A PROJECT BY MAX HAARICH

If we want to master the global challenges of  our times, we need to understand each other’s beliefs, hopes, fears and motivations. The United Nation’s universal declaration of human rights was humanity’s attempt to form a universal basis of understanding. Human Rights Lawyer Peter Humphrey was tasked to draft a document all nations could agree on and use as a blueprint for their own lawmaking. But though it was passed by the UN’s General Assembly in 1948, there have always been doubts about how universal the document was. Some people accused it of chauvinism and western-centricity. The scientific and cultural developments of the last 70 years challenge the notion of universality even more: with our new technological possibilities to better understand other species and to even create new ones (artificial intelligences, humanoids, cyborgs, etc.), the challenge to achieve universal understanding gets even bigger. So how would you approach such a universal declaration today? How would you try to develop a declaration that anyone could understand and agree on, from humans to artificial intelligences? To investigate this I put myself in the shoes of John Peter Humphreys and designed a multi-method approach to encircle the phenomenon of universal understanding. I split up the problem to start with the understanding between humans and artificial intelligences. I researched the exact drafting scenario that Humphreys operated in. I started online surveys, interviewed diplomats, musicians and scientists. I discussed the findings with poets and chatbots. The process resulted in a preliminary draft for Bill of Rights for Artificial Intelligences. I will continue this endeavour in cooperation with the Republic of Užupis, an independent self-declared artist republic from Lithuania, known for its planetary perspective on society and the only state that already mentions artificial intelligence in its constitution.