A civilization can praise family life while making it hard to sustain. Affordable housing may be far from work. A commute may consume the time someone hoped to spend with a child. Friends and relatives who could help may live somewhere else entirely.
The Society believes these practical conditions belong in any serious account of human flourishing. Forming attachments and raising children deserve attention in the decisions that organize daily life.
Housing affects where people can live, transport affects when they can be home, and employment affects both their income and their energy. A change in one arrangement can leave a family struggling with the demands of another.
We believe greater intelligence could understand these interactions better than institutions organized around separate responsibilities. It could investigate which changes help people form and sustain the relationships they want, and revise arrangements when the results disappoint.
That is one application of our belief that civilization should serve human biological and social needs. We want to make cherished possibilities easier to realize. People who want other forms of life should retain room for those choices. Individuals are not instruments for meeting a population target.
The time to be present
Optional labor could change the conditions of family life. Producing necessities with less human work would give civilization the means to free time now required for an income.
That could mean more attention for a child's development or more opportunities to meet people and maintain friendships. Time alone cannot explain every family's circumstances, and automation would not settle every social question. It would give people and institutions more choices about demands currently treated as unavoidable.
We also imagine communities where shared places and nearby help make daily participation easier. Education, care, and housing could be planned with an understanding of how they affect one another. An AI that knows individuals could help someone find an opportunity for connection suited to their circumstances.
These are future possibilities we want to pursue, including for people who have little money or institutional influence. We would ask whether changes gave them more opportunity to love, care, and build a life together. Supporting that ordinary continuity of human life is one reason we want greater intelligence available throughout civilization.
