to continuing the conversation.