Blog News What does it mean to be human in the age of AI? Our co-CEO joins the founding group of WE21What does it mean to be human in the age of AI? Our co-CEO joins the founding group of WE21
We build AI into products every day. What that AI does to people is a question we want to work on as well, and that is why our co-CEO, Anna Zarudzka, went to the H-FARM campus near Venice for the first WE21 circle, where she became one of its founding members.
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What WE21 is
WE21 is an international initiative that grows through small circles of people. Each circle brings together 21 people for at least three days. The groups are mixed on purpose, with people from education, business, technology and art, and from different generations. There are no panels, no pitches and no company presentations. Participants are called founders, and everyone in the circle is both a teacher and a learner.
Anna describes the format in one phrase, “a democratic school for adults”. There is no way to apply. A new circle is organised by three people who were in a previous one, and everyone comes because they trust the person who invited them.
People spend the days in groups of different sizes, from the full circle of 21 down to pairs talking on a walk.
The question
The first circle looked at AI from the side of people. Its guiding question was about who a human should become when AI can take on much of our work.
The first circle looked at AI from the side of people. Its guiding question was about who a human should become when AI can take on much of our work. The group explored several answers without settling on one, and for Anna that was a sign of its strength.
One of the discussions also described two possible futures for work. In the first, AI sits at the top of a pyramid and people work for it. In the second, AI is one node in a network and people work with it.
How a circle is formed
A new circle is organised by three people who were in a previous one, and everyone comes because they trust the person who invited them. There is no application form. The group set a few guidelines for future circles: mix generations and sectors, choose a place close to nature, keep to 21 people for at least three days.
Why Boldare takes part
Delivering technology is only part of our job. We also want to build a responsible environment around AI, for our teams and for our clients. That needs perspectives from outside technology, from education, art and everyday life. WE21 brings those perspectives into one room, and our co-CEO is now one of the people who shape it.
What comes next
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