ChatGPT – A Partner in Wise Democracy? #1 (AI Meets Wisdom Series – Part 2) 

Below I share one of my conversations with ChatGPT 4o about generating wise, inclusive, multi-level self-governance.  It provides a remarkable overview of existing initiatives that can serve that vision.  Yet it leaves me with questions about how to best use – or work with – its unusual capacities for the greatest impact….

I’ve been exploring how to usefully partner with ChatGPT 4o to study, envision and creatively engage with the metacrisis.  That’s my way of “making the world a better place”, given who I am and what the world is at this particular time.

In the last six weeks I’ve asked ChatGPT about the Israeli-Palestinian war, regenerative cultures, how to address some of the “drivers of collapse”, and promoting collaboration among stakeholders – with interesting results every time.  

A lot of the value I get comes from the time and thought I spend in crafting a question or “prompt” to present to ChatGPT, and in framing its role in interesting ways. Following guidance in Ethan Mollick’s excellent book “Co-Intelligence: Living and working with AI” (the provocative inspiration for my own new “Co-Intelligence” book), I treat ChatGPT respectfully – as a sentient human being even while knowing that it is not one.  The more I treat it as a smart (but somewhat flawed) partner, the more it acts like one.

This morning I wondered what it would do with the idea of working with me on wise democracy. From a mainstream perspective, it’s a very unusual topic and relatively challenging to convey in a short time. I felt I needed to not only provide a general principle to orient ChatGPT, but to provide useful specifics to guide it and to constrain what it considered.  I wanted to help it “get” how I think about what a wisely inclusive governance system would look like. 

It took me more than an hour to craft my prompt.  It ended up pretty dense – which is no problem for ChatGPT, though it would definitely be for most people.  

In comparison, it took ChatGPT 4o less than half a minute to respond – which always amazes me. And I found its response remarkably interesting and insightful.  I sense there’s a potent role for such partnerships in transformational work.  Yet I wonder what exactly that would look like.  So read the conversation below and let me know what you think….

I’ll post more of the conversation in my next message, where ChatGPT and I delve into some strategic thinking.

MY INITIAL PROMPT

You and I are seeking to catalyze a self-governance system of, by and for the whole, applicable to and generative for all social systems.  We’re thinking of “the whole” as including all the human and non-human life forms – entities, groups and systems – who are involved in any given situation or aspiration.  “Involved” means playing a role in and/or being impacted by the unfolding situation or aspiration in the past, present and/or future.  Our vision of inclusion aspires to include literally all those participants, but for practical purposes it would often involve engagements among those who fairly represent and/or embody the diversity of interests, perspectives, roles, and capacities present among participants in the literal whole.  Such representatives could be exemplars, leaders, spokespersons, agents, delegates, role players, experts, well-connected network nodes, and/or randomly selected members.  Their governance activities would ideally involve rich feedback dynamics between themselves and the larger whole(s) they represent.

The activities of this self-governance system of, by and for the whole would be fractal in time (from ongoing to situational), topic (from general direction to specific guidance) and scale (from local to global).  It would be responsive to context and able to evolve as well as catalyzing healthy evolution in specific contexts.

Can you think of a dozen examples, prototypes, models or visions of such a form of holistic self-governance that already exist?

CHATGPT 4o

Sure! Here are a dozen examples, prototypes, models, or visions of holistic self-governance systems that embody the principles of inclusion, representation, and dynamic feedback:

1. Bioregionalism: This approach focuses on governance based on natural boundaries like watersheds and ecosystems, promoting sustainable living in harmony with the natural world. Bioregional councils involve local communities, indigenous groups, and environmental experts to manage resources and development.
2. Sociocracy: A governance system that uses consent-based decision-making and organizational structures based on circles, which are semi-autonomous and linked by double-linking to ensure feedback and coordination across levels.
3. Indigenous Governance Models: Many indigenous communities practice forms of self-governance that are deeply interconnected with their environment and cultural heritage. These models often include councils of elders, community assemblies, and consensus-based decision-making.
4. Ecological Democracy: This model integrates ecological concerns into democratic processes, ensuring that environmental impacts and sustainability are central to governance. Examples include local environmental councils and participatory budgeting for green initiatives.
5. Holacracy: An organizational governance system where authority and decision-making are distributed through self-organizing teams or circles. Each circle has a clear purpose and set of roles, fostering adaptability and responsiveness.
6. Regenerative Communities: Communities like ecovillages and transition towns that prioritize regenerative practices, aiming for sustainability, resilience, and the regeneration of social and ecological systems. Governance often involves participatory processes and deep community engagement.
7. Deliberative Democracy: This model emphasizes informed and reflective discussion among citizens to make decisions. Examples include citizens’ assemblies, where randomly selected members of the public deliberate on issues and make recommendations.
8. Commons-Based Peer Production: Governance models that manage shared resources (commons) through collective decision-making and stewardship. Examples include community-managed forests, fisheries, and digital commons like open-source software projects.
9. Multi-Stakeholder Platforms: These platforms bring together diverse stakeholders (e.g., governments, businesses, NGOs, communities) to collaboratively address complex issues. Examples include Global Compact initiatives and sustainable development partnerships.
10. Participatory Action Research: A collaborative research approach where researchers and participants work together to understand and solve community issues. This method involves continuous feedback and adaptation, ensuring that solutions are context-specific and inclusive.
11. Polycentric Governance: A system with multiple overlapping decision-making centers operating at different scales. Each center has autonomy but collaborates and coordinates with others, enhancing resilience and adaptability. Examples include the governance of large river basins and regional environmental agreements.
12. Dynamic Facilitation and Wisdom Councils: Facilitation methods that encourage open dialogue and collective intelligence among diverse participants. Wisdom councils involve a randomly selected group of people who reflect on an issue and provide insights and recommendations based on their deliberations.

These examples highlight various ways to incorporate holistic, inclusive, and adaptive governance practices that can be applied to diverse social systems and contexts.

MY NEXT PROMPT

Can you give me another dozen?

CHATGPT 4o

Certainly! Here are another dozen examples, prototypes, models, or visions of holistic self-governance systems:

13. Global Ecovillage Network (GEN): An organization connecting ecovillages worldwide, promoting sustainable living and regenerative practices. Governance within GEN and its member communities often involves consensus decision-making and participatory processes.
14. Community Land Trusts (CLTs): Non-profit organizations that hold land in trust for the benefit of the community, ensuring affordable housing and sustainable land use. CLTs are governed by boards that include residents, community members, and public representatives.
15. Collaborative Governance Models: These models involve the collaboration of government, private sector, and civil society to address public issues. Examples include public-private partnerships and collaborative environmental management initiatives.
16. Cooperative Enterprises: Businesses owned and operated by their members, who share decision-making authority and profits. Examples include worker cooperatives, consumer cooperatives, and producer cooperatives.
17. Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA): A set of participatory techniques used to involve local communities in the planning and management of development projects. PRA emphasizes local knowledge and collaborative problem-solving.
18. Forest Stewardship Council (FSC): An international organization that promotes responsible forest management. The FSC’s governance structure includes chambers representing environmental, social, and economic interests, ensuring balanced and inclusive decision-making.
19. Transition Network: A global movement of communities working towards resilience and sustainability in response to climate change and resource depletion. Governance within Transition initiatives often involves participatory and decentralized approaches.
20. Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature: An organization advocating for the recognition and protection of the rights of nature. Governance within the alliance involves diverse stakeholders, including indigenous leaders, environmental activists, and legal experts.
21. B Corporations: Companies certified to meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. B Corps are governed by boards that include stakeholder representatives and focus on balancing profit with purpose.
22. Green New Deal Assemblies: Local and national forums where citizens, experts, and policymakers collaborate to develop and implement Green New Deal policies. These assemblies emphasize inclusive and participatory decision-making processes.
23. Water User Associations (WUAs): Organizations formed by farmers and other water users to manage irrigation systems and water resources collectively. WUAs are governed by elected representatives and operate on principles of equitable and sustainable resource use.
24. Living Labs: Real-life test and experimentation environments where users and producers co-create innovations. Living labs involve diverse stakeholders in the design, implementation, and evaluation of solutions, fostering a dynamic and inclusive governance approach.
25. Community-Engaged Scholarship: Academic research conducted in partnership with communities, focusing on issues of local relevance. Governance involves collaborative decision-making between researchers and community members, ensuring mutual benefit and knowledge exchange.
26. Digital Democracy Platforms: Online platforms that facilitate citizen engagement and participation in democratic processes. Examples include participatory budgeting tools, online deliberation forums, and e-petition systems.
27. Nature-Based Solutions Governance: Initiatives that use natural processes to address societal challenges, such as climate adaptation and urban resilience. Governance involves multi-stakeholder partnerships, including local communities, governments, and environmental organizations.

These additional examples further illustrate diverse and innovative approaches to holistic self-governance that prioritize inclusivity, adaptability, and sustainability across different contexts and scales.

= = = = =

See what I mean?  What would YOU ask such a smart, well-informed, responsive partner in transformational work?  And what would you DO with their responses?  And how might we humans work together to craft ever-more insightful, productive prompts?  What would that whole process look like to be most generative for the transformations we need?  What would we humans do and what would ChatGPT (and/or other generative AIs) do?

I suspect the vast majority of users of ChatGPT are using it in ways that support the dominant paradigm in business, government, science, entertainment, etc. (which, unfortunately, are destroying the world).  How can we use it – or work with it – in radically different ways for radically bigger, life-serving goals?

How can we work with it to benefit the seventh generation after us?

Coheartedly,
Tom

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Tom Atlee, The Co-Intelligence Institute, POB 493, Eugene, OR 97440

Appreciating, evoking and engaging the wisdom and resourcefulness of the whole on behalf of the whole

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